Parkland School Shooting: Governor Unveils $500 Million Plan

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Saying "we must get this done in the next two weeks," Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced a $500 million plan that will change the way his state protects school children and how it deals with the mentally ill. Scott was responding to the Valentine's day mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17. The governor's deadline was a reference to the final two weeks of the Florida legislative session.

"The goal of this plan of action is to make massive changes in protecting our schools, provide significantly more resources for mental health and do everything we can to keep guns out of the hands of those dealing with mental problems or threatening harm to themselves or others," Scott declared in his announcement on Friday.

The plan would raise the minimum age to purchase a firearm in Florida to 21 in the case of both rifles and handguns; require that every school have at least one police officer for every 1,000 students at all times schools are open; give Florida judges the ability to take away guns from the mentally ill and require that anyone who undergoes an involuntary commitment must wait a minimum of 60 days before asking a court to restore their access to firearms.

Florida Sen. Bill Nelson issued a statement on Friday objecting to the plan and criticizing Scott, who is expected to run for the Senate at the end of his final term as governor.

“Students, parents and teachers across our state are demanding action — but instead of listening to them, it’s clear the governor is once again choosing to listen only to the NRA," said Nelson. "The governor’s plan doesn’t do one thing to ensure comprehensive criminal background checks or ban assault rifles, like the AR-15. His leadership is weak and by recommending raising the age to 21 he is doing the bare minimum. Enough is enough. We need to get these assault rifles off our streets and expand criminal background checks for anyone acquiring a gun.”

But the governor's plan drew praise from Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.

“This is a strong step in the right direction,” Carvalho told a television news crew.

Scott insisted that he does not a support a "mass takeaway of Second Amendment rights" for Americans as some have called for in the wake of the worst school mass shooting since a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

"That is not the answer," the governor said. "Keeping guns away from dangerous people and people with mental illnesses is what we need to do."

Scott began his remarks on Friday by reading the names of the 17 victims from the Parkland school massacre and said that he has no intention of creating a "scarlet letter" for the mentally ill in Florida.

"I want to make it virtually impossible for anyone who has mental issues to use a gun," the governor said. "The 17 lives that were cut short and all the hopes and dreams that were ruined have changed our state forever. Florida will never be the same."

Here are the key components of the governor's plan:

Violent Threat Restraining Order

This would allow a Florida court to prohibit a "violent or mentally ill person" purchasing or possessing a firearm or any other weapon when either a family member, community welfare expert or law enforcement officer files a sworn request and presents evidence to the court of a threat of violence involving firearms or other weapons. The governor promised "speedy due process for the accused" and that any fraudulent or false statements would be met with criminal penalties.

Gun Purchase and Possession Restrictions for Mentally Ill Individuals

If a court involuntarily commits someone under Florida's Baker Act because they are a risk to themselves or others, they would be required to surrender all firearms, according to Scott. They would not regain their right to purchase or possess a firearm until a court hearing. The governor is proposing a minimum 60-day period before mentally ill individuals can ask a court to restore access to firearms.

Change In Age To Purchase Firearms

Scott is proposing that all people who purchase firearms must be 21 or older. At present, Floridians may purchase rifles at age 18. The governor will make exceptions for active duty and reserve military and spouses, National Guard members and law enforcement.

Ban Firearms From People Subject To Injunction

The governor wants to prohibit any person from possessing or purchasing a firearm if they are subject to an injunction for protection against stalking, cyberstalking, dating violence, repeat violence, sexual violence or domestic violence.

Enhanced Criminal Penalties For Threats To Schools

Scott is calling for enhanced criminal penalties for anyone caught making threats to schools on social media. This includes threats of shootings or bombings. The penalties would be enhanced if any person possesses or purchases a gun after they have been deemed by state law to not have access to a gun.

Ban Sale Of Bump Stocks

The governor wants to "completely ban" the purchase or sale of bump stocks in Florida. President Trump has already initiated a similar change on the federal level. Bump stocks turn single-shot rifles into rapid-fire weapons.

Mandatory Law Enforcement Officers In Every Public School

Scott would require every public school to have either a sworn sheriff’s deputy or police officer present during all hours students are on campus. Scott wants to have at least one law enforcement officer for every 1,000 students. This would be implemented by the start of the 2018 school year. Scott would provide sheriff’s departments the authority to train additional school personnel or reserve law enforcement officers to protect students if requested by local school boards.

Mandatory Active Shooter Training

The governor would require mandatory active shooter training for all Florida school students and faculty. The training would be "outlined" by the Department of Homeland Security. All training and code red drills would have to be completed during the first week of each semester in all public schools. Each local sheriff’s office in Florida would have to approve and be involved in training for the schools in their jurisdictions.

More Funding For Safe Schools Allocation

Scott is calling for a funding increase to address "specific school safety needs" within each school district. This includes school hardening measures like metal detectors, bullet-proof glass, steel doors and upgraded locks. The Florida Department of Education, with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would also provide minimum school safety and security standards by July 1 to each school district.

All school safety plans would have to be submitted to the appropriate county sheriff’s department by July 1 each year for approval. Once all plans and requests for school hardening have been approved by the county sheriff’s office in consultation with local police, plans would then be forwarded to the Florida Department of Education by the school district to receive state funds.

School districts would be bound to use all capital outlay funds for school hardening before that money could be spent on any other capital outlay. All safe school allocations would have to be spent in accordance with the sheriff-approved plans.

Each school district that receives a Safe Schools Allocation would be required to enter into an agreement with the local sheriff’s office, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Law Enforcement and any community behavioral health provider for the purpose of sharing information. That would allow officials to better coordinate services with respect to prevention or intervention strategies.

See Something, Say Something Statewide Hotline

Scott wants to create a "new, anonymous" K-12 “See Something, Say Something” statewide, dedicated hotline, website and mobile app.

Dedicated Mental Health Counselors In Schools

The governor wants to establish funding to require access to dedicated mental health counselors at every school to provide direct counseling services to students. These counselors would be prohibited from serving dual roles such as teaching or academic advising. Every student would have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with a mental health professional and receive ongoing counseling as needed.

Threat Assessment Teams In Schools

Scott want to require each school in Florida to have a threat assessment team made up of a teacher, a local law enforcement officer, a human resource officer, a Florida Department of Children and Families employee, a DJJ employee and the principal. The team would be required to meet monthly to review any potential threats to students and staff.

Crisis Intervention Training At Schools

The governor has proposed mandatory crisis intervention training for all school employees in Florida. This training must be completed before the start of the next school year.

Mental Health Initiatives

The governor wants to expand mental health service teams statewide to serve youth and young adults with early or serious mental illness. The teams would provide counseling, crisis management and other critical mental health services.

DCF Case Manager In Every Sheriff's Office

Scott is proposing that every sheriffs’ office in Florida would have a Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) case manager embedded in their department to "solely work as a crisis welfare worker for repeat cases in the community." This would result in the hiring of another 67 employees in DCF by July 15.

Law Enforcement And Mental Health Coordination Matching Grants

Finally, the governor wants to offer law enforcement and mental health coordination matching grants. These would be used by Florida sheriffs to create special law enforcement teams that would coordinate with Florida Department of Children and Families case managers.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, right, addresses Gov. Rick Scott during a statewide roundtable on school safety at the Florida Capital in Tallahassee, Fla., Feb 20. (AP Photo/Mark Wallheiser)