Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fusion Centers Domestic Security topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
FDLE outlines fusion center network, shrinking federal grants, drone and critical‑infrastructure concerns
Summary
Deputy Commissioner David Binder told the Senate committee that FDLE coordinates Florida's domestic security through a fusion‑center network, an oversight council and regional task forces, and warned that federal homeland security grant funding has declined sharply, constraining core functions.
Deputy Commissioner David Binder, appearing for FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass, told the Senate Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security that FDLE coordinates domestic security through the Florida Fusion Center network, the Domestic Security Oversight Council and seven Regional Domestic Security Task Forces.
Binder emphasized that Florida's fusion‑center network exists to "connect the dots" across agencies and jurisdictions. He described FDLE's Office of Statewide Intelligence, a Florida Crime Analysis Center that supports complex investigations such as money laundering, and a governance structure that vets funding and policy through subject‑matter working groups, an executive group and the Domestic Security Oversight Council.
Binder warned that federal homeland security grant funding for states has fallen substantially, citing a past federal allocation of about $70,000,000 compared with roughly $8,400,000 last year. He said small pots of grant money force prioritization across many competing needs and noted the Fusion Centers and other core functions are funded by that grant stream.
Binder described recent exercises that exposed gaps in the electrical grid response (notably coordination with co‑ops and municipal power providers) and said FDLE acquired a vulnerability‑assessment software tool and staff to inventory and score critical infrastructure, including school data and local utilities. He noted a $5,000,000 school security assessment grant funded last year, of which about $43,000 has been spent to date, and said FDLE continues to encourage local partners to use those funds.
Binder described drone threats as an increasing concern and said current federal law and FAA rules limit state and local options to mitigate hostile drones over populated areas. He said FDLE and partner national laboratories are working to define civilian requirements for drone‑mitigation tools; he suggested congressional action may be necessary to give states lawful mitigation authority.
Other capabilities FDLE highlighted in testimony include radiological/nuclear detection in the Capitol complex, vehicle barriers deployed for large public events, and a fusion center intelligence summit held to improve cross‑jurisdictional information sharing. Binder closed by urging continued legislative attention to grant funding, critical‑infrastructure protection and training to maintain the state's domestic‑security posture.
