Florida Senate - 2015 SB 1414
By Senator Bradley
7-01269B-15 20151414__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to juvenile detention costs; amending
3 s. 985.686, F.S.; defining “actual cost”; revising the
4 responsibilities of specified counties and the state
5 relating to paying for juvenile detention care;
6 requiring the Department of Juvenile Justice to make
7 certain determinations and then provide usage and cost
8 information to certain counties; deleting a provision
9 requiring a county to make a certain payment to the
10 department; deleting a provision requiring the
11 Department of Revenue and a county to provide certain
12 assistance to the Department of Juvenile Justice;
13 deleting obsolete provisions; providing an effective
14 date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Section 985.686, Florida Statutes, is amended to
19 read:
20 985.686 Shared county and state responsibility for juvenile
21 detention.—
22 (1) It is the policy of this state that the state and the
23 counties have a joint obligation, as provided in this section,
24 to contribute to the financial support of the detention care
25 provided for juveniles.
26 (2) As used in this section, the term:
27 (a) “Actual cost” means the funds that the department
28 expends for providing detention care less any funds that it
29 receives from the Grants and Donations Trust Fund and the
30 Federal Grants Trust Fund.
31 (b)(a) “Detention care” means secure detention and respite
32 beds for juveniles charged with a domestic violence crime.
33 (c)(b) “Fiscally constrained county” means a county within
34 a rural area of opportunity as designated by the Governor
35 pursuant to s. 288.0656 or each county for which the value of a
36 mill will raise no more than $5 million in revenue, based on the
37 certified school taxable value certified pursuant to s.
38 1011.62(4)(a)1.a., from the previous July 1.
39 (3)(a) Each county that is not a fiscally constrained
40 county shall pay its share of the total actual costs of
41 providing detention care as determined by the department
42 pursuant to subsection (5), exclusive of the costs of any
43 preadjudicatory nonmedical educational or therapeutic services
44 and $2.5 million provided for additional medical and mental
45 health care at the detention centers, for juveniles for the
46 period of time prior to final court disposition. The department
47 shall develop an accounts payable system to allocate costs that
48 are payable by the counties.
49 (b) The state shall pay:
50 1. Forty percent of the actual costs of providing detention
51 care as determined by the department pursuant to subsection (5);
52 2. The actual costs of detention care for fiscally
53 constrained counties in the manner described in subsection (4);
54 and
55 3. The actual costs of providing detention care for
56 juveniles residing out of state.
57 (4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), the state shall pay all
58 costs of detention care for juveniles for which a fiscally
59 constrained county would otherwise be billed.
60 (a) By October 1, 2004, the department shall develop a
61 methodology for determining the amount of each fiscally
62 constrained county’s costs of detention care for juveniles, for
63 the period of time prior to final court disposition, which must
64 be paid by the state. At a minimum, this methodology must
65 consider the difference between the amount appropriated to the
66 department for offsetting the costs associated with the
67 assignment of juvenile pretrial detention expenses to the
68 fiscally constrained county and the total estimated costs to the
69 fiscally constrained county, for the fiscal year, of detention
70 care for juveniles for the period of time prior to final court
71 disposition.
72 (b) Subject to legislative appropriation and based on the
73 methodology developed under paragraph (a), the department shall
74 provide funding to offset the costs to fiscally constrained
75 counties of detention care for juveniles for the period of time
76 prior to final court disposition. If county matching funds are
77 required by the department to eliminate the difference
78 calculated under paragraph (a) or the difference between the
79 actual costs of the fiscally constrained counties and the amount
80 appropriated in small county grants for use in mitigating such
81 costs, that match amount must be allocated proportionately among
82 all fiscally constrained counties.
83 (5) Each county that is a nonfiscally constrained county
84 shall incorporate into its annual county budget sufficient funds
85 to pay its share of the actual costs of detention care for
86 juveniles who reside resided in that county for the most
87 recently completed fiscal year the period of time prior to final
88 court disposition. This amount shall be based upon the prior use
89 of secure detention for juveniles who are residents of that
90 county, as calculated by the department. Each county shall pay
91 the estimated costs at the beginning of each month. Any
92 difference between the estimated costs and actual costs shall be
93 reconciled at the end of the state fiscal year.
94 (a) The department shall determine the actual costs of
95 detention care after the certified forward period has ended and
96 the number of detention days used by each county at the end of
97 each fiscal year.
98 (b) The department shall inform each nonfiscally
99 constrained county of the county’s percentage of detention use
100 and of the amount of the county’s share of the actual costs of
101 detention care for the most recently completed state fiscal
102 year. Each nonfiscally constrained county shall pay the
103 department one-twelfth of its share of actual costs for the most
104 recently completed state fiscal year by the first day of each
105 month, beginning on July 1 of the year following receipt of the
106 information.
107 (c) The department shall calculate a nonfiscally
108 constrained county’s percentage of detention use by dividing the
109 total number of detention days for juveniles residing in the
110 county during the most recently completed state fiscal year by
111 the total number of detention days for all juveniles residing in
112 nonfiscally constrained counties for the most recently completed
113 state fiscal year.
114 (d) The department shall calculate each nonfiscally
115 constrained county’s share of actual costs by multiplying the
116 county’s percentage of detention usage by 60 percent of the
117 total actual cost of detention care for all nonfiscally
118 constrained counties.
119 (6) Each county shall pay to the department for deposit
120 into the Shared County/State Juvenile Detention Trust Fund its
121 share of the county’s total costs for juvenile detention, based
122 upon calculations published by the department with input from
123 the counties.
124 (6)(7) The department Department of Juvenile Justice shall
125 determine each quarter whether the counties of this state are
126 remitting to the department their share of the costs of
127 detention as required by this section.
128 (8) The Department of Revenue and the counties shall
129 provide technical assistance as necessary to the Department of
130 Juvenile Justice in order to develop the most cost-effective
131 means of collection.
132 (7)(9) Funds received from counties pursuant to this
133 section are not subject to the service charges provided in s.
134 215.20.
135 (8)(10) This section does not apply to any county that
136 provides detention care for preadjudicated juveniles or that
137 contracts with another county to provide detention care for
138 preadjudicated juveniles.
139 (9)(11) The department may adopt rules to administer this
140 section.
141 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.