FHP might be abolished!!

[jarhed123]

I was talking today to a senior FHP person who is getting me a letter of approval for my FHP car, FHP legal gave a go on it, but told me that the colonel has not gotten to it because every meeting they are having in Tallahassee is about the possibility of abolishing FHP. He said that today more than ever it seem like it will happen.

If this is the case DON'T SELL YOU FHP CARS because their value will increase. Several other options are on the table for FHP so troopers will not be out of work. Here is link to the story.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23190984/

FHP’s fate in hands of state lawmakers

LEE COUNTY: A $2 billion state budget shortfall could mean major changes for the Florida Highway Patrol. One of the options on the table is to abolish the agency completely.

The Florida Highway Patrol the way you know it is on the chopping block.

"We need to make government smarter and smaller," said Senator Don Gaetz.
On Monday, lawmakers in Tallahassee will consider the following options:

• Combine FHP with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
• Combine FHP with the DOT, which could mean sharing facilities and vehicles, but also a loss of federal highway funding
• Establish FHP as a stand-alone agency
• Abolish the FHP and require local agencies to assume its duties. That move would put a lot of pressure on sheriff’s offices.
• Limit the FHP to the interstate and the state highway system.

[Specific details on the options being considered for the FHP]
The last option is the most realistic, according to Gaetz.

"I'd be shocked if anyone approved the abolition of FHP. I would oppose any such effort," said Gaetz.
Gaetz supports making the FHP more efficient and points to the inconsistencies among counties regarding crashes.
"I think one of the questions we want to resolve is having some sort of uniform approach. Some kind of consistent approach worked out between local law enforcement and highway patrol, so one county doesn't have FHP doing all the work," said Gaetz.
FHP works about 25-percent of the crashes in Lee, Charlotte and Collier counties.
But in rural areas like Hendry County, state troopers investigate 55-percent of the crashes, and in Glades County, 85-percent of the crashes.
[Crashes FHP investigated in 2006]
Our local FHP wouldn't talk on camera, but the colonel sent us this statement:

"Ultimately, our state leadership... will determine what is in the best interest of our state. We have the utmost confidence in their work and their support of the Florida Highway Patrol."
FHP is already facing an uphill battle with more than 200 vacancies - and with their fate now in the hands of lawmakers, the climb is just beginning.
The Sunset Committee is expected to make a recommendation on FHP's future Monday morning. It would still need approval from the full legislature.