Florida Senate - 2021 SB 1810 By Senator Powell 30-00829-21 20211810__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to care for retired law enforcement 3 dogs; creating s. 943.69, F.S.; providing a short 4 title; providing legislative findings; defining terms; 5 creating the Care for Retired Law Enforcement Dogs 6 Program within the Department of Law Enforcement; 7 requiring the department to contract with a nonprofit 8 corporation to administer and manage the program; 9 specifying requirements for the nonprofit corporation; 10 specifying requirements for the disbursement of funds 11 for the veterinary care of eligible retired law 12 enforcement dogs; placing an annual cap on the amount 13 of funds available for the care of an eligible retired 14 law enforcement dog; prohibiting a former handler or 15 an adopter from accumulating unused funds from a 16 current year for use in a future year; prohibiting a 17 former handler or an adopter from receiving 18 reimbursement if funds are depleted for the year for 19 which the reimbursement is sought; requiring the 20 department to pay to the nonprofit corporation, and 21 authorizing the nonprofit corporation to use, up to a 22 certain percentage of appropriated funds for 23 administrative expenses; requiring the department to 24 adopt rules; providing an appropriation; providing an 25 effective date. 26 27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 28 29 Section 1. Section 943.69, Florida Statutes, is created to 30 read: 31 943.69 Care for Retired Law Enforcement Dogs Program.— 32 (1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Care for 33 Retired Law Enforcement Dogs Program Act.” 34 (2) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—The Legislature finds that: 35 (a) Law enforcement dogs are an integral part of many law 36 enforcement efforts statewide, including the apprehension of 37 suspects through tracking and searching, evidence location, drug 38 and bomb detection, and search and rescue operations; 39 (b) Law enforcement agencies agree that the use of law 40 enforcement dogs is an extremely cost-effective means of crime 41 control and that these dogs possess skills and abilities that 42 frequently exceed those of existing technology; 43 (c) The service of law enforcement dogs is often dangerous 44 and can expose them to injury at a rate higher than that of 45 nonservice dogs; and 46 (d) Law enforcement dogs provide significant contributions 47 to the residents of this state. 48 (3) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 49 (a) “Law enforcement agency” means a lawfully established 50 state or local public agency having primary responsibility for 51 the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of 52 penal, traffic, highway, regulatory, game, immigration, postal, 53 customs, or controlled substance laws. 54 (b) “Retired law enforcement dog” means a dog that was 55 previously in the service of or employed by a law enforcement 56 agency in this state for the principal purpose of aiding in the 57 detection of criminal activity, enforcement of laws, or 58 apprehension of offenders and that received certification in 59 obedience and apprehension work from a certifying organization, 60 such as the National Police Canine Association, Inc., or other 61 certifying organization. 62 (c) “Veterinarian” has the same meaning as in s. 474.202. 63 (d) “Veterinary care” means the practice, by a 64 veterinarian, of veterinary medicine as defined in s. 474.202. 65 The term includes annual wellness examinations, vaccinations, 66 internal and external parasite prevention treatments, testing 67 and treatment of illnesses and diseases, medications, emergency 68 care and surgeries, veterinary oncology or other specialty care, 69 euthanasia, and cremation. 70 (4) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Care for Retired Law 71 Enforcement Dogs Program is created within the department to 72 provide a stable funding source for the veterinary care these 73 dogs receive. 74 (5) ADMINISTRATION.—The department shall contract with a 75 nonprofit corporation organized under chapter 617 to administer 76 and manage the Care for Retired Law Enforcement Dogs Program. 77 Notwithstanding chapter 287, the department shall select the 78 nonprofit corporation through a competitive grant award process. 79 The nonprofit corporation must meet all of the following 80 criteria: 81 (a) Be dedicated to the protection or care of retired law 82 enforcement dogs. 83 (b) Be exempt from taxation under s. 501(a) of the Internal 84 Revenue Code as an organization described in s. 501(c)(3) of 85 that code. 86 (c) Have maintained such tax-exempt status for at least 5 87 years. 88 (d) Agree to be subject to review and audit at the 89 discretion of the Auditor General in order to ensure accurate 90 accounting and disbursement of state funds. 91 (e) Demonstrate the ability to effectively and efficiently 92 disseminate information and to assist former handlers and 93 adopters of retired law enforcement dogs in complying with this 94 section. 95 (6) FUNDING.— 96 (a) The nonprofit corporation shall be the disbursing 97 authority for funds the Legislature appropriates to the 98 department for the Care for Retired Law Enforcement Dogs 99 Program. These funds must be disbursed to the former handler or 100 the adopter of a retired law enforcement dog upon receipt of: 101 1. Valid documentation from the law enforcement agency from 102 which the dog retired which verifies that the dog was in the 103 service of or employed by that agency; and 104 2. A valid invoice from a veterinarian for veterinary care 105 provided in this state to a retired law enforcement dog and 106 documentation establishing payment of the invoice by the former 107 handler or the adopter of the retired law enforcement dog. 108 (b) Annual disbursements to a former handler or an adopter 109 to reimburse him or her for the cost of the retired law 110 enforcement dog’s veterinary care may not exceed $1,500 per dog. 111 A former handler or an adopter of a retired law enforcement dog 112 may not accumulate unused funds from a current year for use in a 113 future year. 114 (c) A former handler or an adopter of a retired law 115 enforcement dog who seeks reimbursement for veterinary care may 116 not receive reimbursement if funds appropriated for the Care for 117 Retired Law Enforcement Dogs Program are depleted in the year 118 for which the reimbursement is sought. 119 (7) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The department shall pay to 120 the nonprofit corporation, and the nonprofit corporation may 121 use, up to 10 percent of appropriated funds for its 122 administrative expenses, including salaries and benefits. 123 (8) RULEMAKING.—The department shall adopt rules pursuant 124 to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this section. 125 Section 2. For the 2021-2022 fiscal year, and each fiscal 126 year thereafter, the sum of $300,000 in recurring funds is 127 appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of 128 Law Enforcement for the purpose of implementing and 129 administering the Care for Retired Law Enforcement Dogs Program. 130 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.