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Florida looks to recruit new law enforcement officers with financial incentives

By Nikki DeMarco, WFTV.com

Florida transit bus shooting: 2 dead, 2 hospitalized in Fort Lauderdale; suspect in custody Stock photo of police lights. Two people have died and two others are in the hospital after gunfire erupted on a bus in South Florida, authorities said. (Vmargineanu/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

By Nikki DeMarco, WFTV.com

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida will provide $5,000 bonuses - among other incentives - to recruit new in-state law enforcement officers and current out-of-state officers under a bill signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday.

The new law will also provide scholarships to cover tuition, fees and up to $1,000 in expenses for trainees in a law enforcement academy, as well as $1,000 in training costs for officers who relocate to Florida.

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It will also raise the base salary for every sheriff by $5,000 and make vouchers available so officers’ children can attend private school.

The legislation had vast bipartisan support, passing unanimously in the Senate and with only three dissenting votes in the House.

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“There’s a lot of great stuff in here,” DeSantis said before signing the bill. “I don’t think there’s any place in the country that is doing as much for law enforcement as we are doing with this bill here today.”

Read: Neighbors share video of shooting that injured teenagers in Daytona Beach

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