Florida Senate - 2024                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. HB 601
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì833240oÎ833240                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                Floor: 1/RS/2R         .                                
             03/01/2024 03:19 PM       .                                
       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————




       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
       Senator Ingoglia moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 30.61, Florida Statutes, is created to
    6  read:
    7         30.61 Establishment of civilian oversight boards.—
    8         (1)A county sheriff may establish a civilian oversight
    9  board to review the policies and procedures of his or her office
   10  and its subdivisions.
   11         (2)The board must be composed of at least three and up to
   12  seven members appointed by the sheriff.
   13         Section 2. Section 112.533, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   14  read:
   15         112.533 Receipt and processing of complaints.—
   16         (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to make the process
   17  for receiving, processing, and investigation of complaints
   18  against law enforcement or correctional officers, and the rights
   19  and privileges provided in this part while under investigation,
   20  apply uniformly throughout this state and its political
   21  subdivisions.
   22         (2)As used in this section, the term “political
   23  subdivision” means a separate agency or unit of local government
   24  created or established by law or ordinance and the officers
   25  thereof and includes, but is not limited to, an authority, a
   26  board, a branch, a bureau, a city, a commission, a consolidated
   27  government, a county, a department, a district, an institution,
   28  a metropolitan government, a municipality, an office, an
   29  officer, a public corporation, a town, or a village.
   30         (3)A political subdivision may not adopt or attempt to
   31  enforce any ordinance relating to either of the following:
   32         (a)The receipt, processing, or investigation by any
   33  political subdivision of this state of complaints of misconduct
   34  by law enforcement or correctional officers, except as expressly
   35  provided in this section.
   36         (b)Civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies’
   37  investigations of complaints of misconduct by law enforcement or
   38  correctional officers.
   39         (4)(a) Every law enforcement agency and correctional agency
   40  shall establish and put into operation a system for the receipt,
   41  investigation, and determination of complaints received by such
   42  agency from any person, which must shall be the procedure for
   43  investigating a complaint against a law enforcement or and
   44  correctional officer and for determining whether to proceed with
   45  disciplinary action or to file disciplinary charges,
   46  notwithstanding any other law or ordinance to the contrary. When
   47  law enforcement or correctional agency personnel assigned the
   48  responsibility of investigating the complaint prepare an
   49  investigative report or summary, regardless of form, the person
   50  preparing the report shall, at the time the report is completed:
   51         1. Verify pursuant to s. 92.525 that the contents of the
   52  report are true and accurate based upon the person’s personal
   53  knowledge, information, and belief.
   54         2. Include the following statement, sworn and subscribed to
   55  pursuant to s. 92.525:
   56  
   57  “I, the undersigned, do hereby swear, under penalty of perjury,
   58  that, to the best of my personal knowledge, information, and
   59  belief, I have not knowingly or willfully deprived, or allowed
   60  another to deprive, the subject of the investigation of any of
   61  the rights contained in ss. 112.532 and 112.533, Florida
   62  Statutes.”
   63  
   64  The requirements of subparagraphs 1. and 2. must shall be
   65  completed before prior to the determination as to whether to
   66  proceed with disciplinary action or to file disciplinary
   67  charges. This subsection does not preclude the Criminal Justice
   68  Standards and Training Commission from exercising its authority
   69  under chapter 943.
   70         (b)1. Any political subdivision that initiates or receives
   71  a complaint against a law enforcement officer or correctional
   72  officer shall must within 5 business days forward the complaint
   73  to the employing agency of the officer who is the subject of the
   74  complaint for review or investigation.
   75         2. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “political
   76  subdivision” means a separate agency or unit of local government
   77  created or established by law or ordinance and the officers
   78  thereof and includes, but is not limited to, an authority,
   79  board, branch, bureau, city, commission, consolidated
   80  government, county, department, district, institution,
   81  metropolitan government, municipality, office, officer, public
   82  corporation, town, or village.
   83  
   84  Notwithstanding the rights and privileges provided under this
   85  part or any provisions provided in a collective bargaining
   86  agreement, the agency head or the agency head’s designee may
   87  request a sworn or certified investigator from a separate law
   88  enforcement or correctional agency to conduct the investigation
   89  when a conflict is identified with having an investigator
   90  conduct the investigation of an officer of the same employing
   91  agency; the employing agency does not have an investigator
   92  trained to conduct such investigations; or the agency’s
   93  investigator is the subject of, or a witness in, the
   94  investigation and such agency is composed of any combination of
   95  35 or fewer law enforcement officers or correctional officers.
   96  The employing agency must document the identified conflict. Upon
   97  completion of the investigation, the investigator shall present
   98  the findings without any disciplinary recommendation to the
   99  employing agency.
  100         (5)(a)(2)(a) A complaint filed against a law enforcement
  101  officer or correctional officer with a law enforcement agency or
  102  correctional agency and all information obtained pursuant to the
  103  investigation by the agency of the complaint is confidential and
  104  exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) until the
  105  investigation ceases to be active, or until the agency head or
  106  the agency head’s designee provides written notice to the
  107  officer who is the subject of the complaint, either personally
  108  or by mail, that the agency has concluded the investigation with
  109  either a finding:
  110         1. Concluded the investigation with a finding Not to
  111  proceed with disciplinary action or to file charges; or
  112         2. Concluded the investigation with a finding To proceed
  113  with disciplinary action or to file charges.
  114  
  115  Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the officer who is the
  116  subject of the complaint, along with legal counsel or any other
  117  representative of his or her choice, may review the complaint
  118  and all statements regardless of form made by the complainant
  119  and witnesses and all existing evidence, including, but not
  120  limited to, incident reports, analyses, GPS locator information,
  121  and audio or video recordings relating to the investigation,
  122  immediately before beginning the investigative interview. All
  123  statements, regardless of form, provided by a law enforcement
  124  officer or correctional officer during the course of a complaint
  125  investigation of that officer must shall be made under oath
  126  pursuant to s. 92.525. Knowingly false statements given by a law
  127  enforcement officer or correctional officer under investigation
  128  may subject the law enforcement officer or correctional officer
  129  to prosecution for perjury. If a witness to a complaint is
  130  incarcerated in a correctional facility and may be under the
  131  supervision of, or have contact with, the officer under
  132  investigation, only the names and written statements of the
  133  complainant and nonincarcerated witnesses may be reviewed by the
  134  officer under investigation immediately before prior to the
  135  beginning of the investigative interview.
  136         (b) This subsection does not apply to any public record
  137  which is exempt from public disclosure pursuant to chapter 119.
  138  For the purposes of this subsection, an investigation is shall
  139  be considered active as long as it is continuing with a
  140  reasonable, good faith anticipation that an administrative
  141  finding will be made in the foreseeable future. An investigation
  142  is shall be presumed to be inactive if no finding is made within
  143  45 days after the complaint is filed.
  144         (c) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, the
  145  complaint and information must shall be available to law
  146  enforcement agencies, correctional agencies, and state attorneys
  147  in the conduct of a lawful criminal investigation.
  148         (6)(3) A law enforcement officer or correctional officer
  149  has the right to review his or her official personnel file at
  150  any reasonable time under the supervision of the designated
  151  records custodian. A law enforcement officer or correctional
  152  officer may attach to the file a concise statement in response
  153  to any items included in the file identified by the officer as
  154  derogatory, and copies of such items must be made available to
  155  the officer.
  156         (7)(4) Any person who is a participant in an internal
  157  investigation, including the complainant, the subject of the
  158  investigation and the subject’s legal counsel or a
  159  representative of his or her choice, the investigator conducting
  160  the investigation, and any witnesses in the investigation, who
  161  willfully discloses any information obtained pursuant to the
  162  agency’s investigation, including, but not limited to, the
  163  identity of the officer under investigation, the nature of the
  164  questions asked, information revealed, or documents furnished in
  165  connection with a confidential internal investigation of an
  166  agency, before such complaint, document, action, or proceeding
  167  becomes a public record as provided in this section commits a
  168  misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
  169  775.082 or s. 775.083. However, this subsection does not limit a
  170  law enforcement or correctional officer’s ability to gain access
  171  to information under paragraph (5)(a) (2)(a). Additionally, a
  172  sheriff, police chief, or other head of a law enforcement
  173  agency, or his or her designee, is not precluded by this section
  174  from acknowledging the existence of a complaint and the fact
  175  that an investigation is underway.
  176         Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
  177  112.532, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  178         112.532 Law enforcement officers’ and correctional
  179  officers’ rights.—All law enforcement officers and correctional
  180  officers employed by or appointed to a law enforcement agency or
  181  a correctional agency shall have the following rights and
  182  privileges:
  183         (4) NOTICE OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION; COPY OF AND OPPORTUNITY
  184  TO ADDRESS CONTENTS OF INVESTIGATIVE FILE; CONFIDENTIALITY.—
  185         (b) Notwithstanding s. 112.533(5) s. 112.533(2), whenever a
  186  law enforcement officer or correctional officer is subject to
  187  disciplinary action consisting of suspension with loss of pay,
  188  demotion, or dismissal, the officer or the officer’s
  189  representative must shall, upon request, be provided with a
  190  complete copy of the investigative file, including the final
  191  investigative report and all evidence, and with the opportunity
  192  to address the findings in the report with the employing law
  193  enforcement agency before imposing disciplinary action
  194  consisting of suspension with loss of pay, demotion, or
  195  dismissal. The contents of the complaint and investigation must
  196  shall remain confidential until such time as the employing law
  197  enforcement agency makes a final determination whether or not to
  198  issue a notice of disciplinary action consisting of suspension
  199  with loss of pay, demotion, or dismissal. This paragraph does
  200  not provide law enforcement officers with a property interest or
  201  expectancy of continued employment, employment, or appointment
  202  as a law enforcement officer.
  203         Section 4. Section 166.0486, Florida Statutes, is created
  204  to read:
  205         166.0486 Establishment of civilian oversight boards.—
  206         (1)The chief of a municipal police department may
  207  establish a civilian oversight board to review the policies and
  208  procedures of his or her department and its subdivisions.
  209         (2)The board must be composed of at least three and up to
  210  seven members appointed by the chief of the municipal police
  211  department.
  212         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.
  213  
  214  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  215  And the title is amended as follows:
  216         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  217  and insert:
  218                        A bill to be entitled                      
  219         An act relating to law enforcement and correctional
  220         officers; creating s. 30.61, F.S.; authorizing county
  221         sheriffs to establish civilian oversight boards to
  222         review the policies and procedures of the sheriff’s
  223         office and its subdivisions; providing for membership
  224         of such boards; amending s. 112.533, F.S.; providing
  225         legislative intent; revising the definition of
  226         “political subdivision”; prohibiting a political
  227         subdivision from adopting or attempting to enforce
  228         certain ordinances relating to the receipt,
  229         processing, or investigation of complaints against law
  230         enforcement officers or correctional officers, or
  231         relating to civilian oversight of law enforcement
  232         agency investigations of complaints of misconduct by
  233         such officers; making technical changes; amending s.
  234         112.532, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; making
  235         technical changes; creating s. 166.0486, F.S.;
  236         authorizing the chief of a municipal police department
  237         to establish a civilian oversight board to review the
  238         policies and procedures of the chief’s department and
  239         its subdivisions; providing for membership of such
  240         boards; providing an effective date.