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The Escambia County Commission met on Mon. morning for a second monthly meeting.

During the meeting the commission approved an animal shelter lease to Paws Crossed, an ECATS substance abuse policy and resolutions regarding local legislation as submitted by Sheriff Heath Jackson.

Speaking about the 4 different bills, Jackson explained what each bill would accomplish. “There are 4 local bills that I am trying to push to the legislature. Most counties have already done passed these bills,” said Jackson.

Going into depth about each one, Jackson explained, “One is a bookend fee. For everyone that is booked into our jail, if they are convicted of the crime, they have to pay a $30 bookend fee that would cover their incarceration.”

Next is a fundraising bill that would allow the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to raise funds within the community. “It would give us the ability to fundraise and raise money if we want to raise money for other organizations or ourselves,” said Jackson.

The third bill pertains to mental heath. “The other was a mental health bill. It gives law enforcement in the county the ability to take a person with mental health issues into custody and give them to where they need to be,” shared Jackson.

Finally, the fourth bill is a qualification bill. “As it stands right now, anyone can run for sheriff and get elected. This would put some guidelines on it,” said Jackson.

In other business, the commission revised the flood damage prevention ordinance and established a new road department special projects crew.