New bill could allow Florida State Guard be sent to Texas to help with the border, lawmaker says
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A bill seeking to revise certain aspects of the Florida State Guard contains a provision that would allow for the agency to operate outside of the state’s borders.
Rep. Mike Giallombardo, R-Cape Coral, sponsored the legislation, HB 1551, and explained the details of it during a Tuesday meeting of the House Subcommittee on Local Administration, Federal Affairs, and Special Districts, where it ultimately passed 11-3.
Besides the expansion of potential geographical space to cover, the bill provides the state guard the same legal protections and immunities that the National Guard receives.
Giallombardo explained that in order for the state guard to operate outside of Florida, other states that they occupy would have to sign off on a mutual agreement.
“They can’t just send [the guard] into somebody else’s state without the state asking or the state knowing,” he said.
Rep. Dan Daley, D-Coral Springs, questioned if the guard could then be sent to the U.S-Mexico border if a border state, such as Texas, had an agreement with Florida.
Giallombardo responded, saying that “yes,” that could in fact happen.
Daley explained during debate on the bill that he believes the state guard has expanded “much more” than its original purposes and for that reason, he wasn’t supporting the legislation.
Giallombardo touched on a few topics of the bill after hearing more of Daley’s concerns. He emphasized how the national guard, being connected to federal laws and funding, can only do much to help the state.
“We’ve learned a lot through this last year of the state guard standing up through the training requirements and all those, and we’re trying to shift and make adjustments appropriately,” he said. “And that’s exactly what this bill does. It cleans up a current statute and allows for us to fill those gaps that are needed for the sate of Florida to serve our citizens.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis re-established the Florida State Guard in 2022 in order to help with issues effecting the state, including disaster prevention and recovery.
