(NewsNation) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Friday that would prevent civilian review boards from investigating local law enforcement.

Instead, under HB 601, sheriffs and police chiefs would be allowed to create their own boards to look at policies and procedures at their agencies. At least one person on the three to seven-member board is required to be a retired law enforcement officer.

While civilian review boards could still meet, they would be prohibited from probing any complaints against police or initiating disciplinary proceedings.

Several groups are questioning the move, including the ACLU of Florida. 

NR Hines, the policy strategist at Florida’s ACLU, said it invalidates the work local communities did to increase trust between residents and law enforcement. 

“At a time where society’s perception of law enforcement varies widely, not surprising due to the lived experiences of marginalized communities, improving the public sentiment of law enforcement through local initiatives should be a top priority of this legislature,” Hines said. “Unfortunately, the only solution the legislature sees is to once again remove local power, while they continue to waste our tax dollars on bad policies that restrict our freedoms and undermine our democracy.” 

However, DeSantis said at a news conference that civilian review boards are politically motivated. 

“We don’t think that will contribute to public safety at all,” DeSantis said. “If you have review boards, that’s fine, but it’s gotta be done in ways that you have sheriffs and chiefs of police appointing people, because the sheriffs and chiefs of police, they have an interest in ensuring that their personnel are conducting themselves appropriately as well. Good order and discipline is very important, but it can’t be people that have an agenda.”

Hines, though, in the statement said civilian review boards were created to be unbiased and represent all residents.

“(Civilian Review Boards) pose no threat to law-abiding officers and are designed to have a specific scope of work,” Hines said in a February statement. 

The Tampa Bay Times reports that there are at least 21 cities in Florida with civilian review boards.

Also signed by DeSantis Friday was SB 184, which “prohibits a person, after receiving a warning not to approach from a first responder who is engaged in the lawful performance of a legal duty, from violating such warning and approaching or remaining within a specified distance of the first responder with specified intent.”

It would make it a misdemeanor for someone to get within 25 feet of the officer in the above circumstance.

The First Amendment Foundation called the bill “blatantly unconstitutional,” according to Florida Phoenix.

“We appreciate the importance of protecting first responders but are concerned that the bill prevents citizens from going near or filming first responders within 25 feet if told not to approach,” the First Amendment Foundation wrote. “This bill would undermine citizen journalists and could allow for undocumented police misconduct.”

NewsNation will stream the news conference in the player above.