Florida Senate - 2022 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 226 Ì675938[Î675938 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RCS . 02/25/2022 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Committee on Appropriations (Powell) recommended the following: 1 Senate Substitute for Amendment (689614) (with title 2 amendment) 3 4 Delete lines 24 - 127 5 and insert: 6 Police Dogs Program Act.” 7 Section 2. Section 943.69, Florida Statutes, is created to 8 read: 9 943.69 Care for Retired Police Dogs Program.— 10 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—The Legislature finds that: 11 (a) Police dogs are an integral part of many law 12 enforcement and correctional efforts statewide, including the 13 apprehension of suspects through tracking and searching, 14 evidence location, drug and bomb detection, and search and 15 rescue operations. 16 (b) Law enforcement and correctional agencies agree that 17 the use of police dogs is an extremely cost-effective means of 18 crime control and that police dogs possess skills and abilities 19 that frequently exceed those of existing technology. 20 (c) The service of police dogs is often dangerous and can 21 expose them to injury at a rate higher than that of nonservice 22 dogs. 23 (d) Police dogs provide significant contributions to the 24 residents of this state. 25 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 26 (a) “Correctional agency” means a lawfully established 27 state or local public agency having primary responsibility for 28 the supervision, protection, care, custody, control, or 29 investigation of inmates at a correctional institution. 30 (b) “Law enforcement agency” means a lawfully established 31 state or local public agency having primary responsibility for 32 the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of 33 penal, traffic, highway, regulatory, game, immigration, postal, 34 customs, or controlled substance laws. 35 (c) “Retired police dog” means a dog that was previously in 36 the service of or employed by a law enforcement agency or a 37 correctional agency in this state for the principal purpose of 38 aiding in the detection of criminal activity, enforcement of 39 laws, or apprehension of offenders and that received 40 certification in obedience and apprehension work from a 41 certifying organization, such as the National Police Canine 42 Association, Inc., or other certifying organization. 43 (d) “Veterinarian” has the same meaning as in s. 474.202. 44 (e) “Veterinary care” means the practice, by a 45 veterinarian, of veterinary medicine as defined in s. 474.202. 46 The term includes annual wellness examinations, vaccinations, 47 internal and external parasite prevention treatments, testing 48 and treatment of illnesses and diseases, medications, emergency 49 care and surgeries, veterinary oncology or other specialty care, 50 euthanasia, and cremation. 51 (3) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Care for Retired Police 52 Dogs Program is created within the department to provide a 53 stable funding source for the veterinary care for retired police 54 dogs. 55 (4) ADMINISTRATION.—The department shall contract with a 56 nonprofit corporation organized under chapter 617 to administer 57 and manage the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program. 58 Notwithstanding chapter 287, the department shall select the 59 nonprofit corporation through a competitive grant award process. 60 The nonprofit corporation must meet all of the following 61 criteria: 62 (a) Be dedicated to the protection or care of retired 63 police dogs. 64 (b) Be exempt from taxation under s. 501(a) of the Internal 65 Revenue Code as an organization described in s. 501(c)(3) of 66 that code. 67 (c) Have maintained such tax-exempt status for at least 5 68 years. 69 (d) Agree to be subject to review and audit at the 70 discretion of the Auditor General in order to ensure accurate 71 accounting and disbursement of state funds. 72 (e) Demonstrate the ability to effectively and efficiently 73 disseminate information and to assist former handlers and 74 adopters of retired police dogs in complying with this section. 75 (5) FUNDING.— 76 (a) The nonprofit corporation shall be the disbursing 77 authority for funds the Legislature appropriates to the 78 department for the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program. These 79 funds must be disbursed to the former handler or the adopter of 80 a retired police dog that served for 5 years or more as a police 81 dog upon receipt of: 82 1. Valid documentation from the law enforcement agency or 83 correctional agency from which the dog retired which verifies 84 that the dog was in the service of or employed by that agency; 85 and 86 a. That the dog served 5 years or more with that agency; 87 b. Documentation showing that the dog served a total of 5 88 years or more with two or more law enforcement agencies or 89 correctional agencies; or 90 c. That, notwithstanding the length of service requirements 91 elsewhere in this paragraph, the dog served 3 years or more with 92 one or more law enforcement agencies or correctional agencies, 93 was injured in the line of duty while serving with a law 94 enforcement agency or correctional agency, and retired from the 95 agency the dog was serving with at the time of the injury due to 96 such injury; and 97 2. A valid invoice from a veterinarian for veterinary care 98 provided in this state to a retired police dog and documentation 99 establishing payment of the invoice by the former handler or the 100 adopter of the retired police dog. 101 (b) Annual disbursements to a former handler or an adopter 102 to reimburse him or her for the cost of the retired police dog’s 103 veterinary care may not exceed $1,500 per dog. A former handler 104 or an adopter of a retired police dog may not accumulate unused 105 funds from a current year for use in a future year. 106 (c) A former handler or an adopter of a retired police dog 107 who seeks reimbursement for veterinary care may not receive 108 reimbursement if funds appropriated for the Care for Retired 109 Police Dogs Program are depleted in the year for which the 110 reimbursement is sought. 111 (6) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The department shall pay to 112 the nonprofit corporation, and the nonprofit corporation may 113 use, up to 10 percent of appropriated funds for its 114 administrative expenses, including salaries and benefits. 115 (7) RULEMAKING.—The department shall adopt rules to 116 implement this section. 117 Section 3. For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, and each fiscal 118 year thereafter, the sum of $300,000 in recurring funds is 119 appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of 120 Law Enforcement for the purpose of implementing and 121 administering the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program. 122 123 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 124 And the title is amended as follows: 125 Delete lines 2 - 12 126 and insert: 127 An act relating to care for retired police dogs; 128 providing a short title; creating s. 943.69, F.S.; 129 providing legislative findings; defining terms; 130 creating the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program 131 within the Department of Law Enforcement; requiring 132 the department to contract with a nonprofit 133 corporation to administer and manage the program; 134 specifying requirements for the nonprofit corporation; 135 specifying requirements for the disbursement of funds 136 for the veterinary care of eligible retired police 137 dogs; limiting annual