The Florida Senate

943.0311  Chief of Domestic Security Initiatives; duties of the department with respect to domestic security.--

(1)  The executive director of the department, or a member of the department designated by the executive director, shall serve as the Chief of Domestic Security Initiatives. The Chief of Domestic Security Initiatives shall:

(a)  Coordinate the efforts of the department in the ongoing assessment of this state's vulnerability to, and ability to detect and respond to, acts of terrorism within or affecting this state.

(b)  Prepare recommendations for the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, which are based upon ongoing assessments to limit the vulnerability of the state to terrorism.

(c)  Coordinate the collection of proposals to limit the vulnerability of the state to terrorism.

(d)  Use regional task forces to support the duties of the department set forth in this section.

(e)  Use public or private resources to perform the duties assigned to the department under this section.

(2)  The chief shall conduct or cause to be conducted by the personnel and with the resources of the state agency, state university, or community college that owns or leases a building, facility, or structure, security assessments of buildings, facilities, and structures owned or leased by state agencies, state universities, and community colleges. Each state agency, state university, and community college shall cooperate with the department and provide the assistance of employees within existing resources to provide to the chief information in the format requested by the chief. The chief must report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives if any state agency, state university, or community college substantially fails to cooperate with the chief in making a security assessment of the buildings, facilities, and structures of the state agency, state university, or community college.

(a)  The initial assessment of each building, facility, or structure owned or leased by a state agency, state university, or community college shall be completed by the state agency, state university, or community college and shall be provided to the chief no later than November 1, 2004.

(b)  The chief may request followup assessments to ensure that the security assessments of buildings, facilities, and structures, owned or leased by state agencies, state universities, and community colleges, remain reasonably current and valid.

(3)  The chief shall report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by November 1 of each year prioritized suggestions for specific security enhancement of any building, facility, or structure owned or leased by a state agency, state university, or community college or any entity that has conducted an assessment under subsection (5). The report must identify and prioritize the recommended security enhancements and provide recommendations to maximize federal funding in support of building and facility security.

(4)  The chief shall report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives recommended best practices for safety and security of buildings, facilities, and structures owned or leased by state agencies, state universities, community colleges, and local governments. To promote the continued safety of government buildings, facilities, and structures within the state, the best practices may be revised or enhanced by the chief as necessary. The recommended best practices are not a rule as defined in chapter 120.

(5)  The chief shall communicate to local governments and water management districts the importance of conducting security assessments of buildings, facilities, and structures owned or leased by such local governments or water management districts, and the options local governments and water management districts should consider in obtaining security assessments. The cost of any security assessment of a building, facility, or structure owned or leased by a local government or water management district shall be borne by the local government or water management district, as applicable.

(6)  The chief may communicate to private entities the options private entities should consider in obtaining security assessments and may solicit private entities for the purpose of communicating such options. The cost of any security assessment of a private entity shall be borne by the private entity. Private entities are urged to cooperate with and assist the department in meeting its responsibilities for domestic security.

(7)  As used in this section, the term "state agency" includes the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Agency for Workforce Innovation, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Citrus, the Department of Community Affairs, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Education, the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Financial Services, the Department of Health, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Legal Affairs, the Department of Management Services, the Department of Military Affairs, the Department of Revenue, the Department of State, the Department of the Lottery, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Parole Commission, the State Board of Administration, and the Executive Office of the Governor.

History.--s. 3, ch. 2001-365; s. 1, ch. 2004-258.