Florida Senate - 2023 CS for SB 618 By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Yarborough 591-02784-23 2023618c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to rights of law enforcement officers 3 and correctional officers; amending s. 112.531, F.S.; 4 defining terms; amending s. 112.532, F.S.; providing 5 rights of law enforcement officers and correctional 6 officers relating to a Brady identification system; 7 prohibiting a law enforcement officer or correctional 8 officer from being discharged, suspended, demoted, or 9 otherwise disciplined for certain reasons; providing 10 construction; requiring the employing agency of a law 11 enforcement officer or correctional officer to conform 12 to certain rules and procedures; creating s. 112.536, 13 F.S.; providing that a prosecuting agency is not 14 required to maintain a Brady identification system; 15 authorizing a prosecuting agency to choose different 16 procedures to discharge its obligations under a 17 specified United States Supreme Court ruling; imposing 18 requirements on the current or former employing agency 19 of the law enforcement officer or correctional 20 officer; requiring a prosecuting agency that maintains 21 a Brady identification system to adopt written 22 policies; providing minimum requirements for such 23 policies; requiring a prosecuting agency to provide 24 certain notices to certain law enforcement officers or 25 correctional officers and their employing agency under 26 certain conditions; requiring the prosecuting agency 27 to notify specified parties in a pending case of the 28 removal of the name of a law enforcement officer or a 29 correctional officer from the Brady identification 30 system under certain conditions; authorizing a law 31 enforcement officer or a correctional officer to 32 petition for a writ of mandamus under certain 33 circumstances; providing the scope of the judicial 34 review; providing construction; providing an effective 35 date. 36 37 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 38 39 Section 1. Present subsections (1) and (2) of section 40 112.531, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (2) 41 and (3), respectively, and a new subsection (1) and subsection 42 (4) are added to that section, to read: 43 112.531 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term: 44 (1) “Brady identification system” means a list or 45 identification, in whatever form, of the name or names of law 46 enforcement or correctional officers about whom a prosecuting 47 agency is in possession of impeachment evidence as defined by 48 decision, statute, or rule. 49 (4) “Prosecuting agency” means the Attorney General or an 50 assistant attorney general, the statewide prosecutor or an 51 assistant statewide prosecutor, a state attorney or an assistant 52 state attorney, a city or county attorney, a special prosecutor, 53 or any other person or entity charged with the prosecution of a 54 criminal case. 55 Section 2. Subsection (7) is added to section 112.532, 56 Florida Statutes, to read: 57 112.532 Law enforcement officers’ and correctional 58 officers’ rights.—All law enforcement officers and correctional 59 officers employed by or appointed to a law enforcement agency or 60 a correctional agency shall have the following rights and 61 privileges: 62 (7) RIGHTS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND CORRECTIONAL 63 OFFICERS RELATING TO A BRADY IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM.— 64 (a) A law enforcement officer or correctional officer has 65 all of the rights specified in s. 112.536 relating to the 66 inclusion of the name and information of the officer in a Brady 67 identification system. 68 (b) A law enforcement officer or correctional officer may 69 not be discharged, suspended, demoted, or otherwise disciplined, 70 or threatened with discharge, suspension, demotion, or other 71 discipline, by his or her employing agency solely as a result of 72 a prosecuting agency determining that the officer’s name and 73 information should be included in a Brady identification system. 74 This paragraph does not prohibit an officer’s employing agency 75 from discharging, suspending, demoting, or taking other 76 disciplinary action against a law enforcement officer or 77 correctional officer based on the underlying actions of the 78 officer which resulted in his or her inclusion in a Brady 79 identification system. If a collective bargaining agreement 80 applies, the actions taken by the officer’s employing agency 81 must conform to the rules and procedures adopted by the 82 collective bargaining agreement. 83 Section 3. Section 112.536, Florida Statutes, is created to 84 read: 85 112.536 Requirements for maintaining a Brady identification 86 system.— 87 (1)(a) A prosecuting agency is not required to maintain a 88 Brady identification system. A prosecuting agency may determine 89 that its obligations under the Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 90 (1963) decision are better discharged through such procedures as 91 that agency chooses to use. 92 (b) A law enforcement officer’s or correctional officer’s 93 employing agency shall forward all sustained and finalized 94 internal affairs complaints relevant to s. 90.608, s. 90.609, or 95 s. 90.610 to the prosecuting agency in the circuit in which the 96 law enforcement agency is located to assist the prosecuting 97 agency in compliance with its obligations under the Brady 98 decision. The employing agency must notify the law enforcement 99 officer or correctional officer of any sustained and finalized 100 internal affairs investigations it sends to the prosecuting 101 agency as required by this section. If the law enforcement 102 officer or correctional officer is no longer employed, the 103 agency must mail notification to the officer’s last known 104 address on file at the agency. 105 (2) A prosecuting agency that maintains a Brady 106 identification system shall adopt written policies that, at a 107 minimum, require all of the following: 108 (a) The right of a law enforcement officer or a 109 correctional officer to receive written notice through United 110 States mail or e-mail to the current or last known employing 111 agency of the officer, before or contemporaneously with a 112 prosecuting agency including the name and information of the 113 officer in a Brady identification system, unless a pending case 114 requires immediate disclosure or providing notice would 115 jeopardize a pending investigation. 116 (b) The right of a law enforcement officer or a 117 correctional officer to receive written notice before a 118 prosecuting agency includes the name and information of the 119 officer in a Brady identification system. 120 (c) The right of a law enforcement officer or a 121 correctional officer to request reconsideration of the 122 prosecuting agency’s decision to include the name and 123 information of the officer in a Brady identification system and 124 his or her right to submit documents and evidence in support of 125 the request for reconsideration. 126 (3) If, after the policies provided in subsection (2) are 127 followed, it is determined that the law enforcement officer or 128 correctional officer in question should not be included in a 129 Brady identification system, the prosecuting agency must send 130 notice to the law enforcement officer or correctional officer 131 and his or her employing agency that he or she has been removed 132 from the Brady identification system. 133 (4) If, after the policies provided in subsection (2) are 134 followed, it is determined that the law enforcement officer or 135 correctional officer in question should not be included in a 136 Brady identification system, but his or her name was disclosed 137 in a pending case, the prosecuting agency must take the 138 necessary steps to notify the parties involved in the pending 139 case of the law enforcement officer’s or correctional officer’s 140 removal from the Brady identification system. 141 (5) If a prosecuting agency fails to comply with this 142 section, a law enforcement officer or a correctional officer may 143 petition the court for a writ of mandamus to compel the 144 prosecuting agency to act in accordance with this section. The 145 scope of such a hearing may not include a judicial review of the 146 evidence or merits of an officer’s inclusion in a Brady 147 identification system, but instead must be limited to whether 148 the prosecuting agency acted in accordance with the procedural 149 requirements of this section. This section does not preclude the 150 law enforcement officer or correctional officer from pursuing 151 whatever administrative or judicial remedies are otherwise 152 available to him or her in relation to any other action or 153 remedy outside of this section. 154 (6) This section does not: 155 (a) Require a prosecuting agency to give notice to or 156 provide an opportunity for review and input from the law 157 enforcement officer or correctional officer if the information 158 in a Brady identification system is the following: 159 1. A criminal conviction relevant to s. 90.610; or 160 2. A sustained and finalized internal affairs complaint 161 relevant to s. 90.608, s. 90.609, or s. 90.610; 162 (b) Limit the duty of a prosecuting agency to produce Brady 163 evidence in all cases as required by the United States 164 Constitution, the State Constitution, and the Florida Rules of 165 Criminal Procedure and relevant case law; 166 (c) Limit or restrict a prosecuting agency’s ability to 167 remove the name and information of a law enforcement officer or 168 correctional officer from a Brady identification system if, at 169 any time, the prosecuting agency determines that the name and 170 information of the officer are no longer proper for 171 identification; or 172 (d) Create a private cause of action against a prosecuting 173 agency or any employee of a prosecuting agency, other than the 174 writ described in subsection (5). 175 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.