Florida Senate - 2020 PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
Bill No. CS for SB 652
Ì850900rÎ850900
576-03892-20
Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Appropriations
(Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice)
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to gun violence reduction; creating s.
3 943.6872, F.S.; creating the Urban Core Gun Violence
4 Task Force; requiring the task force to comply with
5 specified requirements; providing for membership;
6 providing for staff support; providing requirements
7 for meetings; specifying duties and powers of the task
8 force; authorizing the task force to seek assistance
9 from state agencies; providing for access to certain
10 information and records; requiring an initial report;
11 authorizing annual reports; providing for repeal of
12 the task force; creating s. 943.6873, F.S.; creating
13 the Florida Firearm Violence Reduction Pilot Program;
14 providing the purpose of the pilot program; providing
15 definitions; providing pilot program eligibility and
16 application requirements; requiring the Department of
17 Law Enforcement to develop and make available a
18 certain application; authorizing the department to
19 provide grants to a specified number of counties to
20 implement the pilot program, subject to appropriation;
21 requiring the department to evaluate the effectiveness
22 of the pilot program; requiring the department to
23 submit an annual report to the Governor and the
24 Legislature, and to publish the report on its website;
25 authorizing the department to adopt rules; providing
26 county funding requirements for each county
27 participating in the pilot program; requiring each
28 county participating in the pilot program to appoint a
29 program steering committee to implement an evidence
30 based firearm violence reduction model; requiring each
31 participating county to submit an annual report to the
32 department; providing requirements for the report;
33 providing for expiration of the pilot program;
34 providing an effective date.
35
36 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
37
38 Section 1. Section 943.6872, Florida Statutes, is created
39 to read:
40 943.6872 Urban Core Gun Violence Task Force.—
41 (1) The Urban Core Gun Violence Task Force, a task force as
42 defined in s. 20.03, is created within the Department of Law
43 Enforcement. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
44 task force shall comply with the requirements of s. 20.052.
45 (2)(a) The 10-member task force shall convene no later than
46 September 1, 2020, and must be composed of two members appointed
47 by each of the following: the President of the Senate, the
48 Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
49 Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of
50 Representatives, and the Governor. Appointments must be made by
51 August 1, 2020. The Governor shall appoint a chair from among
52 the members. Members serve at the pleasure of the officer who
53 appointed them. A vacancy on the task force must be filled in
54 the same manner as the original appointment.
55 (b) The General Counsel of the Department of Law
56 Enforcement shall serve as the general counsel for the task
57 force.
58 (c) The chair shall assign staff from the Department of Law
59 Enforcement and the Department of Juvenile Justice to assist the
60 task force in performing its duties.
61 (d) The task force shall meet on a quarterly basis or at
62 the call of the chair, as necessary to conduct its work, at a
63 time and location in this state designated by the chair. The
64 task force may not conduct its meetings through teleconferences
65 or other similar means.
66 (3) The task force shall investigate system failures and
67 the causes of high crime rates and gun violence incidents in
68 urban core neighborhoods and communities. In addition, the task
69 force shall develop recommendations for solutions, programs,
70 services, and strategies for improved interagency communications
71 between local and state government agencies which will help
72 facilitate the reduction of crime and gun violence in urban core
73 neighborhoods and communities.
74 (4) The task force may call upon appropriate state
75 government agencies for such professional assistance as may be
76 needed in the discharge of its duties, and such agencies shall
77 provide such assistance in a timely manner.
78 (5) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the task
79 force may request and shall be provided with access to any
80 information or records that pertain to crime and gun violence
81 incidents in this state’s urban core neighborhoods and
82 communities. Information or records obtained by the task force
83 which are otherwise exempt or confidential and exempt shall
84 retain such exempt or confidential and exempt status, and the
85 task force may not disclose any such information or records.
86 (6) The task force shall submit an initial report on its
87 findings and recommendations to the Governor, the President of
88 the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by
89 January 1, 2021, and may issue reports annually thereafter.
90 (7) This section is repealed on June 30, 2023.
91 Section 2. Section 943.6873, Florida Statutes, is created
92 to read:
93 943.6873 Florida Firearm Violence Reduction Pilot Program.—
94 (1) CREATION.—Beginning July 1, 2020, the Florida Firearm
95 Violence Reduction Pilot Program is created within the
96 department for a period of 3 years. The purpose of the pilot
97 program is to improve public health and safety by supporting
98 evidence-based firearm violence reduction models in counties
99 that are disproportionately impacted by firearm violence.
100 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
101 (a) “Disproportionately impacted by firearm violence” means
102 the county experienced 20 or more firearm-related homicides per
103 calendar year during at least 2 of the 3 calendar years
104 immediately preceding the application, or the county experienced
105 at least 10 firearm-related homicides per calendar year and had
106 a homicide rate that was at least 50 percent higher than the
107 statewide homicide rate during at least 2 of the 3 calendar
108 years immediately preceding the application.
109 (b) “Evidence-based firearm violence reduction model” means
110 a program, proven through empirical evidence, to reduce firearm
111 violence through focused deterrence or recidivism reduction
112 strategies.
113 (c) “Program implementation organization” means an
114 organization with experience implementing an evidence-based
115 firearm violence reduction model including providing training,
116 collecting and analyzing data, and conducting program
117 evaluations.
118 (3) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS; APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible
119 to participate in the pilot program, a county must submit an
120 application in a form prescribed by the department by October 1,
121 2020. At a minimum, the application must include:
122 (a) A statement and any empirical evidence indicating that
123 the county is disproportionately impacted by firearm violence or
124 otherwise demonstrating the county’s compelling need for
125 additional resources to address the impact of firearm violence.
126 (b) A statement of the estimated fiscal impact of firearm
127 violence in the county including the costs incurred by the
128 county investigating, prosecuting, incarcerating, and treating
129 individuals related to firearm violence in the 3 calendar years
130 immediately preceding the application.
131 (c) A description of the evidence-based firearm violence
132 reduction model the county will implement during the pilot
133 program. A county must implement one of the following evidence
134 based firearm violence reduction models: the Group Violence
135 Intervention program, the Cure Violence program, or a hospital
136 based violence intervention program.
137 (d) A statement identifying a program implementation
138 organization the county will consult to implement the evidence
139 based firearm violence reduction model and a description of the
140 organization’s experience implementing such programs.
141 (e) A description of any public or private organization the
142 county intends to collaborate with to provide services. Such
143 organizations may include faith-based service groups that offer
144 community support services including, but not limited to,
145 substance abuse counseling, mental health counseling, housing
146 support programs, and employment support programs.
147 (f) A description of the criteria the county will use to
148 identify eligible participants. A participant must be an
149 individual who has been identified as being at a high risk for
150 becoming a victim or perpetrator of firearm violence.
151 (g) A statement describing how the county proposes to
152 coordinate the evidence-based firearm violence reduction model
153 and any existing violence prevention and intervention programs
154 operating in the county to minimize duplication of services.
155 (4) DEPARTMENT DUTIES.—
156 (a) The department shall develop and make available an
157 application form to be used by counties seeking to participate
158 in the pilot program.
159 (b) Subject to an appropriation in the General
160 Appropriations Act, the department shall use program funds to
161 provide grants for up to six counties to implement the pilot
162 program. Each county must meet the eligibility and application
163 requirements provided in subsection (3). The department may
164 develop other needs-based criteria for pilot program selection
165 and to determine the appropriate grant amount to award to each
166 county based on such needs-based criteria.
167 (c) The department shall evaluate the effectiveness of the
168 pilot program by measuring firearm violence reduction in the
169 participating counties. The department shall compile the
170 information required under subsection (5), and by June 30, 2022,
171 and each June 30 thereafter, submit a report to the Governor,
172 the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
173 Representatives on the impact of the pilot program. The
174 department shall publish the report on its website.
175 (d) The department may adopt rules to administer this
176 section.
177 (5) DUTIES OF PARTICIPATING COUNTIES.—
178 (a) Each county participating in the pilot program must
179 contribute $1 for every $1 requested from the department. All
180 funds, whether provided by the county or by the department, must
181 be used to implement the pilot program.
182 (b) Each county participating in the pilot program shall
183 appoint a program steering committee which must, at a minimum,
184 include one representative from each law enforcement agency
185 located in the county. The program steering committee shall
186 collaborate with a program implementation organization to
187 implement an appropriate evidence-based firearm violence
188 reduction model.
189 (c) To maintain its eligibility for participation in the
190 pilot program, a county must submit a report to the department
191 by January 1, 2022, and each January 1 thereafter, in a format
192 prescribed by the department, the following information:
193 1. A description of the evidence-based firearm violence
194 reduction model utilized.
195 2. A description of program strategies used to attract and
196 retain participants.
197 3. A description of the type and quantity of services
198 provided to participants.
199 4. The total number of participants served and the
200 demographic characteristics of participants.
201 5. A description of how the services provided improved
202 participant outcomes, including, but not limited to:
203 a. Any change in participants’ employment status or
204 educational attainment level.
205 b. Any change in the frequency of arrests experienced by
206 participants.
207 c. Any change in the frequency of victimizations
208 experienced by participants.
209 6. Any change in the frequency or severity of firearm
210 violence experienced by the county, including any increase or
211 reduction in the number of:
212 a. Firearm-related arrests.
213 b. Firearm-related injuries.
214 c. Other firearm-related law enforcement calls for service.
215 7. The period for which the data submitted was collected,
216 aggregated, and analyzed.
217 (6) EXPIRATION.—This section expires June 30, 2023.
218 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.