PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — For the second-straight year, first responders throughout the state of Florida will receive a $1,000 bonus.
During stops at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and Ponte Vedra Beach on Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he's approving $100 million from the state's new budget to give every sworn law enforcement officer, firefighter, paramedic, and emergency medical technician in Florida a $1,000 bonus.
"Whether it's a sheriff's department and sheriff's deputies, whether it's a municipal police department, fire, paramedics, EMTs, you name it, you're eligible," DeSantis said. "We're proud to be able to stand with our great first responders in the state of Florida."
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DeSantis on Thursday said Florida has done more for law enforcement than anywhere else in the country.
"As national trends over the last two years were to take money away from law enforcement, to blame law enforcement, to turn your back on law enforcement, we stood strong and we would not flinch from being a law-and-order state," DeSantis said.
Joined by at least a dozen law enforcement officers at Thursday's news conference, the governor said the bonuses are not only to recognize first responders for their bravery and dedication — especially during the COVID-19 pandemic — but to boost morale and help soften the blow of inflation and the rising cost of goods.
"We are seeing huge, crushing inflation, that likes of which this country has not seen for over four decades," DeSantis said.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw thanked the governor for his support of first responders.
"It's nice to know that somebody really has our back," Bradshaw said.
The sheriff added the $1,000 bonuses represent more than just money.
"When these men and women go out every day and risk their lives, the $1,000 ain't it. It's the gesture," Bradshaw said. "It's the commitment. It's him standing up here and saying, you know what? I appreciate what you do."
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The governor on Thursday also suggested he's planning to approve the newly-passed HB 3 "Law Enforcement" bill, which would give a one-time $5,000 signing bonus to every newly employed law enforcement officer in Florida.
The measure also increases the salaries of county sheriffs.
DeSantis called the bill the "strongest law enforcement recruiting package and support package that any state has done in modern times."
"The better the morale, the more the community is supporting law enforcement, the more that we have good laws that promote public safety, the safer our communities are gonna be," DeSantis said.
The governor still has to formally review and approve the state's record $112 billion budget before the $1,000 bonuses can be given to first responders.