Florida Senate - 2022 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 226 Ì689614;Î689614 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RS . 02/25/2022 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Committee on Appropriations (Powell) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Delete lines 24 - 127 4 and insert: 5 Police Dogs Program Act.” 6 Section 2. Section 943.69, Florida Statutes, is created to 7 read: 8 943.69 Care for Retired Police Dogs Program.— 9 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—The Legislature finds that: 10 (a) Police dogs are an integral part of many law 11 enforcement and correctional efforts statewide, including the 12 apprehension of suspects through tracking and searching, 13 evidence location, drug and bomb detection, and search and 14 rescue operations. 15 (b) Law enforcement and correctional agencies agree that 16 the use of police dogs is an extremely cost-effective means of 17 crime control and that police dogs possess skills and abilities 18 that frequently exceed those of existing technology. 19 (c) The service of police dogs is often dangerous and can 20 expose them to injury at a rate higher than that of nonservice 21 dogs. 22 (d) Police dogs provide significant contributions to the 23 residents of this state. 24 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 25 (a) “Correctional agency” means a lawfully established 26 state or local public agency having primary responsibility for 27 the supervision, protection, care, custody, control, or 28 investigation of inmates at a correctional institution. 29 (b) “Law enforcement agency” means a lawfully established 30 state or local public agency having primary responsibility for 31 the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of 32 penal, traffic, highway, regulatory, game, immigration, postal, 33 customs, or controlled substance laws. 34 (c) “Retired police dog” means a dog that was previously in 35 the service of or employed by a law enforcement agency or a 36 correctional agency in this state for the principal purpose of 37 aiding in the detection of criminal activity, enforcement of 38 laws, or apprehension of offenders and that received 39 certification in obedience and apprehension work from a 40 certifying organization, such as the National Police Canine 41 Association, Inc., or other certifying organization. 42 (d) “Veterinarian” has the same meaning as in s. 474.202. 43 (e) “Veterinary care” means the practice, by a 44 veterinarian, of veterinary medicine as defined in s. 474.202. 45 The term includes annual wellness examinations, vaccinations, 46 internal and external parasite prevention treatments, testing 47 and treatment of illnesses and diseases, medications, emergency 48 care and surgeries, veterinary oncology or other specialty care, 49 euthanasia, and cremation. 50 (3) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Care for Retired Police 51 Dogs Program is created within the department to provide a 52 stable funding source for the veterinary care for retired police 53 dogs. 54 (4) ADMINISTRATION.—The department shall contract with a 55 nonprofit corporation organized under chapter 617 to administer 56 and manage the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program. 57 Notwithstanding chapter 287, the department shall select the 58 nonprofit corporation through a competitive grant award process. 59 The nonprofit corporation must meet all of the following 60 criteria: 61 (a) Be dedicated to the protection or care of retired 62 police dogs. 63 (b) Be exempt from taxation under s. 501(a) of the Internal 64 Revenue Code as an organization described in s. 501(c)(3) of 65 that code. 66 (c) Have maintained such tax-exempt status for at least 5 67 years. 68 (d) Agree to be subject to review and audit at the 69 discretion of the Auditor General in order to ensure accurate 70 accounting and disbursement of state funds. 71 (e) Demonstrate the ability to effectively and efficiently 72 disseminate information and to assist former handlers and 73 adopters of retired police dogs in complying with this section. 74 (5) FUNDING.— 75 (a) The nonprofit corporation shall be the disbursing 76 authority for funds the Legislature appropriates to the 77 department for the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program. These 78 funds must be disbursed to the former handler or the adopter of 79 a retired police dog that served for 5 years or more as a police 80 dog upon receipt of: 81 1. Valid documentation from the law enforcement agency or 82 correctional agency from which the dog retired which verifies 83 that the dog was in the service of or employed by that agency; 84 and 85 a. That the dog served 5 years or more with that agency; 86 b. Documentation showing that the dog served a total of 5 87 years or more with two or more law enforcement agencies or 88 correctional agencies; or 89 c. That, notwithstanding the length of service requirements 90 elsewhere in this paragraph, the dog served 3 years or more with 91 one or more law enforcement agencies and was injured in the line 92 of duty while serving with a law enforcement agency and retired 93 from the agency the dog was serving with at the time of the 94 injury due to such injury; and 95 2. A valid invoice from a veterinarian for veterinary care 96 provided in this state to a retired police dog and documentation 97 establishing payment of the invoice by the former handler or the 98 adopter of the retired police dog. 99 (b) Annual disbursements to a former handler or an adopter 100 to reimburse him or her for the cost of the retired police dog’s 101 veterinary care may not exceed $1,500 per dog. A former handler 102 or an adopter of a retired police dog may not accumulate unused 103 funds from a current year for use in a future year. 104 (c) A former handler or an adopter of a retired police dog 105 who seeks reimbursement for veterinary care may not receive 106 reimbursement if funds appropriated for the Care for Retired 107 Police Dogs Program are depleted in the year for which the 108 reimbursement is sought. 109 (6) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The department shall pay to 110 the nonprofit corporation, and the nonprofit corporation may 111 use, up to 10 percent of appropriated funds for its 112 administrative expenses, including salaries and benefits. 113 (7) RULEMAKING.—The department shall adopt rules to 114 implement this section. 115 Section 3. For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, and each fiscal 116 year thereafter, the sum of $300,000 in recurring funds is 117 appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of 118 Law Enforcement for the purpose of implementing and 119 administering the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program. 120 121 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 122 And the title is amended as follows: 123 Delete lines 2 - 12 124 and insert: 125 An act relating to care for retired police dogs; 126 providing a short title; creating s. 943.69, F.S.; 127 providing legislative findings; defining terms; 128 creating the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program 129 within the Department of Law Enforcement; requiring 130 the department to contract with a nonprofit 131 corporation to administer and manage the program; 132 specifying requirements for the nonprofit corporation; 133 specifying requirements for the disbursement of funds 134 for the veterinary care of eligible retired police 135 dogs; limiting annual