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2010 was a deadly year for police officers and 2011 is shaping up to be even worse. Despite the lowest crime rate in 40 years, six officers have already been killed since January 1st. Nine were killed in 2010. They were honored today at the state capitol by the Governor and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi says the state needs to do more to keep police officers safe.

�Florida is leading the number of law enforcement deaths in the country this year and we are going to stop that. You know the governor and I were in office only a couple of months and we attended six funerals of law enforcement officers,� said Bondi.

Families of the fallen officers were given plaques in memory of their lost loved ones. They were also given hugs and condolences by Governor Rick Scott and his wife. This is the 29th year for the Law Enforcement Officers� Memorial service.

An executive order in 2008 created Florida�s Silver Alert program and now law enforcement officers and senior advocates are asking the state legislature to make the program law. Because of the Silver Alert Program when a person suffering from mental illness or dementia is lost, highway signs and radio broadcasts issues alerts. Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey says the program has helped find dozens of missing seniors.

�Some of those we can say were directly tied to being Silver Alerts, there maybe other, but we knew 43 the sheriff�s and chiefs reported back we knew they were spotted because of a highway sign and a citizen called and said they had seen the particular vehicle,� said Bailey.

The Silver Alert program is still operating but without being written into the Florida Statutes it could be ended or changed any day.

A massive 155-page elections bill pending before the state Senate in Tallahassee would reverse many of the changes made after the 2000 election debacle that kept the election in doubt for 37 days. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, Democrats came out in force today to talk about Democracy.

Early voting would shrink to 8 days but last 12 hours a day. The 50 thousand people who changed their address on election day 2010 would be out of luck and likely out of having their vote counted. They could only vote by provisional ballot. And people who register voters would have just 48 hours to turn in those registrations or face a fine.

Seegar Swanson came to the capitol from Santa Rosa County, where Democrats are outnumbered 60-40, to protest the changes. Seegar says he�ll stop registering voters if the legislation takes effect.

�If you�re registering voters at the county fair or something, you�ve only got 48 hours, that means everyday you have to run to the supervisor of elections office and turn in the ones you got the day before,� Seegar Swanson said.

Seegar isn�t alone in his concerns. Top-ranking democrats, including U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, who is a GOP target in 2012, called the bill un-American.

�This a personal attack on the people of Florida,� Nelson said.

Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that the bill�s author is the former Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.

Reporter: Is there a perception here that, if nothing else, you�re trying to set this up for 2012?

�If there�s a perception that�s in the eyes of the beholder. I�m not trying to set anything up,� Sen. John Thrasher (R-Jacksonville) said. �I�m just trying to encourage people to get out and vote in 2012.�

Governor Rick Scott has said only that all people should vote. But he is expected to sign whatever he is sent.

But even with Scott�s expected signature, lawsuits challenging the changes are expected.

More than 85 hundred letters and emails have been sent to lawmakers protesting the elections legislation. Lawmakers had initially tried to cut early voting in half, but protests caused them to shorten the number of days but keep the number of early voting hours the same

The Florida Senate has delayed a vote on a controversial Arizona-style immigration bill after protestors filled capitol hallways for the six consecutive business days. At least one protest has been held for seven weeks in a row. Today, farm workers from the Dade City Farmworkers Self Help group made up the majority of protestors. The immigration bill was listed on the Senate calendar, but late this afternoon, Senators decided to skip over it until tomorrow, prompting activists to ask who is in favor of the legislation.

�Everyday, another police chief, another church, another body comes out against this bill,� immigration activist Subhasm Kateel said. �Everyday another institution comes out against this bill. At this point, we�re sort of looking around saying, well who is for this bill?�

Today, the mayors of Miami and Miami Beach expressed concern about the legislation.� Both say the legislation could hamper international tourism the area depends upon.