After Being Understaffed for Decades, FL Highway Patrol Seeking Pay Increase

(Tallahassee, FL) -- After being understaffed for decades, the Florida Highway Patrol is seeking a pay increase. The troopers' union says larger raises and more investment in retention efforts are needed for the Highway Patrol to grow. It's asking lawmakers to raise starting pay from 60-thousand to 70-thousand dollars a year, as well as to give a ten-thousand-dollar raise to all officers. According to the state, Florida troopers have the 12th-lowest starting salary in the nation, but the union claims it ranks 2nd-lowest in the country. Along with the newly assigned immigration assignments, Troopers patrol Florida's freeways and take part in natural disaster as well as other emergency missions across the state.