Governor Rick Scott wants to establish a statewide counterterrorism task force.
Scott announced his plan from Orlando, which he said was in response to the Pulse night club shooting. The shooter pledged allegiance to ISIS during the Orlando attack, which left 49 dead and more than 50 injured.
“That’s why today I’m proud to announce that as part of 2017-2018 budget, I’m gonna put in $5.8 million for counterterrorism and and intelligence efforts to make sure we combat any act of terrorism in our state,” Scott said.
That money would fund 46 counterterrorism and intelligence officers. They would be split into eight task forces across the state.
“Our federal law enforcement partners, who do a great job, say they don’t have enough sufficient resources to combat the spread of terrorism on their own,” said FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen. “This must be a collaborative effort.”
The proposed budget will go before the Florida Legislature, which meets in March.
