A bill that could increase penalties and punishments for public officials who use their position while committing crimes got a favorable hearing in its first committee stop in the state Senate Monday, but not without some reservations from legislators.
The bill would increase the level of a criminal offense if it was committed or achieved by using ones public office. In other words, a second degree misdemeanor would be classed as a first degree misdemeanor, and a first degree misdemeanor would be classed as a third degree felony under the bill. A life felony, however, would not be made into a capital felony.
The intent for me, anyway ... is to send a message that we cannot afford to condone public corruption whatever the level of office, said Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey.
But some senators on the Subcommittee on Ethics and Elections were concerned that Fasano's bill expands the definition or scope of the term "color of law," and would unduly affect police officers, teachers and other government workers involved in the public trust, not just elected officials.
Are we doing more than enhancing penalties or not? asked Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Gainesville.
Fasano and other supporters of the bill acknowledged that most government workers will be covered by the bill, but insisted that his bill does not change the laws or enact new charges or offenses. It merely increases the maximum penalties for officials.
We are not changing the definition of color of law, were not creating any new crimes to charge people with, said Rep. Lori Berman, D-Delray Beach, who is sponsoring the companion bill in the House.
We want to send a strong message not only to elected officials, but to anyone whos working and receiving taxpayer dollars, Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, said.
Despite the reservations of some lawmakers, the bill passed through the committee with only one vote against it, cast by Sen. Christopher Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale. Sen. John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville, said he wants to find out more about the bill's specifics, but noted that the bill has three more committee stops before it makes it to the Senate floor.
Smith warned of "unintended consequences" of enhancing penalties for crimes, citing the state's 10-20-life measures that have embedded automatic sentences into state law that don't take into account the specifics of each case.
We get unintended consequences when we do these knee-jerk penalty enhancements. This isnt going to stop anybody from doing anything wrong. In South Florida you have people going to jail every day. I think we have the tools in the toolbox to stop public corruption, Smith said.
Fasano, who has other ethics reform bills in the works that take recommendations from the recent Ethics Reform Commission report, was clearly frustrated at the resistance to his bill.
How difficult will it be if we ever do bring the entire commission report recommendations? Fasano said.
Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
