Senate Bill sb0084c1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2001 CS for SB 84
By the Committee on Criminal Justice and Senator Meek
307-1555-01
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to law enforcement; creating s.
3 943.1759, F.S.; creating the Florida Motorist
4 Profiling Evaluation Task Force; providing
5 duties of the task force; providing membership,
6 terms, and organization; providing an
7 appropriation; providing an effective date.
8
9 WHEREAS, in a free society, law enforcement agencies
10 are entrusted with the protection of the civil rights of all
11 citizens, and that protection is expected of every law
12 enforcement agency by each citizen, and
13 WHEREAS, the Legislature, the Attorney General, the
14 Florida Sheriffs Association, the Florida Police Chiefs
15 Association, the National Association for the Advancement of
16 Colored People, the American Civil Liberties Union, the
17 Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Florida Highway
18 Patrol agree that bias, whether real or perceived, is
19 detrimental to the relationship between law enforcement and
20 the public, and
21 WHEREAS, the aforementioned groups encourage the
22 Florida law enforcement community, in conjunction with local
23 officials and community organizations, to conduct open
24 dialogue and discussion on the topics of police integrity and
25 mutual respect between citizens and the law enforcement
26 community and to produce guidelines, procedures, and training
27 programs that prohibit biased law enforcement practices or any
28 other type of discriminatory law enforcement practices, and
29 WHEREAS, the Legislature supports empirically based
30 practical efforts that will strengthen trust between Florida's
31 law enforcement community and all Floridians, NOW, THEREFORE,
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2001 CS for SB 84
307-1555-01
1 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
2
3 Section 1. Section 943.1759, Florida Statutes, is
4 created to read:
5 943.1759 Florida Motorist Profiling Evaluation Task
6 Force.--
7 (1) There is created the Florida Motorist Profiling
8 Evaluation Task Force.--
9 (2) The task force has the following duties:
10 (a) To identify practices currently used by state and
11 local law enforcement agencies of this state in making motor
12 vehicle traffic stops;
13 (b) To identify and recommend changes to address
14 deficiencies, if any, in such current practices;
15 (c) To recommend best practices and policies and
16 procedures that may be adopted by state or local law
17 enforcement agencies of this state to prevent bias profiling
18 and discriminatory practices from serving as a primary factor
19 in determining whether the driver of a motor vehicle should be
20 stopped for a routine traffic violation; and
21 (d) To report its findings and recommendations to the
22 Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
23 House of Representatives, and the majority and minority
24 leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives by
25 January 1, 2002. The recommendations must specifically include
26 recommendations, including proposed legislation, for assuring
27 that law enforcement agencies' policies for motor vehicle
28 traffic stops are free of bias profiling.
29 (3) The task force shall have 12 members as follows;
30 members may not delegate their duties to attend meetings of
31
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2001 CS for SB 84
307-1555-01
1 the task force and to vote on any matter before the task force
2 to any other person:
3 (a) The Attorney General.
4 (b) The president of the Florida Sheriffs Association.
5 (c) The president of the Florida Police Chiefs
6 Association.
7 (d) One member of the Florida Highway Patrol, to be
8 appointed by the Governor.
9 (e) One member of the Florida Department of Law
10 Enforcement, to be appointed by the Governor.
11 (f) One member of the Florida Commission on Human
12 Relations, to be appointed by the Governor.
13 (g) The executive director of the American Civil
14 Liberties Union of Florida.
15 (h) The state president of the National Association
16 for the Advancement of Colored People.
17 (i) One member of the House of Representatives, to be
18 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
19 (j) One member of the Senate, to be appointed by the
20 President of the Senate.
21 (k) One member of the House of Representatives, to be
22 appointed by the minority leader of the House of
23 Representatives.
24 (l) One member of the Senate, to be appointed by the
25 minority leader of the Senate.
26 (4) The Attorney General shall serve as the chair of
27 the task force. Members of the task force must be appointed
28 within 30 days after the effective date of this act, and the
29 task force must hold its first meeting within 60 days after
30 the effective date of this act. In the event of a vacancy, the
31
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2001 CS for SB 84
307-1555-01
1 person who made the original appointment shall appoint a new
2 member to fill the vacancy.
3 (5) Staffing shall be provided to the task force by
4 the Department of Legal Affairs. Technical assistance may be
5 provided to the task force by the Department of Law
6 Enforcement, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
7 Vehicles, and the Division of the Florida Highway Patrol.
8 (6) Members of the task force shall serve without
9 compensation but are entitled to per diem and travel expenses
10 as provided in s. 112.061. Members of the task force shall
11 receive per diem and travel expenses from the budgets of their
12 respective agencies, except that the members of the task force
13 appointed pursuant to paragraphs (2)(g) and (h) shall receive
14 per diem and travel expenses from the budget of the Office of
15 the Attorney General to the extent that resources will permit.
16 (7) The task force may appoint subcommittees that
17 include persons who are knowledgeable in a subject area
18 pertinent to the subject areas identified in subsection (2)
19 but are not members of the task force and may not vote as
20 such.
21 (8) The task force may seek support in the form of
22 grants and technical assistance from the United States
23 Department of Justice and other applicable federal agencies in
24 furtherance of its duties as provided in this act.
25 (9) The task force is abolished April 1, 2002.
26 Section 2. There is appropriated from the General
27 Revenue Fund to the Department of Legal Affairs the sum of
28 $100,000 to carry out the purposes of this act and the duties
29 of the Florida Motorist Profiling Evaluation Task Force.
30 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
31 law.
4
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2001 CS for SB 84
307-1555-01
1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 Senate Bill 84
3
4 - Revises duties of Florida Motorist Profiling Evaluation
Task Force.
5
- Changes date for reporting findings and recommendations
6 to the Legislature and Governor and for abolishing task
force.
7
- Eliminates data collection requirements.
8
- Eliminates authorization for designees of appointed
9 members of task force to serve instead of appointed
members.
10
- Reduces appropriation to $100,000.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
5
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.