JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida State Senator Tom Leek, representing St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam counties, and parts of Volusia, shared insights from the ongoing legislative session in Tallahassee.
Leek highlighted progress on Senate Bill 482, known as the AI Bill of Rights, which aims to protect vulnerable populations.
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“It focuses on protecting children, protecting vulnerable adults, making sure that people aren’t taken advantage of by AI and AI companies,” he said.
The bill has passed its first Senate committee and moved to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Leek expressed confidence in the bill’s direction: “I think the product that will come out of appropriations will be a very good, very tight product that does what it’s intended to do, which is protect kids and vulnerable adults.”
Leek also discussed Senate Bill 156, the Jason Rayner Act, which raises minimum penalties for cop killers. He emphasized the importance of the legislation, stating, “I don’t care whether you intended to kill a cop when you resisted arrest with violence. If you killed a cop, you should go to life or go to jail for life.”
Regarding the effort to establish the state’s Black History Museum in St. Johns County, Leek noted the location was the top choice after a statewide task force review. “Saint Johns County was consistently the number one ranked choice by all of the task force members,” he said.
MORE: Florida lawmaker files bill to move forward with creation of Black History museum in St. Johns County | Florida Memorial University recognized as partner in St. Johns County’s state Black history museum project
Addressing concerns about political influence on the museum’s historical accuracy, Leek explained, “All the bill does is locate and put structure around the board and what the board is going to look like. Once that board is created, everything else gets turned over to the board and to the implementing committees that the board creates.”
He added, “The goal is to get it out of Tallahassee. So the content will be determined by that board of directors and by the committees of the museum.”
To watch our full interview with Leek, tune in to This Week In Jacksonville on Sunday at 9 a.m. Mayor Donna Deegan also joined us during the show to respond to criticism about the hologram at the airport and the Attorney General’s remarks about the gun registry at City Hall.