The Florida Senate

943.356  Duties of council.--The council shall provide advice and make recommendations, as necessary, to the executive director of the department to ensure proper fiscal accountability of state funding and the effective operation of the crime laboratories and to promote coordination and cooperation between the members of the statewide criminal analysis laboratory system in order to achieve a coordinated statewide system. Specific areas of advisory responsibility include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1)  Establishment of the fiscal and auditing process for budget requests and state funding distribution.

(2)  Development of guidelines and standards for inclusion of additional laboratories into the system.

(3)  Evaluation of forensic science training and development programs.

(4)  Consideration of laboratory safety and health issues.

(5)  Assessment of the crime laboratory service needs of criminal justice agencies and the effectiveness of existing services.

(6)  Distribution of workload and crime laboratory resources to meet exceptional situations.

(7)  Collaboration with an advisory committee of leaders of the statewide criminal analysis laboratory system in technical and operational matters of mutual concern.

(8)  Offering recommendations on laws, policies, and procedures to improve the operations of member laboratories of the statewide system.

(9)  Promotion of coordination, cooperation, and standardization between the various state and locally operated laboratories.

(10)  Recommendation of standards of education and experience for professional and technical personnel employed by the state and locally operated laboratories.

History.--ss. 5, 7, ch. 88-324; s. 5, ch. 91-429.