Florida Senate - 2021 SB 836
By Senator Jones
35-00849-21 2021836__
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; defining
15 terms; providing program eligibility and application
16 requirements; authorizing the Department of Law
17 Enforcement to provide grants to a specified number of
18 counties to implement the pilot program, subject to
19 appropriation; requiring the department to evaluate
20 the effectiveness of the pilot program, submit an
21 annual report to the Governor and Legislature, and
22 publish the report on its website; authorizing the
23 department to adopt rules; providing funding
24 requirements; requiring each county participating in
25 the pilot program to appoint a program steering
26 committee to implement an evidence-based firearm
27 violence reduction model and to submit an annual
28 report to the department; providing requirements for
29 the report; providing for expiration of the pilot
30 program; providing an effective date.
31
32 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
33
34 Section 1. Section 943.6872, Florida Statutes, is created
35 to read:
36 943.6872 Urban Core Gun Violence Task Force.—
37 (1) The Urban Core Gun Violence Task Force, a task force as
38 defined in s. 20.03, is created within the Department of Law
39 Enforcement. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
40 task force shall comply with the requirements of s. 20.052.
41 (2)(a) The 10-member task force shall convene no later than
42 September 1, 2021, and must be composed of two members appointed
43 by each of the following: the President of the Senate, the
44 Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
45 Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of
46 Representatives, and the Governor. Appointments must be made by
47 August 1, 2021. The Governor shall appoint a chair from among
48 the members. Members serve at the pleasure of the officer who
49 appointed them. A vacancy on the task force must be filled in
50 the same manner as the original appointment.
51 (b) The General Counsel of the Department of Law
52 Enforcement shall serve as the general counsel for the task
53 force.
54 (c) The chair shall assign staff from the Department of Law
55 Enforcement and the Department of Juvenile Justice to assist the
56 task force in performing its duties.
57 (d) The task force shall meet quarterly or at the call of
58 the chair, as necessary to conduct its work, at a time and
59 location in this state designated by the chair. The task force
60 may not conduct its meetings through teleconferences or other
61 similar means.
62 (3) The task force shall investigate system failures and
63 the causes of high crime rates and gun violence incidents in
64 urban core neighborhoods and communities. In addition, the task
65 force shall develop recommendations for solutions, programs,
66 services, and strategies for improved interagency communications
67 between local and state government agencies which will help
68 facilitate the reduction of crime and gun violence in urban core
69 neighborhoods and communities.
70 (4) The task force may call upon appropriate state
71 government agencies for such professional assistance as may be
72 needed in the discharge of its duties, and such agencies shall
73 provide such assistance in a timely manner.
74 (5) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the task
75 force may request and shall be provided with access to any
76 information or records that pertain to crime and gun violence
77 incidents in this state’s urban core neighborhoods and
78 communities. Information or records obtained by the task force
79 which are otherwise exempt or confidential and exempt shall
80 retain such exempt or confidential and exempt status, and the
81 task force may not disclose any such information or records.
82 (6) The task force shall submit an initial report on its
83 findings and recommendations to the Governor, the President of
84 the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by
85 January 1, 2022, and may issue reports annually thereafter.
86 (7) This section is repealed on June 30, 2024.
87 Section 2. Section 943.6873, Florida Statutes, is created
88 to read:
89 943.6873 Florida Firearm Violence Reduction Pilot Program.—
90 (1) CREATION.—Beginning July 1, 2021, the Florida Firearm
91 Violence Reduction Pilot Program is created within the
92 department for a period of 3 years. The purpose of the pilot
93 program is to improve public health and safety by supporting
94 evidence-based firearm violence reduction models in counties
95 that are disproportionately impacted by firearm violence.
96 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
97 (a) “Disproportionately impacted by firearm violence” means
98 the county experienced 20 or more firearm-related homicides per
99 calendar year during at least 2 of the 3 calendar years
100 immediately preceding the application, or the county experienced
101 at least 10 firearm-related homicides per calendar year and had
102 a homicide rate that was at least 50 percent higher than the
103 statewide homicide rate during at least 2 of the 3 calendar
104 years immediately preceding the application.
105 (b) “Evidence-based firearm violence reduction model” means
106 a program, proven through empirical evidence, to reduce firearm
107 violence through focused deterrence or recidivism reduction
108 strategies.
109 (c) “Program implementation organization” means an
110 organization with experience implementing an evidence-based
111 firearm violence reduction model including providing training,
112 collecting and analyzing data, and conducting program
113 evaluations.
114 (3) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS; APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible
115 to participate in the pilot program, a county must submit an
116 application in a form prescribed by the department by October 1,
117 2021. At a minimum, the application must include:
118 (a) A statement and any empirical evidence indicating that
119 the county is disproportionately impacted by firearm violence or
120 otherwise demonstrating the county’s compelling need for
121 additional resources to address the impact of firearm violence.
122 (b) A statement of the estimated fiscal impact of firearm
123 violence in the county including the costs incurred by the
124 county investigating, prosecuting, incarcerating, and treating
125 individuals related to firearm violence in the 3 calendar years
126 immediately preceding the application.
127 (c) A description of the evidence-based firearm violence
128 reduction model the county will implement during the pilot
129 program. A county must implement one of the following evidence
130 based firearm violence reduction models: the Group Violence
131 Intervention program, the Cure Violence program, or a hospital
132 based violence intervention program.
133 (d) A statement identifying a program implementation
134 organization the county will consult to implement the evidence
135 based firearm violence reduction model and a description of the
136 organization’s experience implementing such programs.
137 (e) A description of any public or private organization the
138 county intends to collaborate with to provide services. Such
139 organizations may include faith-based service groups that offer
140 community support services including, but not limited to,
141 substance abuse counseling, mental health counseling, housing
142 support programs, and employment support programs.
143 (f) A description of the criteria the county will use to
144 identify eligible participants. A participant must be an
145 individual who has been identified as being at a high risk for
146 becoming a victim or perpetrator of firearm violence.
147 (g) A statement describing how the county proposes to
148 coordinate the evidence-based firearm violence reduction model
149 and any existing violence prevention and intervention programs
150 operating in the county to minimize duplication of services.
151 (4) DEPARTMENT DUTIES.—
152 (a) The department shall develop and make available an
153 application form to be used by counties seeking to participate
154 in the pilot program.
155 (b) Subject to an appropriation in the General
156 Appropriations Act, the department shall use program funds to
157 provide grants for up to six counties to implement the pilot
158 program. Each county must meet the eligibility and application
159 requirements provided in subsection (3). The department may
160 develop other needs-based criteria for pilot program selection
161 and to determine the appropriate grant amount to award to each
162 county based on such needs-based criteria.
163 (c) The department shall evaluate the effectiveness of the
164 pilot program by measuring firearm violence reduction in the
165 participating counties. The department shall compile the
166 information required under subsection (5), and by June 30, 2023,
167 and each June 30 thereafter, submit a report to the Governor,
168 the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
169 Representatives on the impact of the pilot program. The
170 department shall publish the report on its website.
171 (d) The department may adopt rules to administer this
172 section.
173 (5) DUTIES OF PARTICIPATING COUNTIES.—
174 (a) Each county participating in the pilot program must
175 contribute $1 for every $1 requested from the department. All
176 funds, whether provided by the county or by the department, must
177 be used to implement the pilot program.
178 (b) Each county participating in the pilot program shall
179 appoint a program steering committee which must, at a minimum,
180 include one representative from each law enforcement agency
181 located in the county. The program steering committee shall
182 collaborate with a program implementation organization to
183 implement an appropriate evidence-based firearm violence
184 reduction model.
185 (c) To maintain its eligibility for participation in the
186 pilot program, a county must report to the department by January
187 1, 2023, and each January 1 thereafter, in a format prescribed
188 by the department, the following information:
189 1. A description of the evidence-based firearm violence
190 reduction model utilized.
191 2. A description of program strategies used to attract and
192 retain participants.
193 3. A description of the type and quantity of services
194 provided to participants.
195 4. The total number of participants served and the
196 demographic characteristics of participants.
197 5. A description of how the services provided improved
198 participant outcomes, including, but not limited to:
199 a. Any change in participants’ employment status or
200 educational attainment level.
201 b. Any change in the frequency of arrests experienced by
202 participants.
203 c. Any change in the frequency of victimizations
204 experienced by participants.
205 6. Any change in the frequency or severity of firearm
206 violence experienced by the county, including any increase or
207 reduction in the number of:
208 a. Firearm-related arrests.
209 b. Firearm-related injuries.
210 c. Other firearm-related law enforcement calls for service.
211 7. The period for which the data submitted was collected,
212 aggregated, and analyzed.
213 (6) EXPIRATION.—This section expires June 30, 2024.
214 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.