The House Human Services Subcommittee unanimously advanced mental health legislation that seeks to expand programs and establish policies to ensure mental health evaluations are part of probation conditions.

The bill (HB 1207) known as the “Tristan Murphy Act,” was presented by Eustis Republican Rep. Nan Cobb, who detailed the events that led Tristan Murphy, who suffered with mental illness, to take his own life.

“Tristan had been struggling with mental illness,” Cobb said. “He had been in and out of jail for numerous things. The crowning blow, I think, for Tristan, was the night that he drove his pickup truck into a lake in front of the Sheriff’s Office in Charlotte County, and he was charged with littering with over 500 pounds. He caught a three-year felony, and they took a paranoid schizophrenic, and they put him in isolation for 117 days.”

Cobb said that Tristan was put into a work crew once he was let out and had not carried on with his treatment.

“Once they got him out, they got him into competency restoration, which should have been within 15 days, and it was not,” Cobb said. “They finally got him competent. And when he came back, he was put on a work crew. Instead of having his treatment, they put him on a work crew, and they gave him a chainsaw. Tristan took his life with a chainsaw to try to decapitate himself.”

Cobb explained the bill would expand grants that support intervention programs and diversion initiatives to include training for 911 operators, EMS technicians and Veterans Treatment Court programs.

The bill would further expand the use of criminal justice, mental health and substance abuse reinvestment grant program funds, while exempting constrained counties from certain grant requirements.

The Department of Children and Families would be authorized to implement a forensic hospital diversion pilot program in Hillsborough County in conjunction with the 13th Judicial Circuit. The bill also provides model processes for both misdemeanor and nonviolent felony mental health diversion programs.

“It authorizes a court to make a mental health evaluation and any resulting recommendations, conditions of probation in certain circumstances, a state attorney has the sole discretion on who enters into the program and dismissal of charges upon completion,” Cobb explained.

“It establishes the Florida Behavioral Health Care Data Repository within the Northwest Regional Data Center to help compile mental health data securely and coordinate between relevant state agencies.”

The Department of Corrections would also be required to evaluate the physical and mental health of each inmate eligible for work assignments or correctional programs prior to the final assignment.

Barney Bishop, from Florida Smart Justice Alliance supported the bill and said it builds on already existing programs.

“Representatives, this is similar to the juvenile civil citation program, which has been around here in Florida for over 25 years,” Bishop said. “Gives an opportunity for people to be diverted and to seek treatment. So, a pilot program like this is extremely important.”

Bishop added that because people are not institutionalized in hospitals, something that has not happened for around 20 years, there needs to be a new model to treat mental health, and thanked Cobb for bringing the bill forward.

“This is an important project,” Bishop said. “We fully support this. Hope you’ll vote it up. It’s the right thing to do, and it will hopefully lead to more pilot programs, or once this pilot program is proven successful, then we’ll have a plethora of more facilities and programs around the state to help serve this important population.”

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When Hurricane Milton swept through Florida last year, it left a trail of damage and uncertainty. Roads were blocked, power was out, and access to food and clean water became an immediate and dire concern for many families in my district.

In the days following the storm, I worked directly with Farm Share as it prepared and coordinated emergency food and supply deliveries. Even before the roads were fully safe to travel, the Farm Share team was already loading trucks and planning drop sites, ready to deliver essentials the moment it was possible. That kind of preparation doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of experience, strong partnerships, and a deep commitment to helping others.

Seeing that response up close gave me an even greater appreciation for the role Farm Share plays in Florida. I had known about the organization’s work as the state’s largest independent food bank, but witnessing it during a crisis made the impact much more real.

What’s just as important is the work it does year-round. Outside of storm season, Farm Share continues to serve families facing food insecurity. It reaches seniors living on fixed incomes, veterans, working parents, children, and others who are doing their best but still come up short as costs continue to rise.

Farm Share’s model works because it’s built on collaboration. The nonprofit partners with local farmers, volunteers, and community organizations to distribute food where it’s needed most. The organization does this work efficiently and compassionately, ensuring that every family is treated with dignity.

Supporting Farm Share means supporting the people of Florida. When the state invests in combating food insecurity, it’s investing in the well-being of our communities. It ensures that help is available during natural disasters and the quieter struggles so many families face every day. Farm Share turned the Legislature’s recent investment into 97 million meals for Florida families, including millions of pounds delivered within just seven days after major hurricanes landed.

I’m proud to support Farm Share and will continue to advocate for the resources it needs to carry out the important work that has served my constituents and millions of Floridians. When we invest in organizations like Farm Share, we invest in all Floridians—in their safety, resilience, and future.

That’s the kind of investment I’ll proudly continue to stand behind.

___

Sen. Jim Boyd represents District 20 and serves as Senate Majority Leader.

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Some voters in Escambia County had their polling place shift on the day of a high-profile Special Election. Now, Florida Democrats are alleging potential voter suppression by Republican leaders there.

Democratic congressional candidate Gay Valimont and Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried planned to hold a 1 p.m. press conference to decry the potential confusion.

“Jimmy Patronis and his surrogates are attempting to block voters because he failed to show respect for the people of this district and neglected to earn their trust or ask for their vote,” Valimont said.

Voters who normally cast ballots at Macedonia Baptist Church in Pensacola, Precinct 98 in Escambia County, found no way to vote there Tuesday. Instead, those voters had to drive two miles to St. John’s Divine Missionary Baptist Church, which isn’t listed as a voting location at all on the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections website.

“Voter suppression undermines the very foundation of our democracy. Every eligible voter deserves equal access to the ballot box, and I am committed to fighting for that fundamental right,” Gay said. “The voters of Escambia County Precinct 98 deserve nothing less.”

Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Robert Bender said he has communicated with the Valimont location about the move in voting location for that precinct for weeks. He also said all voters in the precinct were notified of the change by mail with a specific notice and as part of sample ballots. For Republican voters eligible to vote in a January Primary, they were told of the precint move before that election, when the same alternative location was used. In addition to mail, he said a full page ad was published in the Pensacola News-Journal advising precinct locations and bolding this and four other precincts because the locations were different from in November.

Bender said the Macedonia Baptist Church let elections officials know after the November election that the location would no longer be available for use for voting. While a list of all precincts on the county website still lists the church as the Precinct voting location, a notice on the same website notes some locations may have changed. And Bender said if a voter put in their own address or personal information to find a proper voting location, the website would have identified the new address.

“That was within two weeks of general election,” he said. “We did try and find other locations in the precinct, but found one in an adjoining precinct.”

Escambia County leans heavily Republican. President Donald Trump won the countywide vote there in November with almost 59% of the vote to Democrat Kamala Harris’ under 40%. But Precinct 98 is the biggest Democratic precinct in the county. Harris won the precinct in November with more than 76% of the vote to Trump’s 22%.

Bender said about 1,900 Democrats are registered in the precinct, compared to 512 Republicans and 521 other voters.

The confusion came on Tuesday, the same day Valimont faces Republican Jimmy Patronis in a Special Election to replace former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Patronis, Florida’s former Chief Financial Officer, is the heavy favorite to win the district, which covers four counties. But Valimont has drawn significant attention to the race after raising $6.5 million for the Special Election, compared to Patronis’ $2 million.

As of noon, nearly 4,900 Republicans in Escambia County had voted in the Special Election, compared to nearly 2,800 Democrats.

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