BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Rep. Chuck Brannan appeared with a big check representing the $450,000 Bradford County will receive from the state to purchase a new fire engine.
It was one of many local needs met in the state’s budget for 2023-24.
“Sen. Bradley and I work very hard to try to acquire funds to bring back to our districts,” Brannan said. That isn’t always the case, marking a difference between northern and southern districts. “We always try to bring home dollars to our counties, and some of those folks, they’re not even concerned about that. That matters up here, and it matters to us.”
Starke, for example, was awarded $2 million toward a water and sewer extension project and $400,000 toward its City Walk downtown revitalization plan. Lawtey will receive funds to purchase a dump truck.
Brannan serves on the Legislative Budget Commission, which will meet Sept. 8, and committee week in Tallahassee will begin in less than two weeks.
Early in his legislative career, Brannan served as committee chair on gaming regulation. Now, with his experience in law enforcement, his assignments include the Justice Appropriations Subcommittee where he is chairman, the Judiciary Committee and the Criminal Justice Subcommittee.
Brannan is the only police officer out of 160 legislators, he said, joking there were three chicken farmers when he was first elected.
“Now there are certainly less chicken farmers in Florida than there are policemen,” the retired chief investigator said. The son of a chicken farmer himself, Brannan said he grew up collecting eggs by hand and shoveling manure on the unautomated farm.
“Moving chicken manure with pitchforks and shovels is a skill that has served me well in the legislature,” he joked.
While previously chairing Criminal Justice Policy, he said they passed 48 out of 300 bills submitted.
“What that means is we stopped 252 bad ideas. Sometimes, it’s not what you pass, it’s what we don’t pass, because certainly there are always ideas that come up that are not good for our citizens,” he said.
Brannan said his background gives him a unique perspective, adding his family serves the “courthouse block.” That includes his wife, Lorelie, a judge in Baker County, as well as his brother, who runs teen court, and his sister-in-law, who is a juvenile probation supervisor.
“I appreciate that the speaker recognizes that and puts me in a role that lets me help control or have some say about criminal justice policy in the state,” he said.
Justice Appropriations is important to this area as it funds the Department of Corrections. Sen. Jennifer Bradley is his counterpart in the Senate.
Brannan is also assigned to the Appropriations Committee in the House this year, as is Bradley in the Senate.
The next meeting of the Local Legislative Delegation in Bradford is tentatively set for Nov. 1.
