Three months after the deadliest mass shooting in American history occurred in Orlando, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is preparing to create new counterterrorism squads charged with foiling future plots.

  • Plans for 8 FDLE counterterrorism squads
  • Cost: $6.2 million
  • Meant to handle hyper-local communication related to terror plots
  • #ONEORLANDO: Complete Coverage

An FDLE official on Friday confirmed the agency's intention to ask the legislature to fund 46 new positions devoted to counterterrorism.

Sources close to the agency say the proposal is expected to cost $6.2 million and that eight regional squads would be created.

The counterterrorism squads would mirror surveillance efforts by federal authorities. Critics, including Gov. Rick Scott, have questioned why the FBI ceased its investigation of Omar Mateen, the gunman responsible for killing 49 people and wounding 53 others at the Pulse nightclub on June 12.

While Mateen's links to the Islamic State terrorist organization were tenable, Scott has also pressed the Obama administration to take a stronger stand against homegrown terrorism.

"How many more times does the evil of radical Islamic terrorism have to occur before the president of the United States will muster the courage to face the truth?" Scott asked at the Republican National Convention in July.

Through the squads, FDLE officials would play a bigger role in monitoring hyper-local communication that could yield leads in relation to planned terror plots. Much of the communication, security experts say, could easily be missed by federal agencies juggling larger portfolios.

"(Gov. Scott) criticizes the feds all the time, but there's also a lot that he can do on the ground level," said Florida policy consultant Trimmel Gomes. "The feds are saying, you know, oftentimes you have the option to pursue initiatives that they have recommended that the state has not followed."

The FDLE's counterterrorism squad funding request will be considered by lawmakers during the 2017 legislative session, which begins in March.