Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said during an interview on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Fox’s Maria Bartiromo that he is planning to sign legislation during an upcoming special session that will give a $5,000 bonus to law enforcement personnel who relocate to the state of Florida.
MIAMI, FLORIDA – APRIL 08: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to the media about the cruise industry during a press conference at PortMiami on April 08, 2021 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
“In Florida, not only are we going to want to protect the law enforcement and all the jobs, we’re actually actively working to recruit out of state law enforcement because we do have needs in our police and our sheriff’s departments,” DeSantis said.
Gov. DeSantis on vaccine mandates: Florida wants to ‘protect all the jobs’ https://t.co/wXyJDaNddZ @FoxNews @SundayFutures @GovRonDeSantis
— Maria Bartiromo (@MariaBartiromo) October 24, 2021
DeSantis called out specific law enforcement departments in New York, Minneapolis, and Seattle who are facing unfair treatment and harsh vaccine mandates “if you’re not being treated well, we’ll treat you better here, and you can fill important needs for us, and we’ll compensate you as a result.”
This legislation is another one of DeSantis’s many tactics to combat Biden’s overreaching vaccine mandate, “What Biden’s doing is unconstitutional. He does not have the authority to do this.” (RELATED: Biden Says First Responders, Police Who Refuse Vaccine Mandates Should Be Fired)
The Chicago Police Department recently restricted elective time which includes vacation, compensation, and personal days for officers who are refusing to participate in Mayor Lightfoot’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, according to a statement from Chicago Alderman Ray Lopez. There are currently 21 Chicago police officers refusing to disclose their vaccination status on the city’s portal, and as a result they have been placed on a no-pay status and have had their police powers stripped. Of the 8,200 CPD employees, 1,333 have reported that they have not gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a city data portal.Only 64.42% of the total police department disclosed their vaccination status to the portal.
Shortly after the vaccine mandate in Seattle took effect, approximately 176 police officers and firefighters were unable to report to work due to their COVID-19 vaccination status according to Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office. These first responders have been given temporary accommodations while they are awaiting the COVID-19 vaccine exemption process.
“In addition to be taking away people’s personal choices, it will wreak havoc in the economy because even if a small percentage of these folks end up losing their jobs or voluntarily walking away, you’re going to have huge disruptions in medical, in logistics, in law enforcement,” DeSantis added.
DeSantis said during his Fox interview that the COVID-19 vaccine is a “choice you can make, but we want to make sure we’re protecting your jobs and your livelihoods.”