The Florida Senate

311.125  Uniform Port Access Credential System.--

(1)  By July 1, 2004, each seaport identified in s. 311.09 and subject to the statewide minimum seaport security standards set forth in s. 311.12 shall be required to use a Uniform Port Access Credential Card that is to be utilized in the operation of the state Uniform Port Access Credential System as required herein. All Uniform Port Access Credential Cards shall be issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to the designated port authority, or recognized governing board, of the requesting seaport for distribution to the credential applicant.

(2)(a)  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in consultation with the Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Council, the Florida Trucking Association, and the United States Transportation Security Administration shall develop a Uniform Port Access Credential System for use in onsite verification of access authority for all persons on a seaport as defined in s. 311.12(2), utilizing the Uniform Port Access Credential Card as authorized herein. Each seaport, in a manner consistent with the "Port Security Standards Compliance Plan" delivered to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate on December 11, 2000, pursuant to s. 311.12, and this section, is responsible for granting, restricting, or modifying access authority provided to each Uniform Port Access Credential Card holder and promptly communicating the levels of access or changes in the level of access to the department for its use in administering the Uniform Port Access Credential System. Each seaport is responsible for the proper operation and maintenance of the Uniform Port Access Credential Card reader and access verification utilizing the Uniform Port Access Credential System at its location. The Uniform Port Access Credential Card reader and Uniform Port Access Credential System shall be utilized by each seaport to ensure compliance with the access restrictions provided by s. 311.12

(b)  The system shall be designed to conform, as closely as possible, with criteria established by the United States Transportation Security Administration for a Transportation Worker Identification Card, or similar identification, as required by federal law. The system shall, at a minimum, consist of:

1.  A centralized, secure database for collecting and maintaining fingerprints and other biometric means of identity, and other information pertaining to personal identification of persons working on, or doing business at, a Florida seaport as set forth in s. 311.12;

2.  A methodology for receiving data from each port and transmitting data to each port regarding access permissions;

3.  Technology required for each gate and portal at each seaport to be interactive with the Uniform Port Access Credential System during all hours of operation;

4.  The ability to identify persons who have violated the access requirements of s. 311.12 and to deactivate the access permissions of those persons; and

5.  The ability to utilize the Uniform Port Access Credential Card in a manner consistent herein.

Such system shall be designed to ensure the credentialed cardholders' privacy in a manner consistent with the state's security requirements as provided herein.

(3)  The Uniform Port Access Credential Card must include at a minimum a digital fullface photograph, a digital fingerprint, a multilayered security process, a two-dimensional barcode with technology specifications that will allow the unique biometric identifiers to reside in the barcode, a unique identifying code or number, scanning capability to compare required identifiers with information on file in the central database, and background color differentials for visual identification of access permissions.

(4)  A fingerprint-based criminal history check shall be performed on an applicant for a Uniform Port Access Credential Card as provided in s. 311.12(3). Based upon review of the criminal history check, each seaport may determine the specific access permissions that will be granted to that applicant. Upon receipt of a port authority "Notification of Access Permission" form and a verification of the criminal history check, the department shall issue a Uniform Port Access Credential Card to the port authority for distribution to the applicant.

(5)  A Uniform Port Access Credential Card is valid for 4 years following the date of issuance. Criminal history checks may be performed on a random basis, but at least once a year, during the period that such credential card is active to ensure that the credential holder complies with the requirements for access to restricted areas provided in s. 311.12(3). Failure to complete any part of the required credential application process, or failure to comply with the criminal history clearances, shall be grounds for immediate denial of access. In addition to access authority granted to seaports, access authority may be restricted or revoked by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles or the Department of Law Enforcement if the cardholder is suspected of criminal violations that could affect the security of a port or that otherwise render the cardholder ineligible for port access, upon suspicion that the person in possession of the card is using it, or attempting to use it, fraudulently, or if restriction or revocation is done to assure the security of any port or portion thereof.

(6)  Corporations, persons, or other business entities that employ persons to work on, or do business at, seaports regulated in s. 311.12 shall notify those seaports for which those employees have access permissions in the event of the employee's termination, resignation, work-related incapacitation, or death. Uniform Port Access Credential Card accesses for persons not currently employed to perform a job on a seaport shall be placed in an inactive status. Upon notification of a work status change, the port authority, or recognized governing board, shall notify the department to have the credential card placed in an inactive status. Inactive status shall continue until the expiration of the credential card or reactivation of the card by petition. The former employee may have the credential card reactivated by petitioning a seaport. The port authority, or recognized governing board, of any seaport may determine that the individual is employed by another appropriate entity or is self-employed for purposes of performing work on the seaport. Upon that determination, the port authority, or recognized governing board, may request reactivation of credentialing permissions. All such cards may be restricted or revoked as provided in subsection (5).

(7)  Failure to report a change in work status, as defined in this section, within 7 days after the action may result in revocation of the business entity's access to the seaport.

(8)  Each person working on a seaport, as regulated in s. 311.12(2), shall be issued a Uniform Port Access Credential Card upon completion of the application process. Upon issuance of the Uniform Port Access Credential Card, the cardholder is eligible to enter a seaport in the system based on the level of permission allowed by each respective seaport. A person working in a restricted access area must meet the requirements of s. 311.12(3). The Uniform Port Access Credential Card shall be clearly marked for visual verification of the cardholder's permission for access to a restricted area, pursuant to subsection (3). The card must contain biometric verification of the cardholder's identity and proper access permissions. Entrance to a restricted access area, as defined in s. 311.12(2), shall require a machine check and fingerprint verification of each person's Uniform Port Access Credential Card for proper identification. Exit from any restricted access area of a seaport shall require a machine check of the credential card.

(9)  Each person not producing a Uniform Port Access Credential Card upon arrival at a restricted area of a seaport must, at a minimum, stop at a check point, show valid identification, and receive a visitor's pass in order to proceed. The visitor's pass must be plainly displayed on the person of the visitor or in the windshield of the vehicle and designate what area of the seaport may be accessed by the visitor. Failure to display the visitor's pass shall result in revocation of a worker's permission to work on the seaport. Public conveyances such as buses carrying passengers into restricted access areas must be able to verify that all passengers have legitimate business on the seaport. Procedures for implementation of this process are the responsibility of each seaport.

(10)  The price of a Uniform Port Access Credential Card shall be set by the department and shall reflect the cost of the required criminal history checks, including the cost of the initial state and federal fingerprint check and the annual criminal history check and the cost of production and issuance of the card by the department. A seaport may charge an additional administrative fee to cover the costs of issuing credentials to its employees and persons doing business at the seaport.

(11)  Each Uniform Port Access Credential Card remains the property of the State of Florida. Any person possessing such a card shall provide it to any law enforcement officer upon request. A law enforcement officer having reasonable suspicion to believe that a card is possessed or is being used in violation of law or the standards provided by this section, or in any other manner that raises a concern about the safety and security of a seaport, may seize the card. A cardholder has no cause of action against any law enforcement officer who seizes a Uniform Port Access Credential Card.

(12)  Each seaport defined in s. 311.09 and required to meet the minimum security standards set forth in s. 311.12 shall comply with technology improvement requirements for the activation of the Uniform Port Access Credential System no later than July 1, 2004. Equipment and technology requirements for the system shall be specified by the department no later than July 1, 2003. The system shall be implemented at the earliest possible time that all seaports have active technology in place, but no later than July 1, 2004.

(13)  The "Port Security Standards Compliance Plan" delivered to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate on December 11, 2000, pursuant to s. 311.12, shall be updated by the Department of Law Enforcement to reflect the changes made by this act.

(14)  This section shall be contingent on the receipt of the federal grant funds necessary to implement the Uniform Port Access Credential System.

History.--s. 2, ch. 2003-96; s. 33, ch. 2005-2.