Delong v. Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission

In 2012, the Legislature enacted a law that transferred the Division of Law Enforcement of the Department of Environmental Protection to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. When it transferred the Division, did the Legislature intend to terminate the permanent career service status of the law enforcement officers in the Division and require the officers to undergo a one-year probation during which they could be fired at will as if they were new employees? This case turns on legislative intent, pure and simple.

As a case turning on legislative intent, the crucial fact is that the…