| 1 | The Committee on Public Safety & Crime Prevention recommends the |
| 2 | following: |
| 3 |
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| 4 | Committee Substitute |
| 5 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 6 | A bill to be entitled |
| 7 | An act relating to water management district security; |
| 8 | creating s. 373.6055, F.S.; authorizing water management |
| 9 | districts to conduct criminal history checks of certain |
| 10 | persons with regular access to restricted access areas; |
| 11 | requiring such checks to be done according to a water |
| 12 | management district security plan; requiring checks to be |
| 13 | conducted at specified intervals; providing procedure for |
| 14 | filing fingerprints with the Department of Law Enforcement |
| 15 | and the Federal Bureau of Investigation; providing for |
| 16 | payment of costs of fingerprinting; requiring the water |
| 17 | management district security plan to list certain |
| 18 | convictions which will disqualify certain persons from |
| 19 | access to restricted access areas; providing that |
| 20 | procedures for appeals be included in the water management |
| 21 | district security plan; authorizing access to restricted |
| 22 | areas under certain circumstances by persons who have been |
| 23 | convicted of specified offenses; authorizing water |
| 24 | management districts to develop and implement security |
| 25 | plans; requiring governing board approval of such plans; |
| 26 | providing an effective date. |
| 27 |
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| 28 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 29 |
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| 30 | Section 1. Section 373.6055, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 31 | to read: |
| 32 | 373.6055 Criminal history checks for certain water |
| 33 | management district employees and others.-- |
| 34 | (1) A water management district is authorized to conduct a |
| 35 | fingerprint-based criminal history check for any current or |
| 36 | prospective employee and other persons designated pursuant to |
| 37 | the water management district security plan if those persons are |
| 38 | allowed regular access to critical facilities or structures |
| 39 | defined in the water management district security plan as |
| 40 | restricted access areas. |
| 41 | (2)(a) The fingerprint-based criminal history check shall |
| 42 | be performed on any person described in subsection (1) pursuant |
| 43 | to the applicable water management district security plan. The |
| 44 | criminal history check shall be performed at least once every 5 |
| 45 | years or at other more frequent intervals as provided by the |
| 46 | water management district security plan. Each person subject to |
| 47 | the criminal history check shall file a complete set of |
| 48 | fingerprints taken in a manner required by the Department of Law |
| 49 | Enforcement and the water management district security plan. |
| 50 | Fingerprints shall be submitted to the Department of Law |
| 51 | Enforcement for state processing and to the Federal Bureau of |
| 52 | Investigation for federal processing. The results of each |
| 53 | fingerprint-based check shall be reported to the requesting |
| 54 | water management district. The costs of the checks, consistent |
| 55 | with s. 943.053(3), shall be paid by the water management |
| 56 | district or other employing entity or by the person checked. |
| 57 | (b) Each water management district security plan shall |
| 58 | identify criminal convictions or other criminal history factors |
| 59 | consistent with paragraph (c) which shall disqualify a person |
| 60 | from either initial employment or authorization for regular |
| 61 | access to facilities or structures defined in the water |
| 62 | management district security plan as restricted access areas. |
| 63 | Such factors shall be used to disqualify all applicants for |
| 64 | employment or others seeking regular access to facilities or |
| 65 | structures defined in the water management district security |
| 66 | plan as restricted access areas on or after the effective date |
| 67 | of the water management district security plan, and may be used |
| 68 | to disqualify all those employed or authorized for regular |
| 69 | access on that date. Each water management district security |
| 70 | plan may establish a procedure to appeal a denial of employment |
| 71 | or access based upon procedural inaccuracies or discrepancies |
| 72 | regarding criminal history factors established pursuant to this |
| 73 | paragraph. A water management district may allow waivers on a |
| 74 | temporary basis to meet special or emergency needs of the water |
| 75 | management district or its users. Policies, procedures, and |
| 76 | criteria for implementation of this subsection shall be included |
| 77 | in the water management district security plan. |
| 78 | (c) In addition to other requirements for employment or |
| 79 | access established by any water management district pursuant to |
| 80 | its water management district security plan, each water |
| 81 | management district security plan shall provide that: |
| 82 | 1. Any person who has within the past 7 years been |
| 83 | convicted, regardless of whether adjudication was withheld, for |
| 84 | a forcible felony as defined in s. 776.08; an act of terrorism |
| 85 | as defined in s. 775.30; planting of a hoax bomb as provided in |
| 86 | s. 790.165; any violation involving the manufacture, possession, |
| 87 | sale, delivery, display, use, or attempted or threatened use of |
| 88 | a weapon of mass destruction or hoax weapon of mass destruction |
| 89 | as provided in s. 790.166; dealing in stolen property; burglary; |
| 90 | robbery; any felony violation of s. 812.014; any violation of s. |
| 91 | 790.07; any crime an element of which includes use or possession |
| 92 | of a firearm; any conviction for any similar offenses under the |
| 93 | laws of another jurisdiction; or conviction for conspiracy to |
| 94 | commit any of the listed offenses shall not be qualified for |
| 95 | initial employment within or regular access to facilities or |
| 96 | structures defined in the water management district security |
| 97 | plan as restricted access areas. |
| 98 | 2. Any person who has at any time been convicted for any |
| 99 | of the listed offenses shall not be qualified for initial |
| 100 | employment within or authorized regular access to facilities or |
| 101 | structures defined in the water management districts security |
| 102 | plan as restricted access areas unless, after release from |
| 103 | incarceration and any supervision imposed as a sentence, the |
| 104 | person remained free from a subsequent conviction, regardless of |
| 105 | whether adjudication was withheld, for any of the listed |
| 106 | offenses for a period of at least 7 years prior to the |
| 107 | employment or access date under consideration. |
| 108 | (3) Each water management district is authorized to |
| 109 | develop and implement a security plan to protect facilities and |
| 110 | structures under the jurisdiction of the water management |
| 111 | district and deemed critical to the public safety and security. |
| 112 | Water management district security plans must be reviewed and |
| 113 | approved by the applicable water management district governing |
| 114 | board. |
| 115 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |