| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to Brevard County; amending chapter 87- |
| 3 | 423, Laws of Florida, as amended; changing the name of the |
| 4 | Brevard Police Testing and Certification Center to the |
| 5 | Brevard Police Testing and Selection Center; providing for |
| 6 | change in composition and membership of the board of |
| 7 | directors; providing the board has authority to recommend |
| 8 | approval of agreements with and acceptance of funds or |
| 9 | services from any federal, state, or local governmental |
| 10 | entity or political subdivision, any college or |
| 11 | university, or any private or civic source; clarifying the |
| 12 | center's primary mission; providing for applicant testing, |
| 13 | screening, and information services for criminal justice |
| 14 | and public safety positions; authorizing certain applicant |
| 15 | fees; revising provisions relating to establishment, |
| 16 | approval, and use of user fees; providing an effective |
| 17 | date. |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Section 1. Sections 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7 of chapter 87-423, |
| 22 | as amended by chapter 89-520, Laws of Florida, are amended to |
| 23 | read: |
| 24 | Section 1. There is hereby created at Brevard Community |
| 25 | College an organization to be known as the "Brevard Police |
| 26 | Testing and Selection Certification Center," hereinafter called |
| 27 | the "center." The center, under the direction and control of the |
| 28 | college, shall provide standardized testing of law enforcement |
| 29 | officers for all units of local government in Brevard County and |
| 30 | a pool of qualified candidates for employment of law enforcement |
| 31 | officers throughout Brevard County. |
| 32 | Section 2. The center shall be administered by the college |
| 33 | through a board of directors comprised of the following 16 |
| 34 | members: |
| 35 | (1) The chief of police from each law enforcement agency |
| 36 | employing law enforcement officers as defined in chapter 943, |
| 37 | Florida Statutes, having its headquarters in Brevard County, or |
| 38 | his or her designee. The chiefs of police of the municipalities |
| 39 | of Titusville, Cocoa, Rockledge, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, |
| 40 | Indian Harbour Beach, Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, Melbourne, |
| 41 | West Melbourne, Melbourne Village, and Palm Bay. |
| 42 | (2) The Sheriff of Brevard County or his or her designee. |
| 43 | (3) The State Attorney for Brevard County or a prosecuting |
| 44 | attorney appointed by the State Attorney. |
| 45 | (4) The President of Brevard Community College or his or |
| 46 | her designee. |
| 47 | (5) The director of the Law Enforcement Academy of Brevard |
| 48 | Community College or his or her designee. |
| 49 | Section 4. The board of directors shall recommend to the |
| 50 | college board for approval the following: |
| 51 | (1) Criteria for testing, physical examination, and |
| 52 | background investigation for police officers. |
| 53 | (2) The amounts of any user fees charged by the center. |
| 54 | (3) The annual budget for the center. |
| 55 | (4) The number and types of employees employed by the |
| 56 | center. |
| 57 | (5) Agreements to accept and expend funds or services from |
| 58 | any federal, state, or local governmental entity or political |
| 59 | subdivision; any colleges or universities, including Brevard |
| 60 | Community College; and any private or civic sources. |
| 61 | (6)(5) Any other criteria or requirements for proper |
| 62 | administration of the center. |
| 63 | Section 6. (1) The center shall develop, establish, and |
| 64 | maintain a centralized information center on prospective |
| 65 | candidates for law enforcement officers in Brevard County. The |
| 66 | center's primary mission center shall be to provide and |
| 67 | undertake standardized screening, testing, physical examination, |
| 68 | and background investigation of law enforcement applicants. |
| 69 | (2) Upon the request of any law enforcement agency in |
| 70 | Brevard County, the center shall provide a list of qualified |
| 71 | applicants for employment as law enforcement officers and report |
| 72 | all information gathered during the testing, screening, and |
| 73 | investigation of each applicant. |
| 74 | (3) No report or information concerning any applicant |
| 75 | shall be released to any law enforcement agency or to any other |
| 76 | party without the consent of the applicant. |
| 77 | (4) In addition to the foregoing, the center may make |
| 78 | recommendations concerning uniform standards for the recruitment |
| 79 | and testing of law enforcement officers. |
| 80 | (5) The center may enter into contracts and agreements to |
| 81 | carry out its purposes. Any such contracts shall require |
| 82 | approval by the board of directors and Brevard Community |
| 83 | College. |
| 84 | (6) The activities of the center shall not generate full- |
| 85 | time equivalent (FTE) students for the college as a part of the |
| 86 | community college's enrollment. Classes which are part of the |
| 87 | regular program of the college to train law enforcement officers |
| 88 | are not affected by this prohibition. |
| 89 | (7) The board of directors may elect to provide, in whole |
| 90 | or in part, similar applicant testing, screening, and |
| 91 | information services, as outlined in this section, for the state |
| 92 | and its agencies, colleges, and universities, including Brevard |
| 93 | Community College, Brevard County, and the several |
| 94 | municipalities and agencies within Brevard County that provide |
| 95 | criminal justice or public safety related services through |
| 96 | contract with any of the foregoing, for prospective candidates |
| 97 | for law enforcement, law enforcement support, corrections, and |
| 98 | other public safety positions, including, but not limited to, |
| 99 | law enforcement officer, corrections officer, firefighter, |
| 100 | emergency medical technician or paramedic, public safety |
| 101 | answering point call taker, dispatcher, communications operator, |
| 102 | crime scene technician, or other criminal justice or public |
| 103 | safety position as deemed appropriate by the board. The board |
| 104 | may enter into agreements necessary to carry out this work, with |
| 105 | the costs of such screening, including a reasonable allowance |
| 106 | for overhead being paid by the agency receiving the service. |
| 107 | Such agreements may provide reasonable fees to be paid by |
| 108 | applicants to offset a portion of the screening costs. |
| 109 | Section 7. (1) There is hereby created the Brevard Police |
| 110 | Testing and Selection Certification account within the auxiliary |
| 111 | fund at Brevard Community College, which account within the |
| 112 | auxiliary fund shall be used exclusively for the operation and |
| 113 | administration of the center. Moneys deposited into the account |
| 114 | within the auxiliary fund shall consist of the following: |
| 115 | (a) A sum of $3 which shall be assessed as a court cost by |
| 116 | both the circuit court and the county court in Brevard County |
| 117 | against every person who is convicted or who has had |
| 118 | adjudication withheld for a violation of a state criminal |
| 119 | statute or a municipal or county ordinance or who pays a fine or |
| 120 | civil penalty for any violation of chapter 316, Florida |
| 121 | Statutes. The said cost of $3 shall be assessed in addition to |
| 122 | any fine, civil penalty, or other court cost and shall not be |
| 123 | deducted from the proceeds of that portion of any fine or civil |
| 124 | penalty which is received by a municipality in Brevard County or |
| 125 | by Brevard County in accordance with the provisions of ss. |
| 126 | 316.660 and 318.21, Florida Statutes. The $3 cost shall |
| 127 | specifically be added to any civil penalty paid for a violation |
| 128 | of chapter 316, Florida Statutes, whether such penalty is paid |
| 129 | by mail, paid in person without request for a hearing, or paid |
| 130 | after hearing and determination by the county court. However, no |
| 131 | such $3 assessment shall be made against a person for a |
| 132 | violation of any state statute, county ordinance, or municipal |
| 133 | ordinance relating to the parking of vehicles. The Clerk of the |
| 134 | Court of Brevard County shall collect the respective $3 court |
| 135 | costs established in this paragraph and shall remit the same to |
| 136 | the center on a monthly basis. |
| 137 | (b) Such user fees as are established from time to time by |
| 138 | the center's board of directors and approved by the Brevard |
| 139 | Community College Board of Trustees for use of the services of |
| 140 | the center pursuant to section 6(7) by law enforcement agencies |
| 141 | in Brevard County. |
| 142 | (c) Such donations and grants as the center may receive. |
| 143 | (d) No funds shall be transferred from the general current |
| 144 | fund, the restricted current fund, or any other auxiliary fund |
| 145 | for the operation of this center. |
| 146 | (2) Brevard Community College shall prepare an annual |
| 147 | budget for the operation and administration of the center, which |
| 148 | budget shall be for the period beginning July 1 and ending June |
| 149 | 30 each year. The budget for any such fiscal year shall be |
| 150 | submitted to the board of directors of the center for its |
| 151 | consideration and approval no later than June 1 of the previous |
| 152 | fiscal year. The total expenditures for any fiscal year shall |
| 153 | not exceed the funds available from the account within the |
| 154 | auxiliary fund described in subsection (1), and no program for |
| 155 | the center shall be approved by the board of directors unless |
| 156 | all funds for such program are available from the said account |
| 157 | within the auxiliary fund. |
| 158 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |