Florida House issues subpoenas in probe of Parkland shooting

The Florida House voted Wednesday to issue subpoenas to several local governments in Broward and Palm Beach counties and the city of Coral Springs as it escalated its investigation of how all local governments handled the Parkland shooting.

House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, signed the subpoenas moments after an unrecorded House vote.

The subpoenas seek extensive records from the Broward Sheriff's Office, Broward County School Board, Broward County government, Palm Beach Sheriff's Office and city of Coral Springs, Parkland's neighbor, to "aid in our evaluation of what went wrong," said Rep. Larry Metz, R-Yalaha, chairman of the House Public Integrity & Ethics Committee.

All records are due by next Tuesday, March 6. But Democrats peppered Metz with questions, asking how the subpoenas would be enforced if they are not provided by the time the session is scheduled to end on March 9.

Some Democrats also wonder why the House hasn't subpoenaed records of the Department of Children and Families, which also dealt with the accused mass murderer, Nikolas Cruz. Metz said that DCF, as a state agency, is already under legislative oversight.

It was the second time this session that Corcoran has used the House's subpoena power. At the outset of the session, the House issued subpoenas on state tourism vendor C. Patrick Roberts, which a judge partially quashed earlier this month.

Under the Florida Constitution, the House can impose fines of $1,000 a day and can imprison the subpoena targets, but only when the chamber is in session.