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Florida Rep. Omari Hardy debates a bill during a legislative session on April 27, 2021, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. | Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo
Florida Legislature s mixed record on criminal justice reform
By GIULIA HEYWARD
The Florida Legislative Black Caucus
introduced more than 24 police reform bills this session and the vast majority of those measures were never heard in either the state House or Senate. Left on the table were items that would have prohibited non-knock search warrants for misdemeanor offenses and prohibitions on law enforcement from acquiring surplus military equipment, among others.
The state legislature also advanced a sex trafficking bill backed by Attorney General Ashley Moody that would make it easier for traffic victims to expunge their criminal records.
[caption id="attachment 412519" align="alignleft" width="150"] Sen. Keith Perry[/caption] A Senate panel has agreed to expand a law that allows juveniles who complete diversion programs to expunge their criminal records. The Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee voted 6-0 on February 9 to approve SB 274 by committee Chair Keith Perry, R-Gainesville. A similar measure made it to the Senate floor last year, but failed to pass before the session adjourned, Perry said. Under current law, juveniles who complete diversion programs can have their arrest records expunged, but only for misdemeanor offenses. The measure would amend the law to include any charges, including felonies, according to a staff analysis. Pointing to “any charge” in the staff analysis, Sen. George Gainer, R-Panama City, said he was worried that the bill goes too far. “There’s a lot of difference between shooting somebody and shoplifting,”