Florida Senate - 2020 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. CS for SB 652 Ì299286XÎ299286 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RCS . 02/19/2020 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice (Pizzo) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Delete everything after the enacting clause 4 and insert: 5 Section 1. Section 943.6872, Florida Statutes, is created 6 to read: 7 943.6872 Urban Core Gun Violence Task Force.— 8 (1) The Urban Core Gun Violence Task Force, a task force as 9 defined in s. 20.03, is created within the Department of Law 10 Enforcement. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 11 task force shall comply with the requirements of s. 20.052. 12 (2)(a) The 10-member task force shall convene no later than 13 September 1, 2020, and must be composed of two members appointed 14 by each of the following: the President of the Senate, the 15 Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of 16 Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of 17 Representatives, and the Governor. Appointments must be made by 18 August 1, 2020. The Governor shall appoint a chair from among 19 the members. Members serve at the pleasure of the officer who 20 appointed them. A vacancy on the task force must be filled in 21 the same manner as the original appointment. 22 (b) The General Counsel of the Department of Law 23 Enforcement shall serve as the general counsel for the task 24 force. 25 (c) The chair shall assign staff from the Department of Law 26 Enforcement and the Department of Juvenile Justice to assist the 27 task force in performing its duties. 28 (d) The task force shall meet on a quarterly basis or at 29 the call of the chair, as necessary to conduct its work, at a 30 time and location in this state designated by the chair. The 31 task force may not conduct its meetings through teleconferences 32 or other similar means. 33 (3) The task force shall investigate system failures and 34 the causes of high crime rates and gun violence incidents in 35 urban core neighborhoods and communities. In addition, the task 36 force shall develop recommendations for solutions, programs, 37 services, and strategies for improved interagency communications 38 between local and state government agencies which will help 39 facilitate the reduction of crime and gun violence in urban core 40 neighborhoods and communities. 41 (4) The task force may call upon appropriate state 42 government agencies for such professional assistance as may be 43 needed in the discharge of its duties, and such agencies shall 44 provide such assistance in a timely manner. 45 (5) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the task 46 force may request and shall be provided with access to any 47 information or records that pertain to crime and gun violence 48 incidents in this state’s urban core neighborhoods and 49 communities. Information or records obtained by the task force 50 which are otherwise exempt or confidential and exempt shall 51 retain such exempt or confidential and exempt status, and the 52 task force may not disclose any such information or records. 53 (6) The task force shall submit an initial report on its 54 findings and recommendations to the Governor, the President of 55 the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by 56 January 1, 2021, and may issue reports annually thereafter. 57 (7) This section is repealed on June 30, 2023. 58 Section 2. Section 943.6873, Florida Statutes, is created 59 to read: 60 943.6873 Florida Firearm Violence Reduction Pilot Program.- 61 (1) CREATION.-Beginning July 1, 2020, the Florida Firearm 62 Violence Reduction Pilot Program is created within the 63 department for a period of 3 years. The purpose of the pilot 64 program is to improve public health and safety by supporting 65 evidence-based firearm violence reduction models in counties 66 that are disproportionately impacted by firearm violence. 67 (2) DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term: 68 (a) “Disproportionately impacted by firearm violence” means 69 the county experienced 20 or more firearm-related homicides per 70 calendar year during at least 2 of the 3 calendar years 71 immediately preceding the application, or the county experienced 72 at least 10 firearm-related homicides per calendar year and had 73 a homicide rate that was at least 50 percent higher than the 74 statewide homicide rate during at least 2 of the 3 calendar 75 years immediately preceding the application. 76 (b) “Evidence-based firearm violence reduction model” means 77 a program, proven through empirical evidence, to reduce firearm 78 violence through focused deterrence or recidivism reduction 79 strategies. 80 (c) “Program implementation organization” means an 81 organization with experience implementing an evidence-based 82 firearm violence reduction model including providing training, 83 collecting and analyzing data, and conducting program 84 evaluations. 85 (3) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS; APPLICATIONS.-To be eligible 86 to participate in the pilot program, a county must submit an 87 application in a form prescribed by the department by October 1, 88 2020. At a minimum, the application must include: 89 (a) A statement and any empirical evidence indicating that 90 the county is disproportionately impacted by firearm violence or 91 otherwise demonstrating the county’s compelling need for 92 additional resources to address the impact of firearm violence. 93 (b) A statement of the estimated fiscal impact of firearm 94 violence in the county including the costs incurred by the 95 county investigating, prosecuting, incarcerating, and treating 96 individuals related to firearm violence in the 3 calendar years 97 immediately preceding the application. 98 (c) A description of the evidence-based firearm violence 99 reduction model the county will implement during the pilot 100 program. A county must implement one of the following evidence 101 based firearm violence reduction models: the Group Violence 102 Intervention program, the Cure Violence program, or a hospital 103 based violence intervention program. 104 (d) A statement identifying a program implementation 105 organization the county will consult to implement the evidence 106 based firearm violence reduction model and a description of the 107 organization’s experience implementing such programs. 108 (e) A description of any public or private organization the 109 county intends to collaborate with to provide services. Such 110 organizations may include faith-based service groups that offer 111 community support services including, but not limited to, 112 substance abuse counseling, mental health counseling, housing 113 support programs, and employment support programs. 114 (f) A description of the criteria the county will use to 115 identify eligible participants. A participant must be an 116 individual who has been identified as being at a high risk for 117 becoming a victim or perpetrator of firearm violence. 118 (g) A statement describing how the county proposes to 119 coordinate the evidence-based firearm violence reduction model 120 and any existing violence prevention and intervention programs 121 operating in the county to minimize duplication of services. 122 (4) DEPARTMENT DUTIES.- 123 (a) The department shall develop and make available an 124 application form to be used by counties seeking to participate 125 in the pilot program. 126 (b) Subject to an appropriation in the General 127 Appropriations Act, the department shall use program funds to 128 provide grants for up to six counties to implement the pilot 129 program. Each county must meet the eligibility and application 130 requirements provided in subsection (3). The department may 131 develop other needs-based criteria for pilot program selection 132 and to determine the appropriate grant amount to award to each 133 county based on such needs-based criteria. 134 (c) The department shall evaluate the effectiveness of the 135 pilot program by measuring firearm violence reduction in the 136 participating counties. The department shall compile the 137 information required under subsection (5), and by June 30, 2022, 138 and each June 30 thereafter, submit a report to the Governor, 139 the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 140 Representatives on the impact of the pilot program. The 141 department shall publish the report on its website. 142 (d) The department may adopt rules to administer this 143 section. 144 (5) DUTIES OF PARTICIPATING COUNTIES.- 145 (a) Each county participating in the pilot program must 146 contribute $1 for every $1 requested from the department. All 147 funds, whether provided by the county or by the department, must 148 be used to implement the pilot program. 149 (b) Each county participating in the pilot program shall 150 appoint a program steering committee which must, at a minimum, 151 include one representative from each law enforcement agency 152 located in the county. The program steering committee shall 153 collaborate with a program implementation organization to 154 implement an appropriate evidence-based firearm violence 155 reduction model. 156 (c) To maintain its eligibility for participation in the 157 pilot program, a county must report to the department by January 158 1, 2022, and each January 1 thereafter, in a format prescribed 159 by the department, the following information: 160 1. A description of the evidence-based firearm violence 161 reduction model utilized. 162 2. A description of program strategies used to attract and 163 retain participants. 164 3. A description of the type and quantity of services 165 provided to participants. 166 4. The total number of participants served and the 167 demographic characteristics of participants. 168 5. A description of how the services provided improved 169 participant outcomes, including, but not limited to: 170 a. Any change in participants’ employment status or 171 educational attainment level. 172 b. Any change in the frequency of arrests experienced by 173 participants. 174 c. Any change in the frequency of victimizations 175 experienced by participants. 176 6. Any change in the frequency or severity of firearm 177 violence experienced by the county, including any increase or 178 reduction in the number of: 179 a. Firearm-related arrests. 180 b. Firearm-related injuries. 181 c. Other firearm-related law enforcement calls for service. 182 7. The period for which the data submitted was collected, 183 aggregated, and analyzed. 184 (6) EXPIRATION.-This section expires June 30, 2023. 185 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020. 186 187 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 188 And the title is amended as follows: 189 Delete everything before the enacting clause 190 and insert: 191 A bill to be entitled 192 An act relating to gun violence reduction; creating s. 193 943.6872, F.S.; creating the Urban Core Gun Violence 194 Task Force; requiring the task force to comply with 195 specified requirements; providing for membership; 196 providing for staff support; providing requirements 197 for meetings; specifying duties and powers of the task 198 force; authorizing the task force to seek assistance 199 from state agencies; providing for access to certain 200 information and records; requiring an initial report; 201 authorizing annual reports; providing for repeal of 202 the task force; creating s. 943.6873, F.S.; creating 203 the Florida Firearm Violence Reduction Pilot Program; 204 providing the purpose of the pilot program; providing 205 definitions; providing program eligibility and 206 application requirements; authorizing the Department 207 of Law Enforcement to provide grants to a specified 208 number of counties to implement the pilot program, 209 subject to appropriation; requiring the department to 210 evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program, 211 submit an annual report to the Governor and 212 Legislature, and publish the report on its website; 213 authorizing the department to adopt rules; requiring 214 each county participating in the pilot program to 215 appoint a program steering committee to implement an 216 evidence-based firearm violence reduction model and to 217 submit an annual report to the department; providing 218 requirements for the report; providing for expiration 219 of the pilot program;; providing an effective date.