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In a The Florida Senate has voted 25-15 vote the Florida Senate approved the removal of former Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel late Wednesday afternoon.

It was the first time in more than 40 years, a Florida Sheriff was forced to fight to keep his job after being suspended by the Governor.

“We ask for your special blessing upon the victims, their families and friends,” said Senator Gayle Harrell in the opening prayer to the Special Session of the Florida Senate.

Senators said a video of Broward Deputy Scott Peterson staying outside Marjory Stoneman Douglass as gunshots rang out triggers an law dating back to 1868.

The law that says when Deputies ”neglect and default in the execution of their office the sheriff shall be responsible.”

Senator Tom Lee said it is the first time it has ever been used to justify removing a sheriff from office.

“No Sheriff believes they should be responsible for each and every act of their deputies. That’s just not practical. Our Special Master said the very same thing,” said Lee.

The concern is that justifying the removal of former Broward Sheriff Scott Israel could resonate to every other constitutional officer.

“Does this make it easier to remove a school superintendent or a Supervisor of Elections?’ Said Sen Janet Cruz. “Of course it does.”

Cruz told us it is painful to have to vote against the Parkland families.

“If I were a parent who lost a child, it wouldn’t matter what I had to say about due process,” said Cruz.

Majority Leader Kathleen Passidomo said she was voting for removal because it was the failure of more than one deputy.

“There is a serious systemic failure. A lack of command and control,” said Senator Passidomo.

And in the end several Democrats voted with the majority, calling it a vote of conscious, not politics.

One in four Florida high school students now vape and the number continues to rise.

It’s just one of many alarming statistic lawmakers heard from experts about the vaping crisis along with the illness and death related to their use Wednesday morning.

Of the nearly 1,500 cases of vaping related illness and 33 deaths across the country nearly one out of the five victims are children.

Florida’s Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees attributes part of the problem to easy access.

“Children can sit down at computers and order these products that can be delivered to your home,” said Rivkees.

Rivkees said the illness appears similar to a chemical burn in the lungs.

However, much is still unknown.

“No specific cause for this vaping related lung disease has been identified,” said Rivkees.

Hospitalizations from vaping have been steadily increasing since this spring with 70 illnesses and one death reported in Florida.

Lawmakers are hoping swift action can slow the epidemic.

One idea would be to tighten regulations on vape manufacturers and raise the age to purchase the products to 21.

Rivkees said the proposal is popular among researchers.

“The recommendation is that nicotine containing products not be used by youth and particularly that ages for sales of cigarette products and things like that, nicotine containing products, be raised to 21,” said Rivkees.

Committee Chair Rep. Colleen Burton said it’s too early to know exactly what they might do, but in the meantime she believes avoiding the products altogether is the safest option.

“When a physician warns me, you know gives a warning to folks not to vape because it’s a dangerous thing to do I think people should listen to that,” said Burton.

The CDC is currently working to identify what specific ingredients may be responsible for causing the illnesses.

As the search for an answer continues more Americans are turning to vaping products.

There are 10 million users in the US currently.

More than a third, about 3.5 million, are children.

One thing that is known about the crisis is that the majority of illnesses and deaths seem to be linked to use of THC vaporizers purchased on the black market.

The Florida Attorney General and the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement joined senior advocates in the Capitol Wednesday morning to celebrate the 11th year since Florida’s Silver Alert Plan was created.

The system was put in place to broadcast information about missing seniors suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Mary Barnes, founder of Alzheimer’s Community Care said the program has helped safely recover 223 seniors to date.

“These lives are precious and no one can put a value on a frightened and valuable human life. And we have the Florida Silver Alert to thank for saving them,” said Barnes.

A total of 2,147 Silver Alerts have been issued over the past 11 years.

You can sign up to receive the alerts via email at at www.floridasilveralert.com.

Legislation that would require women under the age of 18 receive parental consent before having an abortion cleared it’s first and only scheduled House committee Tuesday afternoon.

Democrats held a rally ahead of the meeting condemning the legislation, alleging it would put youth at risk for possible retaliation from their families.

Democrats like Rep. Anna Eskamani also fear if the bill were to become law it would be used as a test case in the courts for even tighter abortion legislation to pass in the future.

“This law, which we debated last session as well, has been show to put the most at-risk youth in greater danger, but the truth is if this bill becomes law access to safe and legal abortion for every Floridian is at risk in the State of Florida,” said Eskimani.

A similar law was overturned by the State Supreme Court based on the privacy clause in the state constitution,.

Now many believe the new conservative leaning court may see things differently.

The convicted killer of a 14-year-old girl over 30 years ago has a date with death in early November, but a group of death row exonerees believe the case has similarities to their own wrongful conviction cases.

James Dailey has been on death row since 1987 for the murder of a 14 year old girl.

He was implicated by three jail house snitches and a co-defendant who got life and later confessed.

The case caught the attention of a group of exonerated death row inmates including Juan Melendez.

“This case is very similar to mine. It’s based on snitches, testimony of snitches. People who make deals with the prosecutor,” said Melendez.

Dailey is in line to be the 100th person executed since executions resumed.

For every three executions, Florida has exonerated one death row inmate.

Not one, but all three exonerees we interviewed said they were convicted on fabricated stories by snitches looking for a deal.

“A person thats trying to get time cut off his sentence turned state’s witness. I had no other evidence against me,” said Herman Lindsey, who spent three years on death row.

The group sent q letter and a flyer about Dailey’s case to the Governor, with a plea for him to take another look at the case.

“We possible may have an innocent man here. There’s noting wrong with preserving life. He could go forward with a warrant. I’m pretty sure he could review that case himself,” said Seth Penalver who spent 18 years on death row.

That’s not likely.

“This is one of the most gruesome crimes in the history of Pinellas County. You know, we’re willing to listen to things, but this has been litigated over and over and over, and at some point, you know, you need to justice,” said Governor Ron DeSantis Tuesday mooring.

The Governor did add he thinks Dailey’s codefendant should also have gotten the death penalty.

Daily is scheduled to die on November 7th.

Legislation plugging a loophole in Florida law when it comes to 16 and 17 year old rape victims sailed through a Senate committee in the state capitol Tuesday.

Without the bill, young women in the age group may lose the opportunity to have their assailant prosecuted.

Children younger than 16 who are victims of rape have no time limitations on when they can report their assault, but there’s a glitch in the law.

16 and 17 year olds who are raped must report their assault within three days.

Even then, their assailant has to be prosecuted within eight years.

“It’s just all over the map depending on the age group and we’re try to bring that all into one conforming bill,” said Senator Linda Stewart who is sponsoring the bill that would remove the statute of limitation for any victim of sexual battery under the age of 18.

The legislation would give all children who are victims of rape as much time as they need to come forward.

Survivors of sexual assault took the podium in Tuesday’s meeting to plead for the change.

“That you allow victims in the state of Florida to heal as they need to heal,” said Danielle Sullivan, who was raped by a co-worker, but was unable to bring charges against him because she waited to report the crime until 43 days after the statute of limitations for her case expired.

Rena Romano, who was raped by a family member as a child and the again by a home intruder in her 20’s shared her story with lawmakers.

“I didn’t tell anyone my secrets for years and in my late 20’s I wound up in the hospital having a physical and a mental breakdown,” said Romano.

The testimony wasn’t in vain.

The bill passed with unanimous approval.

Even if the bill does ultimately become law, the change would only affect assaults that happen after July 2020.

Advocates like Romano said it’s all about giving future victims an option they didn’t have.

“It’s too late for me, so it’s not about me anymore. It’s about helping those behind me,” said Romano.

Unlike in previous years, this bill has bipartisan support in both the Senate and House.

Bill Sponsor Senator Stewart said she hopes if the bill becomes law, it will open the door to eventually do away with the statute of limitations for all sexual battery, no matter the age of the victim.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked part of a law that requires felons pay all fines, fees and restitution before they have their voting rights restored, but only for those who are too poor to pay.

The ruling puts pressure on lawmakers to fix the law in the upcoming legislative session, but some say the ruling has made an already complicated situation even worse.

State Senator Jeff Brandes sponsored the 2019 bill that mandated the payment requirements.

“I’m concerned that they read into that, that somehow that language only includes certain people. So it seems to say everything is included, for certain classes, for certain people,” said Brandes.

The ruling specifically applies to 17 plaintiffs named in the case, but it likely applies to all felons unable to pay.

One of the plaintiff is from Leon county, but Local Elections Supervisor Mark Earley told us he’s still not sure if he can register them yet.

“I don’t know what his ability or inability to pay those fines and fees are,” said Earley.

Election Supervisors like Earley are concerned moving forward because there’s no standard to determine whether someone can’t pay.

“This ambiguity as to ability to pay is going to be a very tough hurdle,” said Earley.

Earley hopes lawmakers heed the concerns laid out in the judge’s order and act fast.

However, Senator Brandes said lawmakers hands are tied until another challenge to the law is decided by the State Supreme Court.

“I think we need to wait for the Supreme Court to do something and to rule before we can make any further progress. I that we’re in this really interesting time right now between court rulings,” said Brandes.

The ruling only blocks the law until a final decision is made in the case.

It’s set to go to trial in April.

While lawmakers and the courts work to hammer out the problems with felons voting rights restoration, Elections Supervisors have maintained if you believe you are eligible to register you should.

A historic trial is under way in the state Capitol.

State Senators must decide if the Governor had justification to suspend the Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel after the Parkland school shooting.

Parents who lost their children in the 2018 Valentines day school massacre blame the sheriff for their loss.

“The deadly danger posed by the killer was one of the worst kept secrets. Every relevant authority knew he was deeply troubled with the potential for lethal violence,” said Ryan Petty who lost his daughter at Parkland.

Hunter Pollack lost his sister Meadow.

“We lost a piece of our heart. Meadow was the rock in our family. My mom’s not the same, my brothers not the same,” said Pollack.

Senators must decide if the Governor had sufficient reason to remove Israel.

Special Master Dudley Goodlet ruled against the Governor.

“Peterson was trained to confront, he just didn’t do it. Madrigal was trained to confront. He did it,” said Senator Gary Farmer, comparing the School Resource Officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s actions to another Broward Sheriff’s Deputy who confronted the assailant during the Fort Lauderdale airport shooting.

“That was the basis for the recommendation and the conclusions in my report. There was sort of a hero and a coward,” said Goodlet.

It appeared Democrats were backing the sheriff who is a Democrat in a Democratic county, while Republicans appeared to be leaning toward removal.

The Governor’s lawyer George Levesque said the partisan nature of the hearing was okay.

“At the end of the day, it is a political decision,” said Levesque.

But Scott Israel’s attorney Ben Kuchne left the door open for a federal challenge.

“Review of the Special Masters report is to be based on evidence, not conjecture, not arbitrariness, not speculation,” said Kuchne.

There are, ironically, 17 members on the committee.

The same number of people who lost their lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

Because emotions are running so high, extra security will be in place at the Capitol until the trial is complete

The hearing continues at the state Capitol.

The rules committee is expected to vote just on its recommendation just before nine Monday evening.

The full Senate, where 40 votes will determine the Sheriffs future, will vote on Wednesday.

The Department of Children and Families is asking lawmakers to help them with a pressing issue: What to do with children in the foster care system who refuse placement.

One idea would be to place the children in secure facilities to ensure they get the services they need, but the idea is receiving pushback.

An investigation by WFLA found foster care children were sleeping in cars and offices in a Tampa facility.

They had refused placement.

“Twenty to 30 children sleeping in an office building. It’s completely unacceptable,” said DCF Secretary Chad Poppell.

Poppell said the issue isn’t isolated.

“This is a problem that’s all over the state,” said Poppell.

Victoria Zepp with the Florida Coalition for Children estimates there a few dozen children in the foster care system who have refused to accept placement and services.

She said often they come from the worst situations.

“The trauma runs deep,” said Zepp.

A controversial idea endorsed by Poppell would be to put the kids in secure facilities where services can be administered, which some have likened to prisons.

Poppell said it’s a mischaracterization.

“This is not a detention facility, but it is a secured facility where you can get treatment,” said Poppell.

Zepp warns it’s a fine line.

“At what point clinically do you force a child to be able to have an intervention that will truly save their life?” Said Zepp.

The Florida Coalition for Children is endorsing increased wrap around services for the most vulnerable kids in the foster care system.

One goal floated by DCF is to refocus the agency to prevent kids from entering the system on the front end.

Whatever the strategy, Poppell said one thing is clear.

“We’re not serving these children well and I’m not doing my job if I don’t look for other alternatives,” said Zepp.

On a positive note, community based care programs are hopeful that Senator Wilton Simpson, who has been designated as the next Senate President, has vowed to make the foster care system one of his top priorities.

A historic trial at the State Capitol next week will decide whether the sheriff in charge during the parkland shootings in South Florida gets his job back.

The possible reinstatement has become so emotional that at least one death threat has been made.

The family of Meadow Pollack, one of 17 killed in the Parkland massacre, were making the rounds meeting with Senators who will ultimately vote to re-instate or uphold the suspension of former Broward Sheriff Scott Israel.

State Senator Tom Lee said it was a difficult meeting.

“And they are pretty passionate about seeing Sheriff Israel removed from office. But I found them to be very respectful,” said Lee.

Passionate indeed.

A number, if not all of the Parkland families will be represented in Tallahassee next week.

Andrew Pollack said they are all in unison that Israel not be re-instated.

“He put failed policies in place. Deputies may go in rather than shall. Forty-five calls to the killers house without any type of protocols. Eight of his deputies failed to enter the building. He failed to follow up on a tip this kid was going to be a shooter. He command center failed. A captain resigned. A lutenient resigned,” said Andrew Pollack.

Special Master Dudley Goodlet recommended Israel be re-instated.

The Department pf Law Enforcement is investigating a threat against his life.

The Senate has confirmed a threat against his life is being investigated.

Extra security will be in place in the Capitol on Monday.

The Florida Sheriff’s Association isn’t taking a position.

Republican Sheriffs outnumber Democrats three to one.

Full blown Senate trials like the one that will begin Monday for Scott Israel are few and far between.

“History is watching the Senate just like Scott Israel is, and we will be reviewed how we handle this moment in history,” said Lee.

Since 1968, the Florida Senate has upheld three of every five gubernatorial suspensions of an elected official.

Residents in the state’s capital and across the panhandle are preparing for potential impacts of tropical storm Nestor currently headed for the Northern gulf coast.

Citizens living in areas prone to floods began filling up sand bags this morning.

“I’m assuming there’s going to be a lot of water with it and we’re in an area in the Killearn area where we do get a lot water especially in our front yard. [We’re] concerned about our garage and all of our entrances,” said Tallahassee resident Glenn Hunter.

The storm is a grim reminder that many are still trying to recover from Hurricane Michael.

17,000 insurance claims remain open from that storm.

Violence and contraband in state prisons is going unchecked by underpaid and overworked corrections officers.

Prison reformers warn if lawmakers don’t turn the situation around soon, they may never get the chance again.

Three officers including a Captain were arrested and fired this summer after an inmate captured a video on a contraband cellphone showing a violent assault.

Cheryl Weimar is suing in federal court after an alleged beating by officers that turned her into a quadriplegic.

At least two dozen correctional officers have been fired, some arrested, this year for violating Department policy or breaking the law.

State Senate Jeff Brandes said the prison system in in crisis.

“They’re struggling in a variety of different metrics. Officer and inmate violence is up, inmate to inmate violence is up. Contraband is up almost five hundred percent in the Department of Corrections in the last ten years,” said Brandes.

The violence is blamed on inexperience and 12 hour shifts, which are the norm for officers.

Officers start at $33,500.

So this week, the Department of Corrections asked for an additional $90 million to reduce work hours.

“The negative impact to the agency is undeniable,” said DOC Secretary Mark Inch.

Inch is the 7th Secretary in nine years.

“They’ve basically been rudderless,” said Brandes.

Experts believe staffing up and regaining control of the prisons won’t solve the problems by itself.

They argue lowering the inmate population would make the biggest impact..

To reduce pressure on the system, Democrats are calling for reducing sentences, from 85 to 65 percent, for non violent offenders behind bars.

“Equating to the release of over ten thousand people,” said bill sponsor Rep. Diane Hart.

It is an idea Brandes, a Republican, embraces.

“It’s really one of the only solutions that’s truly viable,” said Brandes.

Brandes has given the department until the end of the year to come up with a master plan, but whether lawmakers embrace it is another question.

House lawmakers took their first look into raising teacher salaries in Florida Thursday.

Teacher pay raises have been one of the biggest asks from the state’s largest teachers union for years.

“Put something into salary. Something people can rely on. Something that allows them to buy a house,” said Martin Powell with the Florida Education Association.

Finally in September, the union was met with good news from Governor Ron DeSantis.

“We are going to do something significant on teacher recruitment and compensation,” said DeSantis.

The Governor is asking lawmakers to increase starting salaries for teachers to $47,500 a year.

Florida currently ranks 26th in the nation for starting teacher pay.

Under the Governor’s proposal Florida would move up to number two.

The House subcommittee took a deep dive into the current state of teacher compensation.

The average Florida teacher makes just over $48,500 a year, with the highest average pay in Monroe County at nearly $60,000.

Gadsden County has the lowest average pay at just shy of $38,500.

Chair Chris Latvala made one thing clear.

“Everything is on the table so to speak,” said Latvala.

Members of the committee seemed to favor an across the board pay raise over just raising starting salary.

“I met a teacher recently who has been teaching for 15 years… and is making $48,000 a year. So she would be making $500 more than a brand new teacher,” said Latvala.

Finding money for an pay increase will be challenging.

Hurricane costs and fear of an economic slow down have lowered revenue projections by $867 million over the next two years.

“We have to make sure that the money is there and we’re going to do everything that we can to find it,” said Latvala.

The chairman sent committee members home with a homework assignment: Find a way to repurpose $520 million to make the pay raise possible.

With two amendments circulating that could legalize marijuana, state lawmakers got two presentations Wednesday.

One on what happened in Colorado and the other on the Florida’s medical marijuana industry.

Legalization in Colorado appears to have been more successful than Florida’s efforts with medical marijuana.

Andrew Freedman oversaw Colorado’s marijuana legalization.

Since 2014 there have been just over 100 fatal accidents in which marijuana was in the system, but accident rates have not increased.

“Colorado had 11 deaths per 100,000 of population. The national average that year was 11.6 deaths,” said Freedman.

And contrary to other reports, underage use did not skyrocket in Colorado.

“There was a surprisingly significant decrease post commercialization in Colorado,” said Freedman.

And when it comes to vaping illnesses, he said the problem was not with legal vendors.

“Most of it is coming out of the black market, which has been thought that there is a quality control issue black market vaping products,” said Freedman.

Lawmakers were told there was nothing nefarious about fewer than 100 doctors making the most medical marijuana recommendations.

The two biggest problems are cost and the availability of physicians.

“There are patients who live in counties that don’t have a dispensary. Or patients who don’t live in counties with a qualifying physician,” said Executive Director of the Florida Board of Medicine Claudia Kemp.

And Florida NORML told lawmakers high costs were driving patients back into the black market or cheaper alternatives.

“It so much easier to go and get a five or ten dollar prescription. So you’ve seen an increase in opioid overdose deaths with every county in Florida with that has a restrictive policy for medical marijuana,” said Villar.

The result has been 25 percent of the state’s medical marijuana approved patients leaving the system.

Colorado received more than $250 million last year in tax revenue from marijuana.

The money was used to build and repair schools.

Legislation unveiled Wednesday would prohibit home owners associations from banning law enforcement officers from parking their marked or unmarked cars in their driveway.

The legislation is a result of a Clearwater officer being told she could not park her patrol car in the driveway because it was considered a commercial vehicle.

State Senator Ed Hopper who represents Clearwater filed the bill.

“And I’ve had so many phone calls from other associations like, We want to have a marked cruiser in our community because it is a deterrent to bad things that bad people do. So, we’re going to try our best to correct this inequity, and make sure that any law enforcement officer in a marked or unmarked law enforcement vehicle has the right and privilege to park their vehicle in the driveway,” said Hooper.

Several years ago, lawmakers waded into a homeowners association dispute after the association tried to ban the flying of the American flag.

Sponsors equated that incident to the prohibition of police cars.