Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) said Sunday that he hopes to soon sign legislation to incentivize police officers from other states to relocate to the Sunshine State after a number of local governments have imposed vaccine mandates for law enforcement.
DeSantis told host Maria Bartiromo on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" that Florida is looking to protect its existing police while also focusing on efforts to recruit out-of-state officers, noting that the state has "needs in our police and our sheriffs’ departments."
"In the next legislative session, I’m going to hopefully sign legislation that gives a $5,000 bonus to any out-of-state law enforcement that relocates in Florida," DeSantis said. "So, NYPD, Minneapolis, Seattle — if you’re not being treated well, we’ll treat you better here. You can fill important needs for us, and we’ll compensate you as a result."
DeSantis also called President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates "unconstitutional" and vowed to protect Floridians from having to choose between the vaccine and their livelihood. Biden signed an executive order last month mandating vaccines for all federal employees. And in a separate move, the president also announced that employers with at least 100 employees must require their workers to get vaccinated or undergo weekly coronavirus testing.
"What Biden’s doing is unconstitutional; he does not have the authority to do this, but what it will do on a practical level — in addition to being unconstitutional, in addition to taking away people’s personal choices — is it will wreak havoc in the economy because even if a small percentage of these folks end up losing their jobs or voluntarily walking away, you’re gonna have huge disruptions in medical, in logistics, in law enforcement," DeSantis said.
"And so in Florida, our policy is very clear: we’re gonna have a special session and we’re gonna say, nobody should lose their job-based off these injections," he continued. "It’s a choice you can make, but we want to make sure we’re protecting your jobs and your livelihoods."