HB 1595 (Fernandez-Barquin and Yarkosky) and SB 1588 (Burgess) – Current law sets out a process to prevent municipalities from reducing law enforcement budgets. The current process allows the state attorney or a member of the governing body of a city to file a petition to the Administration Commission (comprised of the Governor and Cabinet) within 30 days after the municipality posts its tentative budget if the budget contains a funding reduction to the operating budget of the municipal law enforcement agency. The governing body of the municipality then has five working days to file a reply with the Executive Office of the Governor and must deliver a copy of the reply to the petitioner. After receiving the petition, the Executive Office of the Governor must provide for a budget hearing to discuss the petition and the reply. The Administration Commission then has 30 days to provide a report of findings and approve or modify the municipal budget. SB 1588 modifies this process to have all petitions and hearings be overseen by the Division of Administrative Hearings instead of the Administration Commission and the Executive Office of the Governor. The bill also states that the budget reduction must be more than 5% compared to the previous year to qualify. (Taggart)