House Bill 0177

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 177

        By Representative Hill






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to traffic infraction data;

  3         creating the Florida Traffic Stop Evaluation

  4         Task Force; providing duties of the task force;

  5         providing membership, terms, and organization;

  6         requiring specified information to be reported

  7         and compiled by the Florida Highway Patrol,

  8         county sheriffs' departments, and municipal law

  9         enforcement departments for a 1-year period;

10         providing for the submission of data to the

11         Office of the Attorney General; requiring the

12         Office of the Attorney General to submit data

13         and analysis to the task force; requiring a

14         final report; providing an appropriation;

15         providing an effective date.

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17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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19         Section 1.  Florida Traffic Stop Evaluation Task

20  Force.--There is created the Florida Traffic Stop Evaluation

21  Task Force.

22         (1)  The task force shall have the following duties:

23         (a)  To conduct a study of the practices currently

24  utilized by law enforcement agencies of the state in making

25  motor vehicle traffic stops.

26         (b)  To analyze and draw conclusions from data

27  submitted by the various law enforcement agencies of the state

28  as required under section 2.

29         (c)  To report its findings and recommendations to the

30  Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 177

    504-160C-00






  1  House of Representatives, and the minority leaders of the

  2  Senate and the House of Representatives by September 1, 2001.

  3         (2)  The task force shall be composed of seven members

  4  as follows:

  5         (a)  The Attorney General or the Attorney General's

  6  designee.

  7         (b)  One member of the Florida Sheriffs Association to

  8  be appointed by the Governor.

  9         (c)  One member of the Florida Police Chiefs

10  Association to be appointed by the Governor.

11         (d)  One member of the Florida Highway Patrol to be

12  appointed by the Governor.

13         (e)  One at-large member who shall be a representative

14  of the American Civil Liberties Union to be appointed by the

15  Governor.

16         (f)  One member of the House of Representatives to be

17  appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

18         (g)  One member of the Senate to be appointed by the

19  President of the Senate.

20         (3)  The Governor shall appoint the chair of the task

21  force. All appointments shall be made within 30 days after the

22  effective date of this act.  Members of the task force shall

23  serve for a 1-year term to begin September 1, 2000.  In the

24  event of a vacancy, the person who made the original

25  appointment shall appoint a new member to fill the vacancy.

26         (4)  Staffing shall be provided to the task force by

27  the Office of the Attorney General.  Technical assistance may

28  be provided to the task force by the Department of Law

29  Enforcement, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor

30  Vehicles, and the Division of the Florida Highway Patrol.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 177

    504-160C-00






  1         (5)  Members of the task force shall serve without

  2  compensation, but are entitled to per diem and travel expenses

  3  as provided in s. 112.061, Florida Statutes.  Members of the

  4  task force shall receive per diem and travel expenses from the

  5  budgets of their respective agencies, except that the at-large

  6  member of the task force appointed pursuant to paragraph

  7  (2)(e) shall receive per diem and travel expenses from the

  8  budget of the Office of the Attorney General to the extent

  9  that resources will permit.

10         (6)  The task force may appoint subcommittees that

11  include persons who are knowledgeable in a subject area

12  pertinent to the study conducted by the task force but are not

13  members of the task force and may not vote as such.

14         Section 2.  Traffic stop data reporting requirements.--

15         (1)  Beginning July 1, 2000, and continuing through

16  June 30, 2001, whenever any officer of the Florida Highway

17  Patrol, a county sheriff's department, or a municipal law

18  enforcement department causes the operator of a motor vehicle

19  being operated on any street or highway in the state to stop

20  the motor vehicle, the law enforcement officer must obtain and

21  record all of the following data:

22         (a)  A description of the motor vehicle, including its

23  manufacturer.

24         (b)  The identifying numerals, letters, or combination

25  of numerals and letters that appear on the motor vehicle's

26  license plate.

27         (c)  The race, age, and gender of the motor vehicle

28  operator and all other occupants of the motor vehicle.

29         (d)  The exact location and time at which the traffic

30  stop occurred.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 177

    504-160C-00






  1         (e)  The alleged traffic violation that was the basis

  2  for the traffic stop.

  3         (f)  Whether the traffic stop resulted in a search of

  4  the motor vehicle or its occupants, the rationale for the

  5  search, and how the search was instituted.

  6         (g)  The nature of any contraband that was discovered

  7  in the course of a search.

  8         (h)  Whether any oral or written warning, ticket, or

  9  citation was issued or an arrest was made as a result of the

10  traffic stop.

11         (i)  Whether any items were seized for forfeiture.

12         (2)  The Florida Highway Patrol, each county sheriff's

13  department within the state, and each municipal law

14  enforcement department within the state shall transmit the

15  data collected pursuant to subsection (1) monthly to the

16  Office of the Attorney General beginning on August 7, 2000,

17  and ending on July 7, 2001.  Each law enforcement agency must

18  report the data to the Office of the Attorney General by the

19  means and in the form that the Office of the Attorney General

20  determines is most efficient and maximizes the utility of the

21  data.  Monthly submissions of data to the Office of the

22  Attorney General shall be made by the 7th day of each month

23  during the 1-year reporting period.

24         (3)  After collecting the data submitted from the

25  various law enforcement agencies of the state, the Attorney

26  General shall transmit the cumulative data to the Florida

27  Traffic Stop Evaluation Task Force by the last day of each

28  month.  The Office of the Attorney General shall submit a

29  quarterly analysis of the data submitted pursuant to

30  subsection (2) beginning on November 15, 2000.  The quarterly

31  analysis shall include, at a minimum:

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 177

    504-160C-00






  1         (a)  The total number of motor vehicles stopped by law

  2  enforcement officers during the quarterly period.

  3         (b)  The number and percentage of those motor vehicle

  4  operators stopped during the quarterly period who are members

  5  of a racial or ethnic minority.

  6         (c)  A comparison of the percentage indicated for each

  7  racial or ethnic minority group in paragraph (b) to the

  8  percentage the racial or ethnic minority bears to the total

  9  population of the state.

10         (d)  A statement as to the benefit of traffic stops

11  with regard to the interdiction of drugs and proceeds of drug

12  trafficking, including the approximate quantity and street

13  value of seized drugs and the value of drug trafficking

14  proceeds.

15         (4)  The Office of the Attorney General shall submit to

16  the task force, no later than August 15, 2001, a final report

17  consisting of an overall analysis of the data submitted during

18  the 1-year reporting period, and the findings and conclusions

19  of the Office of the Attorney General.  The report may also

20  contain any other information the Office of the Attorney

21  General determines is of assistance in understanding the data,

22  the analysis, and the conclusions.

23         Section 3.  There is hereby appropriated from the

24  General Revenue Fund to the Office of Civil Rights within the

25  Department of Legal Affairs the sum of $150,000 to fund two

26  OPS positions within the Office of Civil Rights and to carry

27  out the purposes of this act and the duties of the Florida

28  Traffic Stop Evaluation Task Force.

29         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

30  law.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 177

    504-160C-00






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  2                          HOUSE SUMMARY

  3
      Creates the Florida Traffic Stop Evaluation Task Force
  4    for the purpose of conducting a study of the practices
      and procedures currently utilized by state, county, and
  5    municipal law enforcement officers in stopping operators
      of motor vehicles on the highways of the state.  Provides
  6    membership, terms, and organization of the task force.
      Requires specified information to be reported and
  7    compiled by the Florida Highway Patrol, county sheriffs'
      departments, and municipal law enforcement departments
  8    for a 1-year period beginning July 1, 2000, and ending
      June 30, 2001.  Provides for the submission of such data
  9    to the Office of the Attorney General for collection and
      analysis.  Requires the Office of the Attorney General to
10    submit the data and analysis to the task force.  Requires
      final reports from the Office of the Attorney General and
11    the task force. Provides a $150,000 appropriation to
      carry out the provisions of the act.
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