GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES -  June 9, 2009 

President Couey called the meeting to order at 1905 hours. After the Prayer and the Pledge, the lodge was duly opened for business.

President Couey did roll call of the Elected Board. 2^nd Vice President Tosdevine, Secretary Britt, Conductor Francesce, Inner Guard Taylor, and Trustee 2 Bennett were absent and excused.

President Couey recognized and welcomed the guests that were present and thanked the cooks for another great meal. 

Scholarships in the amount of $5,500.00 were passed out to the recipients included the following folks:

          Kaela Nassief               Alana Escobio

          Tim Connett                 Kaeleigh Hill

          Megan Cochran           Rebecca Hurley 

A motion was made to waive the reading of last months meeting minutes and approved as the Secretary was not present. 

Treasurer Iverson gave the Treasurer report and the lodge is holding well during the economy crunch. A motion was made to accept the Treasurer report and approved. 

Chaplain Smith gave the sick and distress report. 

Under the Good of the Order, we had the drawings for the door prizes and 50/50 

Date: Mon, Jun 8, 2009 at 7:41 PM
Subject: A note from Florida State Lodge President

The below Memorandum has been received from National President Chuck
Canterbury today regarding the appointment of Judge Sonya Sotomayor to
the United States Supreme Court.  The National FOP Board Officers
concur with the endorsement after review of Judge Sotomayor's record
on law enforcement and union issues.  Several letters and the
recommendation of the FOP National General Counsel are available upon
request.

Memorandum to:    National Trustees
From:                     Chuck Canterbury, National President
Date:                      June 8, 2009
Ref:                        Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor

 This memo is to advise after researching her Judicial Rulings and her
history as a prosecutor that I will announce June 9, 2009 that the
National Fraternal Order ! of Police will endorse her appointment to
the court.

Date: Fri, Jun 5, 2009 at 1:49 PM
Subject: Washington Watch: Legislative Update, Week of 1 June 2009



Washington Watch: Legislative Update
For the Week of 1 June 2009

I.       Legislative News and Activity
II.     This Week in Congress
III.    Update on FOP Top Legislative Priorities
IV.    Update on LEOSA
V.     FOP NEWS: New Contact Information for Grassroots Action Network


I.   LEGISLATIVE NEWS AND ACTIVITY

Executive Director Jim Pasco and Senior Legislative Liaison Tim
Richardson met with Lamar S. Smith (R-TX), Ranking Member on the House
Committee on the Judiciary to discuss FOP priorities and other pending
issues.

Senior Legislative Liaison Richardson and Legislative Liaison Bill
Fitzpatrick met with Doug Ierley, counsel in the office of Senator
James H. Webb, Jr. (D-VA) regarding the introduction of a Senate
version of H.R. 675, which would provide statutory arrest authority to
all law enforcement officers within the U.S. Department of Defense
(DoD).


II.  THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS

Congress returned to session after a week-long recess in observance of
Memorial Day.

Action in the House
The House considered and passed H.R. 626, the “Federal Employees Paid
Parental Leave Act of 2009,” by a vote of 258-154. This bill would
amend the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act to provide four weeks of
regular pay for Federal employees to attend to births, adoptions and
beginning foster care.

The House also considered and passed H.R. 2200, the “Transportation
Security Administration Authorization Act,” by a vote of 397-25.  This
legislation would authorize appropriations to the Secretary of
Homeland Security for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
for Fiscal Year 2010 and Fiscal Year 2011.

Action in House Committees
The Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,
and Science, began its hearing this week on FY2010 appropriations.
Specific totals were not available, but the final number for State and
local law enforcement programs was $3.4 billion--a six percent (6%)
increase over the FY09 appropriation and $700 million more than the
Administration's request.


Action in the Senate
The Senate began consideration of H.R. 1256, the "Family Smoking
Prevention and Tobacco Control Act."  This legislation would grant the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wide new powers to regulate tobacco
products. Additionally, the bill would levy user fees on tobacco
products and create a new department within the FDA with the authority
to regulate tobacco marketing and advertising, control the amount of
nicotine in products, and bar such product claims as “light” and
“low-tar.”


III.  UPDATE ON FOP TOP LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

For the complete list of cosponsors for all of our top legislative
priorities, or to find out if your Representative and Senators are
cosponsors of specific bills, check out http://thomas.loc.gov .

(1)  Support H.R. 235, the "Social Security Fairness Act"
We added seven (7) new cosponsors to H.R. 235, bringing our current
total to two hundred and eighty-seven (287)--more than a House
majority!  Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS,
as we are not including in our count Delegates Madeleine Z. Bordallo
(D-Guam) and Gregorio Sablan (D-MP), who have limited voting rights on
the floor.

We currently have twenty-seven (27) cosponsors on S. 484.

(2)  Opposing any legislation that would require the participation of
public employees in Social Security
The FOP will continue to lobby against this scheme and oppose any
legislation which would mandate participation in Social Security.


B.  Support H.R. 413, the "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act"
We currently have eighty-one (81) cosponsors on H.R. 413.

The Senate companion bill has not yet been introduced.


C.  Support H.R. 1972, the "Law Enforcement Officer’s Procedural Bill
of Rights Act"
We currently have two (2) cosponsors on H.R. 1972.


IV.     UPDATE ON LEGISLATION AMENDING LEOSA
Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on
the Judiciary, introduced S. 1132, the "Law Enforcement Officers'
Safety Act Amendments Act," just before the Memorial Day recess.
Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and
Minority Whip, is the lead Republican cosponsor.  The bill aims to
make improvements to the Law Enforcement Officers' Safety Act (LEOSA),
especially with respect to retired law enforcement officers, and it
was drafted in close cooperation with staff in the National
Legislative Office.

Chairman Leahy's staff has told us that they hope to move the bill
through the committee before the end of the month.


V.  FOP NEWS: New Contact Information for Grassroots Action Network

To sign up for the Grassroots Action Network or to change your
information, please contact Jon Gentile at jgentile@fop.net with your
email address and the State where you are a member. Without your State
information we cannot add you to the list or update your information.