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County jails could soon see inmates serving more time behind bars. Right now, anyone sentenced to more than a year goes to state prison, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, A Committee in the state Capitol today voted to extend the time to two years.

Despite a massive effort to hire more correction officers, state prisons remain chronically understaffed. State Senators put Corrections Secretary Julie Jones on the hot seat Thursday.

“We’re two thousand down from 16 thousand.”

Now, lawmakers are floating the idea of shifting non violent short timers to local jails. State Senator Rob Bradley wants to double the time people can spent in county jails..from one year to two.

“We need to lower the number of prisoners that the Department of Corrections handles” Bradley told committee members.

Local jails would be paid, but that has been a problem in other states where sheriffs turned incarnation into a cash cows says Scott McCoy of the Southern Poverty Law Center

“Similar policies have contributed to massive jail expansion.”

Q:” Is there more incentive to incarcerate more people by building more jails?

“Well, there is, because there is a profit motive” says McCoy.

One fear being raised is that judges will sentence people to longer terms just to get them out of the local jail and into state prison.

Sponsor Rob Bradley downplayed the fear.

“That is a unconstitutional system that is devoid of justice” says Bradley

Public Defenders like the concept of keeping people closer to home, says Nancy Daniels, who advocates for FL Public Defenders Association, but have stopped short of endorsing the idea until more details are worked out.

“If there was a jail with a really good work release program, where people could keep their jobs is they have to do a state DOC sentence, there could be some major advantages” says Daniels.

Sheriffs say they have about 500 empty beds on any given day.

Police may soon be able to stop you if they see you texting behind the wheel. The legislation is getting a major boost from the House Speaker, who has so far opposed the idea. But as Mike Vasilinda tells us, concerns are also being raised about increased racial profiling.

Removing the words “secondary offense” from the state’s anti texting law has been an uphill battle. The deletion was routinely blocked by House leadership, who wouldn’t even consider the idea over because of privacy concerns.  Now House Speaker Richard Corcoran is supporting tougher enforcement.

“So we say if you want to look at someone’s phone, you’ve got to get a warrant. You can’t confiscate their phone. You can’t intimidate them to voluntarily give you their phone” says the House Speaker

Demetrius Branca has spent the last three years talking to high school students and fighting for tougher laws. His son, Anthony was killed by  texting driver in 2014. And dad Demetrius says he’s surprised, but thrilled by the House’s change of heart.

“You know, better late than never, but they recognize the dangers of it and they are finally doing something about it” say Branca, who did traffic safety presentations at two high schools Wednesday.

Opposition remains.

Black lawmakers are worried the bill will open the door for more racial profiling. They raised the same concerns when seatbelt were the issue.

Senator Audrey Gibson says one way to avoid profiling is to require hands free cell phone use.

“If we have hands free, then there’s no question and there’s no issue” says the Jacksonville Senator.

Demetrius Branca says he shares the profiling concerns. But he says there is a bigger picture.

“Racial profiling is real and its something we need to be on guard for without a doubt, but people are dying on the streets. People are dying because other people are not paying attention to the road” says Branca, who has made passing tougher laws almost a full time job.

And with the speakers support, police, who see drivers texting everyday, are one step closer to stopping those drivers without needing another reason to issue a ticket.