Bill Text: FL S0576 | 2024 | Regular Session | Comm Sub


Bill Title: Law Enforcement and Correctional Officers

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-03-01 - Laid on Table, refer to HB 601 [S0576 Detail]

Download: Florida-2024-S0576-Comm_Sub.html
       Florida Senate - 2024                              CS for SB 576
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Ingoglia
       
       
       
       
       
       578-03042-24                                           2024576c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to law enforcement and correctional
    3         officers; creating s. 30.61, F.S.; authorizing county
    4         sheriffs to establish civilian oversight boards to
    5         review the policies and procedures of the sheriff’s
    6         office and its subdivisions; providing for membership
    7         of such boards; amending s. 112.533, F.S.; providing
    8         legislative intent; revising the definition of
    9         “political subdivision”; prohibiting a political
   10         subdivision from adopting or attempting to enforce
   11         certain ordinances relating to the receipt,
   12         processing, or investigation of complaints against law
   13         enforcement officers or correctional officers, or
   14         relating to civilian oversight of law enforcement
   15         agency investigations of complaints of misconduct by
   16         such officers; making technical changes; amending s.
   17         112.532, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; making
   18         technical changes; creating s. 166.0486, F.S.;
   19         authorizing the chief of a municipal police department
   20         to establish a civilian oversight board to review the
   21         policies and procedures of the chief’s department and
   22         its subdivisions; providing for membership of such
   23         boards; providing an effective date.
   24          
   25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   26  
   27         Section 1. Section 30.61, Florida Statutes, is created to
   28  read:
   29         30.61 Establishment of civilian oversight boards.—
   30         (1)A county sheriff may establish a civilian oversight
   31  board to review the policies and procedures of his or her office
   32  and its subdivisions.
   33         (2)The board must be composed of at least three and up to
   34  seven members appointed by the sheriff.
   35         Section 2. Section 112.533, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   36  read:
   37         112.533 Receipt and processing of complaints.—
   38         (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to make the process
   39  for receiving, processing, and investigation of complaints
   40  against law enforcement or correctional officers, and the rights
   41  and privileges provided in this part while under investigation,
   42  apply uniformly throughout this state and its political
   43  subdivisions.
   44         (2)As used in this section, the term “political
   45  subdivision” means a separate agency or unit of local government
   46  created or established by law or ordinance and the officers
   47  thereof and includes, but is not limited to, an authority, a
   48  board, a branch, a bureau, a city, a commission, a consolidated
   49  government, a county, a department, a district, an institution,
   50  a metropolitan government, a municipality, an office, an
   51  officer, a public corporation, a town, or a village.
   52         (3)A political subdivision may not adopt or attempt to
   53  enforce any ordinance relating to either of the following:
   54         (a)The receipt, processing, or investigation by any
   55  political subdivision of this state of complaints of misconduct
   56  by law enforcement or correctional officers, except as expressly
   57  provided in this section.
   58         (b)Civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies’
   59  investigations of complaints of misconduct by law enforcement or
   60  correctional officers.
   61         (4)(a) Every law enforcement agency and correctional agency
   62  shall establish and put into operation a system for the receipt,
   63  investigation, and determination of complaints received by such
   64  agency from any person, which must shall be the procedure for
   65  investigating a complaint against a law enforcement or and
   66  correctional officer and for determining whether to proceed with
   67  disciplinary action or to file disciplinary charges,
   68  notwithstanding any other law or ordinance to the contrary. When
   69  law enforcement or correctional agency personnel assigned the
   70  responsibility of investigating the complaint prepare an
   71  investigative report or summary, regardless of form, the person
   72  preparing the report shall, at the time the report is completed:
   73         1. Verify pursuant to s. 92.525 that the contents of the
   74  report are true and accurate based upon the person’s personal
   75  knowledge, information, and belief.
   76         2. Include the following statement, sworn and subscribed to
   77  pursuant to s. 92.525:
   78  
   79  “I, the undersigned, do hereby swear, under penalty of perjury,
   80  that, to the best of my personal knowledge, information, and
   81  belief, I have not knowingly or willfully deprived, or allowed
   82  another to deprive, the subject of the investigation of any of
   83  the rights contained in ss. 112.532 and 112.533, Florida
   84  Statutes.”
   85  
   86  The requirements of subparagraphs 1. and 2. must shall be
   87  completed before prior to the determination as to whether to
   88  proceed with disciplinary action or to file disciplinary
   89  charges. This subsection does not preclude the Criminal Justice
   90  Standards and Training Commission from exercising its authority
   91  under chapter 943.
   92         (b)1. Any political subdivision that initiates or receives
   93  a complaint against a law enforcement officer or correctional
   94  officer shall must within 5 business days forward the complaint
   95  to the employing agency of the officer who is the subject of the
   96  complaint for review or investigation.
   97         2. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “political
   98  subdivision” means a separate agency or unit of local government
   99  created or established by law or ordinance and the officers
  100  thereof and includes, but is not limited to, an authority,
  101  board, branch, bureau, city, commission, consolidated
  102  government, county, department, district, institution,
  103  metropolitan government, municipality, office, officer, public
  104  corporation, town, or village.
  105  
  106  Notwithstanding the rights and privileges provided under this
  107  part or any provisions provided in a collective bargaining
  108  agreement, the agency head or the agency head’s designee may
  109  request a sworn or certified investigator from a separate law
  110  enforcement or correctional agency to conduct the investigation
  111  when a conflict is identified with having an investigator
  112  conduct the investigation of an officer of the same employing
  113  agency; the employing agency does not have an investigator
  114  trained to conduct such investigations; or the agency’s
  115  investigator is the subject of, or a witness in, the
  116  investigation and such agency is composed of any combination of
  117  35 or fewer law enforcement officers or correctional officers.
  118  The employing agency must document the identified conflict. Upon
  119  completion of the investigation, the investigator shall present
  120  the findings without any disciplinary recommendation to the
  121  employing agency.
  122         (5)(a)(2)(a) A complaint filed against a law enforcement
  123  officer or correctional officer with a law enforcement agency or
  124  correctional agency and all information obtained pursuant to the
  125  investigation by the agency of the complaint is confidential and
  126  exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) until the
  127  investigation ceases to be active, or until the agency head or
  128  the agency head’s designee provides written notice to the
  129  officer who is the subject of the complaint, either personally
  130  or by mail, that the agency has concluded the investigation with
  131  either a finding:
  132         1. Concluded the investigation with a finding Not to
  133  proceed with disciplinary action or to file charges; or
  134         2. Concluded the investigation with a finding To proceed
  135  with disciplinary action or to file charges.
  136  
  137  Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the officer who is the
  138  subject of the complaint, along with legal counsel or any other
  139  representative of his or her choice, may review the complaint
  140  and all statements regardless of form made by the complainant
  141  and witnesses and all existing evidence, including, but not
  142  limited to, incident reports, analyses, GPS locator information,
  143  and audio or video recordings relating to the investigation,
  144  immediately before beginning the investigative interview. All
  145  statements, regardless of form, provided by a law enforcement
  146  officer or correctional officer during the course of a complaint
  147  investigation of that officer must shall be made under oath
  148  pursuant to s. 92.525. Knowingly false statements given by a law
  149  enforcement officer or correctional officer under investigation
  150  may subject the law enforcement officer or correctional officer
  151  to prosecution for perjury. If a witness to a complaint is
  152  incarcerated in a correctional facility and may be under the
  153  supervision of, or have contact with, the officer under
  154  investigation, only the names and written statements of the
  155  complainant and nonincarcerated witnesses may be reviewed by the
  156  officer under investigation immediately before prior to the
  157  beginning of the investigative interview.
  158         (b) This subsection does not apply to any public record
  159  which is exempt from public disclosure pursuant to chapter 119.
  160  For the purposes of this subsection, an investigation is shall
  161  be considered active as long as it is continuing with a
  162  reasonable, good faith anticipation that an administrative
  163  finding will be made in the foreseeable future. An investigation
  164  is shall be presumed to be inactive if no finding is made within
  165  45 days after the complaint is filed.
  166         (c) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, the
  167  complaint and information must shall be available to law
  168  enforcement agencies, correctional agencies, and state attorneys
  169  in the conduct of a lawful criminal investigation.
  170         (6)(3) A law enforcement officer or correctional officer
  171  has the right to review his or her official personnel file at
  172  any reasonable time under the supervision of the designated
  173  records custodian. A law enforcement officer or correctional
  174  officer may attach to the file a concise statement in response
  175  to any items included in the file identified by the officer as
  176  derogatory, and copies of such items must be made available to
  177  the officer.
  178         (7)(4) Any person who is a participant in an internal
  179  investigation, including the complainant, the subject of the
  180  investigation and the subject’s legal counsel or a
  181  representative of his or her choice, the investigator conducting
  182  the investigation, and any witnesses in the investigation, who
  183  willfully discloses any information obtained pursuant to the
  184  agency’s investigation, including, but not limited to, the
  185  identity of the officer under investigation, the nature of the
  186  questions asked, information revealed, or documents furnished in
  187  connection with a confidential internal investigation of an
  188  agency, before such complaint, document, action, or proceeding
  189  becomes a public record as provided in this section commits a
  190  misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
  191  775.082 or s. 775.083. However, this subsection does not limit a
  192  law enforcement or correctional officer’s ability to gain access
  193  to information under paragraph (5)(a) (2)(a). Additionally, a
  194  sheriff, police chief, or other head of a law enforcement
  195  agency, or his or her designee, is not precluded by this section
  196  from acknowledging the existence of a complaint and the fact
  197  that an investigation is underway.
  198         Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
  199  112.532, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  200         112.532 Law enforcement officers’ and correctional
  201  officers’ rights.—All law enforcement officers and correctional
  202  officers employed by or appointed to a law enforcement agency or
  203  a correctional agency shall have the following rights and
  204  privileges:
  205         (4) NOTICE OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION; COPY OF AND OPPORTUNITY
  206  TO ADDRESS CONTENTS OF INVESTIGATIVE FILE; CONFIDENTIALITY.—
  207         (b) Notwithstanding s. 112.533(5) s. 112.533(2), whenever a
  208  law enforcement officer or correctional officer is subject to
  209  disciplinary action consisting of suspension with loss of pay,
  210  demotion, or dismissal, the officer or the officer’s
  211  representative must shall, upon request, be provided with a
  212  complete copy of the investigative file, including the final
  213  investigative report and all evidence, and with the opportunity
  214  to address the findings in the report with the employing law
  215  enforcement agency before imposing disciplinary action
  216  consisting of suspension with loss of pay, demotion, or
  217  dismissal. The contents of the complaint and investigation must
  218  shall remain confidential until such time as the employing law
  219  enforcement agency makes a final determination whether or not to
  220  issue a notice of disciplinary action consisting of suspension
  221  with loss of pay, demotion, or dismissal. This paragraph does
  222  not provide law enforcement officers with a property interest or
  223  expectancy of continued employment, employment, or appointment
  224  as a law enforcement officer.
  225         Section 4. Section 166.0486, Florida Statutes, is created
  226  to read:
  227         166.0486 Establishment of civilian oversight boards.—
  228         (1)The chief of a municipal police department may
  229  establish a civilian oversight board to review the policies and
  230  procedures of his or her department and its subdivisions.
  231         (2)The board must be composed of at least three and up to
  232  seven members appointed by the chief of the municipal police
  233  department.
  234         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.

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