Gun control In the Florida Senate, Bracy has advocated for and consistently supported legislation to prohibit the sale or transfer of assault weapons and large-capacity magazine. Bracy also co-sponsored legislation to ban assault weapons in both 2021 and 2022.
COVID-19 In April 2020, Bracy called on legislative leaders to consider a special session of the legislature to increase the amount of money and duration of state unemployment benefits. The request was not acted upon, with legislative leaders pointing to substantial additional federal unemployment checks authorized in the
CARES Act. In the 2021 Florida legislature session, Bracy was appointed vice-chair of the Senate Select Committee on Pandemic Preparedness and Response. He introduced a bill to increase state unemployment benefits from $275 to $400 maximum weekly benefits and extend eligibility from 19 weeks to 26 weeks.
Criminal justice In December 2020, Bracy introduced a bill to allow those with
misdemeanor marijuana convictions to
expunge their criminal records. In January 2021, Bracy filed a bill to create a public-records exemption that would broadly prohibit the public release of
booking photos (known informally as mug shots), except in certain circumstances such as an immediate threat to the public. Bracy's statement argued that the publication of booking photographs on the internet has made them remain in perpetuity and caused "persistent and permanent" damage, even in cases where charges are ultimately dropped, "the person is ultimately found not guilty by a judge or jury, or his or her arrest record is subsequently sealed or expunged.”
Police reform In June 2020, Bracy authored an op-ed in the
Orlando Sentinel arguing the state legislature "must reform police in wake of brutality" in the wake of the murder of
George Floyd by Minneapolis police. He requested a special session of the Florida legislature to address police brutality and bias against African-Americans, which was turned down by the legislature. Bracy's proposal for a special session included 10 measures he wanted considered including: removing investigations of police shootings from internal to outside entities, increasing jury pay; ensuring diversity on jury panels; mandated officer training on “implicit bias and de-escalation;” published annual data on an “analysis on racial disparity;” and inclusion of a “civilian review board member” on an investigative team. In the 2021 Florida legislative session, Bracy sponsored several bills, including SB 730, that would lead to officers facing third-degree
felony charges under certain circumstances where they use
chokeholds or other related tactics. The proposed "Strangulation by a law enforcement officer" offense would lead to felony charges if an on duty officer "knowingly and intentionally impedes the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of an individual so as to create a risk of or cause great bodily harm or death by applying pressure on the throat or neck of the individual or by blocking the nose or mouth of the individual, including the use of a chokehold or similar restraint.” Another bill introduced was SB454, which would have required local law enforcement to collect and report monthly the number of traffic stops completed, the race and ethnicity of the police officer and the race and ethnicity of the person stopped. He also introduced SB452 and 482 mandating uniformed standards for body and dashboard cameras and creating a statewide police misconduct registry that tracks the history of law enforcement officers, respectively.
Race and discrimination In October 2019, Bracy introduced legislation (SB 566) to add “protected hairstyle” to state civil rights laws as an "impermissible grounds for bias," alongside current protected classes such as race, religion, gender, national origin, age, handicap and marital status. The "Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act” would prohibit discrimination based on natural hairstyles, targeting policies in employment and within schools, where dress codes may limit hair styles. In June 2020, Bracy began a push to make
Juneteenth a state holiday, with June 19 marking the date the news of the
Emancipation Proclamation reached Texas, the westernmost member of the former Confederacy.
Solar energy Bracy was one of few Democrats to vote for legislation authored by utility company
Florida Power & Light (FPL) to phase out
net metering for rooftop solar panels. The legislation would undermine the state’s growing solar industry and benefit companies like FPL that compete with solar energy. ==References==