TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) – As the end legislative session enters its final days, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed five bills into law on April 19, including a law that aims to fund state agency law enforcement radios through additional charges on traffic citations and criminal offenses.
Simply put, SB 2510 adds a $3 charge to criminal offenses and noncriminal moving traffic violations to be paid along with any other imposed penalties. The law states that the money collected from the $3 surcharge will be remitted or transferred to the Florida Department of Revenue.
From there, the money will be deposited on a quarterly basis in the State Agency Law Enforcement Radio System Trust Fund of the Department of Management Services to provide funding for state agencies to receive technical assistance with statewide law enforcement communication systems.
Basically, the additional $3 per offense or noncriminal traffic violation will be used to fund law enforcement communication systems regionally for state and local agencies through July 1, 2026. The law changes the current statute to extend from the previous end in July 2021.
The Florida Department of Management Services is also able to keep some of the money to recover costs and expenses incurred for managing, administering, and overseeing the Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System, under the law.
The law also sates that the act shall take effect on July 1, 2021 and expire on July 1, 2026. The payments collected from county courts will be paid out monthly until the newly extended law expires.
