“I have your back completely”: Lt Governor Jay Collins meets with local first responders

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

ALACHUA, Fla. – Today, Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins met with local first responders to discuss the challenges they face.

Collins grew up poor, joined the military, became a Green Beret

Collins explained that he grew up “very, very poor” in northeastern Montana, “the son of a farmer who lost our farm.” He said he values first responders, who deserve “time, tools, and training… so you can do your job safely and get back home to your families… So when I tell you I have your back, that is not something I say lightly… That is very clear, and I can’t solve what I don’t know.”

Collins said he joined the military and met his wife there, and he was in jump school on 9/11 before going to the 82nd Airborne Division. He was deployed to the Joint Interagency Task Force, where he decided he wanted to be a Green Beret and eventually became a Special Forces Medic (“travel around the world, treat people, and kill bad guys”). He was shot in Afghanistan. After he recovered, enemy forces tried to overrun his fire base, and he fell about 25 feet during the attack and broke his back, blowing out “a bunch of discs” that would eventually lead to the loss of his left leg; he now uses a prosthetic. Seven years later, he requalified as a Green Beret and served five more years. He moved into the nonprofit sector and worked in disaster relief. After the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan, he heard that their interpreters were being executed, along with their families, and “you can’t stand on the sideline; you just can’t.”

Collins said he started calling members of Congress, got involved politically, and eventually decided to run for a State Senate seat in Tampa; Governor Ron DeSantis appointed him as Lieutenant Governor in August. He said he wanted to hear from first responders about what’s working and what’s not working, “because for government to work, I believe we have to… go find the information from our people, from our constituents, and where better to start than with the people who are out there in the community, doing the hard jobs.”

Training for fire rescue SWAT medics

In response to a question about training for fire rescue SWAT medics, Collins said that as a former Special Forces Medic, the question was “near and dear to my heart.” He said he would need to look into why training for fire rescue SWAT medics is not funded the way it is for other specialized teams. Collins said he is currently working on threats that affect all counties, such as cyberattacks and drones: “If they use it in combat, it’s only a matter of time before they use it at home.” He said he wants to see more focus on operations, training, and purchasing in a more centralized way so agencies can collaborate and provide a higher level of training than they can currently afford. 

Collins said one of his goals is to create a state-wide frequency channel so agencies can collaborate across county lines, particularly during a disaster like a hurricane, “because what I don’t want to do is have you guys continue to bear the burden of being in harm’s way, solving a complex problem, people’s lives are on the line, and not be able to communicate with people around you.”

Collins also wanted to look at state-wide plans for insurance and retirement, with the goal of saving money for first responders, “because if we open up state insurance, it should drop everyone’s rates and open up that risk mitigation across more people.” He said, “Bureaucrats will tell you it’s hard… [but] hard things are what we do. It takes hard work to solve these problems. We’ve got to get money back to counties, have the right equipment, and solve real problems.”

Healthcare costs for retired first responders

In response to a question about healthcare costs for first responders after retirement, Collins said he was already looking into the subsidies, which have been flat for many years and have not kept up with inflation.

Funding of public safety if property taxes on homesteaded properties are eliminated

In response to a question about how public safety will be funded if property taxes are eliminated, Collins said the focus is on homesteaded property: “The vast majority of our property tax comes from business; it comes from second homes, third homes, fourth homes.” He said the percentage of budgets from homesteaded properties in Florida ranges from 3% to 11%; he said 11% is “higher, but it’s still solvable.” He said DeSantis “will not raise taxes on something else” to make up for lost property taxes, and “it’s really, in his mind, about the American dream. It is about owning your home and getting the government out of the way.”

Collins said the details of the Governor’s plan haven’t been released, but “I’ve got his back, without equivocation… But we’re not just going to pull the switch and turn it off and leave you guys in the lurch. That would be the last thing we would do.”

Juveniles being released within hours of arrest

In response to a question about juveniles being arrested and released to their parents within an hour or two of arriving at the Juvenile Detention Facility, Collins said that was something he could look at. Former Sheriff Emery Gainey said he has dealt with this issue “multiple, multiple times.” Gainey added that it’s “a balancing act.”

Collins said, “Yes, the state has some say in this; it sounds like there’s probably something unique to this area going on, as well… It’s an accountability issue… I don’t think there’s a magic button, but… we’ll dig into it.” He asked an officer what he would do if he were “king for a day.”

The officer said he would like to see the juveniles spend the night at the jail, as is usually the case for adults, and then see a judge in the morning — “something that might deter them – ‘Oh, I’ll have to spend the night here?'”

Collins said, “When we allow people to run free,… it’s always a problem… If you break the law, there’s accountability, and if Juvenile Justice isn’t doing what it should do, then we’ve got to fix it.” He said he would meet with the Department of Juvenile Justice leadership and ask for specifics, and he would talk to Sheriffs from other counties.

Gainey pointed out that the legislature strengthened some things in the most recent legislative session, which gave them “the ability to hold some of these juveniles longer, but there’s more work to be done.” Gainey said again that it’s “a balancing act. Some kids need to go home; it’s those repeat offenders.”

Increasing the death benefit

Gainey also asked Collins to look at increasing the amount of the death benefit for law enforcement, firefighters, and first responders; he said the amount has not kept up with inflation.

Collins said one of his goals is, “When you guys retire after 25, 30, 35 years,… I want you to be a walking billboard for all that’s right in Florida because we stood beside you, we gave you what you needed, and you can go out there and say, ‘Look, I busted my butt for the state of Florida, for our communities, and I wouldn’t do a single thing differently.'”

10-20-Life statute

In response to a question about the high number of repeat offenders booked into the Alachua County Jail and the weaknesses in Florida’s 10-20-Life statute, Collins said, “I love nothing more than repealing and ripping things out of law. Less is more, and clarity matters. I don’t want things that are written in government gobbledy-gook… Make it clear, presentable, and make sense… When attorneys get involved,… pretty soon we have interpretive law and interpretive legislation, and it becomes a problem where we need to clarify it.”

Collins said he would love to clean up “things like that. I think it’s something we should do… I’m happy to poke the bear to look at things like that. I wish that were the only thing that we had to address.”

Standardization of internal investigations

Attorney Bobi Frank, who represents law enforcement officers, said there is a “really, really big problem across the state of Florida, and that is the lack of standardization for the additional layer of due process that the legislature has already said that our first responders deserve.” She said that different agencies interpret the Officers’ Bill of Rights differently, and “all of the agency heads I speak with… are begging for standardization.” She said standardization would reduce the number of cases that end up in court and requested a special committee to standardize the implementation of the law. 

Collins invited Frank to come to Tallahassee and meet with him to discuss specific cases so he could understand the issue, and he said he would speak to state agency heads about it. 

Incentives to increase law enforcement staffing

In response to a question about increasing staffing in law enforcement, Collins said that was why he’d brought up better health insurance. Responding to the officer’s statement that he couldn’t afford to buy a house, Collins said property tax relief would help, but he was also concerned that more New Yorkers will move to Florida if Zohran Mamdani is elected as mayor of New York City, putting even more upward pressure on housing prices. 

Collins said they can’t “bankrupt the state trying to do a good thing,” but he was interested in ideas from the officers about incentives that would make a difference in attracting and keeping officers: “I am always good to stand by people. Good pay, good benefits.” He said he wanted to see fewer officers in staff positions and more officers “on the ground.”

Regionalizing training

Collins said he would like to regionalize training instead of using community colleges: “There’s a mindset to firefighters, to cops, to anybody who’s out there in that industry. And it’s not a community college mindset. I think if you regionalize this, as a state, you’re gonna train people better.”

Collins: “We see what you do every day. I can’t tell you I have a magic elixir to fix all the problems you’re talking about right now, but I will work for you… I have your back completely.”

Collins closed by saying he would continue to meet with first responders, and he thanked them for what they do: “We appreciate it. I know the Governor does, Casey does, and my wife does… We see what you do every day. I can’t tell you I have a magic elixir to fix all the problems you’re talking about right now, but I will work for you… I have your back completely.”