Veterans "jail-diversion programs" among 50 Florida Bills in Tallahassee

Veterans Are the Focus Of 50 Bills This Session

By KATIE SANDERS
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau

Published: Monday, April 4, 2011 at 11:03 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, April 4, 2011 at 11:03 p.m.
TALLAHASSEE | As a retired Army Reserve brigadier general, Judge T. Patt Maney looks out for veterans who show up in his courtroom convicted of crimes at home after a tour of war.

Lawbreakers should get a sentence appropriate for their misdeeds, he said. But certain veterans deserve special evaluation.

Maney, 62, is the namesake of SB 138, which allows counties to develop jail-diversion programs for veterans charged with certain crimes as a result of traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder or substance use stemming from military combat. Serving in Afghanistan in 2005, Maney suffered a traumatic brain injury, the signature affliction of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The idea is one of about 50 bills introduced between the House and Senate this session to benefit veterans and their families. The bills influence veterans' college admissions and tuition, property taxes, state parks admissions, driver's license fees and hunting grounds, among other things.
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Veterans Are the Focus Of 50 Bills This Session