Senate Bill sb1792c1

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 1792

    By the Committees on Transportation; and Criminal Justice





    596-2126-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Department of

  3         Corrections; amending s. 316.003, F.S.;

  4         including vehicles operated by the department

  5         within the definition of the term "authorized

  6         emergency vehicles" for purposes of the Florida

  7         Uniform Traffic Control Law; amending s.

  8         316.2397, F.S.; authorizing the department to

  9         operate vehicles that have emergency lights and

10         sirens; amending s. 945.215, F.S.; providing

11         for the funds in the Employee Benefit Trust

12         Fund to be used for certain additional

13         purposes; limiting the types of donations that

14         the department may accept for deposit into the

15         fund; requiring that the fund be subject to

16         oversight by the Secretary of Corrections and

17         an annual audit; requiring that the department

18         provide an annual report concerning allocations

19         from the trust fund at the request of the

20         Legislature and Governor; requiring that the

21         department adopt rules; amending s. 945.21501,

22         F.S.; requiring that facilities constructed

23         using funds from the Employee Benefit Trust

24         Fund provide maximum benefit for all employees;

25         requiring that the department adopt rules;

26         providing an effective date.

27  

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

29  

30         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 316.003, Florida

31  Statutes, is amended to read:

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 1792
    596-2126-07




 1         316.003  Definitions.--The following words and phrases,

 2  when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings

 3  respectively ascribed to them in this section, except where

 4  the context otherwise requires:

 5         (1)  AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLES.--Vehicles of the

 6  fire department (fire patrol), police vehicles, and such

 7  ambulances and emergency vehicles of municipal departments,

 8  public service corporations operated by private corporations,

 9  the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of

10  Health, and the Department of Transportation, and the

11  Department of Corrections as are designated or authorized by

12  their respective department or the chief of police of an

13  incorporated city or any sheriff of any of the various

14  counties.

15         Section 2.  Subsection (3) of section 316.2397, Florida

16  Statutes, is amended to read:

17         316.2397  Certain lights prohibited; exceptions.--

18         (3)  Vehicles of the fire department and fire patrol,

19  including vehicles of volunteer firefighters as permitted

20  under s. 316.2398, vehicles of medical staff physicians or

21  technicians of medical facilities licensed by the state as

22  authorized under s. 316.2398, ambulances as authorized under

23  this chapter, and buses and taxicabs as authorized under s.

24  316.2399 are permitted to show or display red lights. Vehicles

25  of the fire department, fire patrol, police vehicles, and such

26  ambulances and emergency vehicles of municipal and county

27  departments, public service corporations operated by private

28  corporations, the Department of Environmental Protection, the

29  Department of Transportation, and the Department of

30  Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Department of

31  Corrections as are designated or authorized by their

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 1792
    596-2126-07




 1  respective department or the chief of police of an

 2  incorporated city or any sheriff of any county are hereby

 3  authorized to operate emergency lights and sirens in an

 4  emergency. Wreckers, mosquito control fog and spray vehicles,

 5  and emergency vehicles of governmental departments or public

 6  service corporations may show or display amber lights when in

 7  actual operation or when a hazard exists provided they are not

 8  used going to and from the scene of operation or hazard

 9  without specific authorization of a law enforcement officer or

10  law enforcement agency. Wreckers must use amber rotating or

11  flashing lights while performing recoveries and loading on the

12  roadside day or night, and may use such lights while towing a

13  vehicle on wheel lifts, slings, or under reach if the operator

14  of the wrecker deems such lights necessary. A flatbed, car

15  carrier, or rollback may not use amber rotating or flashing

16  lights when hauling a vehicle on the bed unless it creates a

17  hazard to other motorists because of protruding objects.

18  Further, escort vehicles may show or display amber lights when

19  in the actual process of escorting overdimensioned equipment,

20  material, or buildings as authorized by law. Vehicles of

21  private watch, guard, or patrol agencies licensed pursuant to

22  chapter 493 may show or display amber lights while patrolling

23  condominium, cooperative, and private residential and business

24  communities by which employed and which traverse public

25  streets or highways.

26         Section 3.  Subsection (3) of section 945.215, Florida

27  Statutes, is amended to read:

28         945.215  Inmate welfare and employee benefit trust

29  funds.--

30         (3)  EMPLOYEE BENEFIT TRUST FUND; DEPARTMENT OF

31  CORRECTIONS.--

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 1792
    596-2126-07




 1         (a)  The department may establish an Employee Benefit

 2  Trust Fund. Trust fund sources may be derived from any of the

 3  following:

 4         1.  Proceeds of vending machines, staff canteens, or

 5  other such services not intended for use by inmates.

 6         2.  Net proceeds of the recycling program.

 7         3.2.  Donations, except for donations made by, or on

 8  behalf of, an individual inmate, and except for donations made

 9  by a person who provides, or seeks to provide, goods or

10  services to the department under a contract or an agreement,

11  individually or through a corporation or organization.

12         4.3.  Additional trust funds and grants which may

13  become available.

14         (b)  Funds from the Employee Benefit Trust Fund may be

15  used for employee appreciation programs and activities and to

16  construct, operate, and maintain training and recreation

17  facilities at correctional facilities for the exclusive use of

18  department employees. Such facilities are the property of the

19  department and must provide the maximum benefit to all

20  interested employees, regardless of gender.

21         (c)  The Employee Benefit Trust Fund shall be

22  established as a separate and distinct set of accounts, which

23  shall be maintained centrally by the department, overseen by

24  the secretary, and subject to an annual audit by the

25  department's inspector general.

26         (d)  The department shall maintain sufficient data to

27  provide an annual report, upon request, to the President of

28  the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and

29  the Executive Office of the Governor on December 1 which lists

30  the types of services provided using moneys in the trust fund

31  and the allocations of funds spent.

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 1792
    596-2126-07




 1         (e)  The department shall adopt rules under ss.

 2  120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this subsection.

 3         Section 4.  Section 945.21501, Florida Statutes, is

 4  amended to read:

 5         945.21501  Employee Benefit Trust Fund.--

 6         (1)  There is hereby created in the Department of

 7  Corrections the Employee Benefit Trust Fund. The purpose of

 8  the trust fund shall be to:

 9         (a)  Construct, operate, and maintain training and

10  recreation facilities at correctional facilities for the

11  exclusive use of department employees. Any facility

12  constructed using funds from the Employee Benefit Trust Fund

13  is the property of the department and must provide the maximum

14  benefit to all interested employees, regardless of gender.

15         (b)  Provide funding for employee appreciation programs

16  and activities designed to enhance the morale of employees.

17  

18  Moneys shall be deposited in the trust fund as provided in s.

19  945.215.

20         (2)  Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 216.301 and

21  pursuant to s. 216.351, any balance in the trust fund at the

22  end of any fiscal year shall remain in the trust fund at the

23  end of the year and shall be available for carrying out the

24  purposes of the trust fund.

25         (3)  The department shall adopt rules pursuant to ss.

26  120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section.

27         Section 5.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

28  law.

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31  

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 1792
    596-2126-07




 1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 2                         Senate Bill 1792

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 4  This Committee Substitute (CS) authorizes the Department of
    Corrections (DOC) to be prepared to provide its annual report
 5  on the Employee Benefit Trust Fund on December 1, rather than
    January 1.
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