DeSantis signs law that restricts when authorities can stop boaters
DeSantis was joined at the a news conference in Panama City ahead of Memorial Day weekend by sponsors Rep. Griff Griffitts and Sen. Jay Trumbell, who touted SB 1388 as one that rids boaters of 'government overreach.'
The bill, which goes into effect July 1, says an officer cannot stop a boat or board someone's boat solely to do a safety or equipment inspection. Officers are only allowed to stop a boat when there is probable cause of a violation.
DeSantis at the news conference Monday said the law previously allowed officers to stop boaters without probable cause or suspicion of any violation in order to conduct safety inspections, like property searches, which could then lead to unexpected further law enforcement action. Boaters will be protected from 'suspicionless searches' under the new law, DeSantis said.
He appeared to reference one stop of a boater that went viral online, where Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers pulled a Jupiter man over for violating a slow speed minimum wake zone and then arrested him for BUI, even though testing later proved he was sober.
'If there's a basis to intervene, that's one thing … But to just go in without any basis is not the way we want to do it in the state of Florida,' DeSantis said. 'And I think it's unnecessarily created friction between the boating community and some folks in law enforcement.'
Trumbell, a frequent boater himself, said one of his neighbors shared with him that he had been stopped by law enforcement out on the water three times in the same day last year for random safety inspections. The bill does not get rid of inspections, he said, but 'ensures that they happen for the right reasons and not at random.'
'We do respect our law enforcement officers and their mission, but there has to be a balance,' he said. 'This bill is about restoring common sense to marine enforcement.'
Boaters will be able to receive a 'Florida Freedom Boater' decal to show law enforcement that they are keeping the needed safety requirements and 'strikes an appropriate balance between ensuring compliance with boating laws and reducing unnecessary disruptions for law-abiding boaters,' the governor's office said in a news release Monday.
The law also prohibits state and any local governments from imposing restrictions on the types of boats people can use or sell based on the fuel it uses. DeSantis said there has been a 'movement' with some local governments to regulate boat usage based on its energy source.
'We know a lot of families opt for used vessels and of course they're gonna be gas powered,' he said. 'People want to be able to afford this, and if you impose these draconian restrictions, you're not gonna be able to do it.'
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Yahoo
an hour ago
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Republicans and Democrats visited ‘Alligator Alcatraz' for the first time. Here's what they saw.
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Her group had a dozen lawmakers present, and she accused the state of trying to 'put its best foot forward' and that the tour was 'pre-planned and staged.' Asked why Republicans had such vastly different impressions, Driskell replied: 'If you only see what was shown and don't have a problem already with rounding up immigrants — even if some of them have not committed crimes — then you would be OK with what you saw.' Kimberly Leonard reported from Miami.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Florida lawmakers visit Alligator Alcatraz for the first time after weeks of being denied entry
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CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Florida lawmakers allowed into ‘Alligator Alcatraz' say detainees packed into cages
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Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who represents Florida's 25th Congressional District, said during a news conference following their tour. The families of some of the detainees have also decried conditions in the facility, while Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials defend it as offering higher detention standards than many US prisons. On the tour, the lawmakers said they were not allowed to visit areas where migrants are currently being detained but instead were shown cells not yet being used. Wasserman Schultz said each cage contained three small toilets with attached sinks, which detainees use for drinking water and brushing their teeth, sharing the same water used to flush the toilets. When they toured the kitchen area, Wasserman Schultz said government employees were being offered large pieces of roast chicken and sausages, while the detainees' lunch consisted of a 'gray turkey and cheese sandwich, an apple and chips.' 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Darren Soto said lawmakers also witnessed evidence of flooding, highlighting serious concerns of what could happen to detainees if there's severe weather during what forecasters said may be a busy hurricane season. 'What we saw in our inspection today was a political stunt, dangerous and wasteful,' Soto said after the tour. 'One can't help but understand and conclude that this is a total cruel political stunt meant to have a spectacle of political theater and it's wasting taxpayer dollars and putting our ICE agents, our troops and ICE detainees in jeopardy.' About 900 people are currently detained at the facility, Wasserman Schultz said during the news conference but it has the capacity to hold 3,000 people, with room for more, according to Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The wife of a 43-year-old Guatemalan man currently detained at 'Alligator Alcatraz' told CNN her husband is enduring harsh conditions similar to those described by lawmakers who toured the facility. After more than two weeks in detention, she said, he has yet to see a lawyer. 'There are too many mosquitoes … He's in a really bad condition. The power goes off at times because they're using generators,' the woman told CNN in an interview Tuesday. 'The detainees are being held in tents, and it is very hot there. They're in bad conditions. … There's not enough food. Sick people are not getting medication. Every time I ask about his situation, he tells me it's bad,' she said. The Guatemalan woman said she, her husband, and their 11-month-old baby went fishing on June 25 in the Everglades. A Florida wildlife officer approached them and asked for documents. Her husband had a valid driver's license, she said, but when the officer realized she didn't have any documents proving she was in the country legally, the officer called immigration authorities who detained the whole family. After spending seven-and-a-half hours in what she describes as a 'dirty holding cell,' she and her baby – a US citizen – were released, but her husband was detained. She now wears an ankle bracelet. Her husband later told her he remained in detention at the Dania Beach Jail, near Fort Lauderdale, for eight days, before being transferred to 'Alligator Alcatraz.' Once transferred, he was unable to take a shower for six days and there were not enough facilities for washing hands, she said. On Friday, he was woken up at 3 a.m. to take a shower because of the number of people waiting for their turn, she said. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Florida detention facility, did not immediately reply to CNN's request for comment about specific allegations about conditions there. In a written statement posted on X Tuesday, DHS said, 'ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens. All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members.' In little over a week, workers transformed the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport from an 11,000-foot runway into a temporary tent city President Donald Trump toured last week. Trump raved about the facility's 'incredible' quick construction during his visit and pointed to the detention center as an example of what he wants to implement 'in many states.' The project was fast-tracked under an executive order from DeSantis, who framed illegal immigration as a state emergency. CNN's Isabel Rosales and Natalie Barr contributed to this report
