Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1710
By Senator Smith
17-00773-26 20261710__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Office of the Department of
3 Corrections Ombudsperson; creating s. 944.101, F.S.;
4 defining terms; creating the Office of the Department
5 of Corrections Ombudsperson within the Department of
6 Corrections; providing duties for the office;
7 specifying that the office is directed by the
8 Ombudsperson; requiring that the Ombudsperson be
9 selected by the Corrections Oversight Committee;
10 specifying the authority and duties of the
11 Ombudsperson; establishing the Corrections Oversight
12 Committee; providing for membership, appointment, and
13 terms of committee members; specifying that committee
14 members are not eligible for compensation but are
15 eligible for reimbursement of per diem and travel
16 expenses; requiring the committee to announce
17 Ombudsperson nominees publicly; requiring the
18 committee to hold quarterly meetings and at least one
19 annual public hearing; providing powers and duties of
20 the committee; requiring that the office have access
21 to department facilities for specified purposes;
22 providing powers and duties of the office; authorizing
23 the office to subpoena department records, employees,
24 or contractors; providing that specified
25 correspondence and communications are confidential and
26 privileged; requiring the office to conduct periodic
27 inspections of department facilities; requiring the
28 office to produce a report upon completion of an
29 inspection, make it available to the public, and
30 submit it to the Governor, the Legislature, and the
31 department; providing report requirements; requiring
32 that facilities inspected by the office be assigned a
33 safety and compliance classification; requiring the
34 department to respond, within a specified timeframe,
35 to each office inspection report; authorizing the
36 office to investigate complaints on specified matters;
37 authorizing the office to decline to investigate
38 complaints; prohibiting the office from investigating
39 complaints on specified matters; prohibiting the
40 office from levying fees; prohibiting the department
41 or its employees or contractors from terminating,
42 retaliating against, or discriminating against a
43 person who files a complaint; requiring the office to
44 produce an annual report by a specified date and make
45 it publicly available on its website and submit it to
46 the Governor, the Attorney General, the Legislature,
47 and the department; providing report requirements;
48 authorizing the department and the office to adopt
49 rules; creating s. 944.102, F.S.; defining terms;
50 requiring the office to create an electronic family
51 form and make it available on the office’s public
52 website for a specified purpose; requiring the office
53 to create an incarcerated person advocacy and support
54 services form; providing requirements relating to
55 making the form accessible to incarcerated persons;
56 providing for confidentiality and privilege of the
57 forms; providing office requirements relating to the
58 forms; requiring the office to create telephone
59 hotlines for specified purposes; providing office
60 requirements regarding the hotlines; prohibiting the
61 department and its employees and contractors from
62 terminating, retaliating against, or discriminating
63 against a person for filing a complaint or inquiry;
64 providing for redress of violations; authorizing the
65 department and the office to adopt rules; providing an
66 appropriation; providing effective dates.
67
68 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
69
70 Section 1. Effective January 1, 2027, section 944.101,
71 Florida Statutes, is created to read:
72 944.101 Office of the Department of Corrections
73 Ombudsperson.—
74 (1) As used in this section, the term:
75 (a) “Family member” includes a grandparent, a parent, a
76 sibling, a spouse or domestic partner, a child, an aunt, an
77 uncle, a cousin, a niece, a nephew, a grandchild, or any other
78 person related to an incarcerated person by blood, adoption,
79 marriage, or a fostering relationship.
80 (b) “Office” means the Office of the Department of
81 Corrections Ombudsperson.
82 (2) The Office of the Department of Corrections
83 Ombudsperson is created within the department.
84 (a) The office shall be composed of the following sections:
85 1. The Inspections Section.
86 2. The Complaints Investigation Section.
87 (b) The office shall:
88 1. Provide information, as appropriate, to incarcerated
89 persons, family members, representatives of incarcerated
90 persons, department employees and contractors, and others
91 regarding the rights of incarcerated persons;
92 2. Monitor conditions of confinement and assess department
93 compliance with applicable federal, state, and local rules,
94 regulations, policies, and best practices as they relate to the
95 health, safety, welfare, and rehabilitation of incarcerated
96 persons;
97 3. Provide technical assistance to support incarcerated
98 persons in self-advocacy;
99 4. Provide technical assistance to local governments in the
100 creation of jail oversight bodies, as requested;
101 5. Establish a statewide uniform reporting system to
102 collect and analyze data related to complaints received by the
103 department, and data related to all of the following:
104 a. Deaths, suicides, and suicide attempts of incarcerated
105 persons while in custody;
106 b. Physical and sexual assaults of incarcerated persons
107 while in custody;
108 c. The number of incarcerated persons placed in
109 administrative segregation or solitary confinement, and the
110 duration of stays in such confinement;
111 d. The number of facility lockdowns lasting longer than 24
112 hours;
113 e. The number of staff vacancies at each facility;
114 f. The incarcerated-person-to-staff ratios at each
115 facility;
116 g. The staff tenure and turnover;
117 h. The numbers of in-person visits to incarcerated persons
118 which were granted and denied at each facility;
119 i. The types of programming, with data disaggregated by
120 program, relating to participation, waiting lists, and
121 exclusionary or inclusionary factors;
122 j. The number of contraband items confiscated and the types
123 of contraband confiscated; and
124 k. Demographic data on the prison population, disaggregated
125 by race, ethnicity, gender, and age;
126 6. Establish procedures to gather stakeholder input into
127 the office’s activities and priorities, which must include, at a
128 minimum, an annual 30-day period for receipt of, and office
129 response to, public comment;
130 7. Inspect each department facility at least once every 3
131 years, and at least once each year for each maximum security
132 facility and each facility where the office has found cause for
133 more frequent inspection or monitoring; and
134 8. Publicly issue periodic facility inspection reports; an
135 annual report with recommendations on the state of department
136 facilities and a summary of data and recommendations arising
137 from any complaints investigated and resolved pursuant to this
138 section or s. 944.102; and any other thematic reports covering
139 any topic the office finds relevant to running a safe, secure,
140 and humane corrections department.
141 (c) The office is directed by the Ombudsperson, who must be
142 selected by the Corrections Oversight Committee and serves a
143 term of 6 years, during which the Ombudsperson may be removed
144 only by the Governor and only for good cause. The Ombudsperson
145 may not be a current or former employee or contractor of the
146 department, and the Ombudsperson’s spouse or domestic partner,
147 parents, grandparents, children, or siblings may not be current
148 employees or contractors of the department.
149 (d) The Ombudsperson has the authority:
150 1. To hire staff, contractors, and unpaid volunteers and to
151 secure office space, equipment, and other services necessary to
152 carry out the duties of the office pursuant to this section and
153 s. 944.102. Any employee, contractor, or unpaid volunteer hired
154 or retained by the office has the same authority and powers of
155 the office as described in this section and s. 944.102; and
156 2. To contract with experts as needed to assist in the
157 monitoring and inspection of facilities, in the assessment of
158 data, and in the review, investigation, or resolution of
159 complaints.
160 (e) A staff member, an expert, or a volunteer hired by the
161 Ombudsperson has the same authority and duties of the office as
162 described in this section. To avoid conflicts of interest around
163 particular topics or facilities, the Ombudsperson shall develop
164 a recusal process for staff and volunteers who have been
165 department employees or contractors in the last 5 years or whose
166 parents, children, spouses, or domestic partners are current
167 department employees or contractors. A staff member or volunteer
168 hired by the Ombudsperson may not be a current employee or
169 contractor of the department.
170 (f) The Ombudsperson shall coordinate and collaborate with
171 other state agencies and entities, including, but not limited
172 to, the department’s inspector general or the Auditor General,
173 mandated protection and advocacy organizations, and safety and
174 environmental entities.
175 (g) The Ombudsperson shall manage all appropriations and
176 funding of the office.
177 (3) There is established a Corrections Oversight Committee,
178 composed of:
179 (a) Two members appointed by the President of the Senate
180 who are not members of the same political party. The President
181 of the Senate shall select one of the two members to serve as
182 co-chair.
183 (b) Two members appointed by the Speaker of the House of
184 Representatives who are not members of the same political party.
185 The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall select one of
186 the two members to serve as co-chair.
187 (c) The following members, appointed by the Governor:
188 1. One representative of a prisoner advocacy organization.
189 2. One representative of an organization that provides
190 training or rehabilitation programs for incarcerated persons.
191 3. One man who was formerly incarcerated in a facility of
192 the department.
193 4. One woman who was formerly incarcerated in a facility of
194 the department.
195 5. One physician, currently licensed or retired, with
196 experience in family medicine or internal medicine.
197 6. One mental or behavioral health professional, currently
198 licensed or retired, who has a history of providing mental
199 health services or counseling to adults.
200 7. One person who is a grandparent, parent, child, sibling,
201 or spouse or domestic partner of a person currently incarcerated
202 in a department facility.
203 8. One person who was formerly employed as a correctional
204 employee in this state or any other state.
205 (d) Members of the committee shall serve for terms of 3
206 years. The Governor shall make all subsequent appointments.
207 (e) A member of the committee may not be a current employee
208 or contractor of the department. To avoid conflicts of interest
209 around particular topics, facilities, or nominees, the committee
210 shall develop a recusal process for members who have been
211 employees or contractors in the previous 5 years or whose
212 parent, child, spouse, or domestic partner is currently a
213 department employee or contractor. With the exception of the
214 members in subparagraphs (c)2. and 8., a committee member may
215 not have been an employee or a contractor of the department at
216 any time during the 5 years immediately before his or her
217 appointment to the committee.
218 (f) The committee shall meet upon the call of the co-chairs
219 or the majority of the members or whenever there is a vacancy in
220 the Ombudsperson position.
221 (g) Committee members are not eligible to receive
222 compensation but are eligible for reimbursement for per diem and
223 travel expenses.
224 (h) The committee shall announce the Ombudsperson nominee
225 publicly and vote to appoint the nominee after holding a public
226 hearing, during which the committee shall hear and consider oral
227 or written testimony from the Ombudsperson nominee, any
228 witnesses the Ombudsperson nominee presents on his or her
229 behalf, and any members of the public. The Ombudsperson nominee
230 shall take office upon a majority vote of the committee in his
231 or her favor. In the event of a vacancy, the committee shall
232 announce a nominee within 6 months after resignation, removal,
233 or expiration of term of the sitting Ombudsperson.
234 (i) The committee shall hold at least one public hearing
235 each year to present, review, and discuss the office’s
236 inspections, findings, reports, and recommendations set forth in
237 the office’s annual report and shall hold quarterly public
238 hearings to present, review, and discuss any other data,
239 reports, or findings of the office which the committee feels are
240 relevant. At such hearings, the committee may solicit and
241 receive written or oral testimony from experts, members of the
242 community, the office, or the department.
243 (j) The committee may, in its discretion or upon request
244 from the office, issue findings, recommendations, and policy and
245 legislative proposals that must be provided to the department,
246 the Governor, and the judiciary committees of each house of the
247 Legislature and made available to the public on the office’s
248 website.
249 (k) The committee must be given the same access to
250 facilities, records, and persons within facilities as the office
251 receives pursuant to this section. If the position of
252 Ombudsperson is vacant, the committee may subpoena department
253 records, employees, or contractors.
254 (l) Accompanied by the office, the committee shall visit
255 two different correctional facilities during each calendar year.
256 (4)(a) The office must have reasonable access, upon demand
257 in person or in writing and with or without prior notice, to all
258 department facilities, including all areas that are used by
259 incarcerated persons and all areas that are accessible to
260 incarcerated persons, and to programs for incarcerated persons
261 at reasonable times, which, at a minimum, must include normal
262 working hours and visiting hours. This authority includes the
263 opportunity to conduct an interview with any incarcerated
264 person, department employee or contractor, or other person. This
265 access is for all of the following purposes:
266 1. Providing information about individual rights and the
267 services available from the office, including the name, address,
268 and telephone number of the office facilities or staff;
269 2. Conducting official inspections under subsection (6);
270 3. Conducting an official investigation under subsection
271 (7) or as described in s. 944.102; and
272 4. Inspecting, viewing, photographing, or video recording
273 all areas of the facility which are used by incarcerated persons
274 or are accessible to incarcerated persons.
275 (b) Access to incarcerated persons includes the opportunity
276 to meet and communicate privately and confidentially with
277 individuals regularly, with or without prior notice, formally or
278 informally, by telephone, mail, electronic communication, or in
279 person. In the case of communications with incarcerated persons,
280 these communications may not be monitored by, recorded, or
281 conducted in the presence of department employees or
282 contractors.
283 (c) The office may access, inspect, and copy all
284 information, records, or documents in the possession or control
285 of the department which the office considers necessary in an
286 investigation of a complaint filed under this section or s.
287 944.102, and the department shall assist the office in obtaining
288 any necessary releases for those documents that are specifically
289 restricted or privileged for use by the office.
290 (d) Following notification from the office with a written
291 demand for access to department records, the designated
292 department staff shall provide the office with access to the
293 requested documentation no later than 20 days after the office’s
294 written request for the records. If the records requested by the
295 office pertain to an incarcerated person’s death; threats of
296 bodily harm, including, but not limited to, sexual or physical
297 assaults; or the denial of necessary medical treatment, the
298 records must be provided within 5 days unless the office
299 consents to an extension of that timeframe.
300 (e) The office shall work with the department to minimize
301 disruption to the department’s operations due to office
302 activities and must comply with the department’s security
303 clearance processes, provided that these processes do not impede
304 the activities outlined in this section.
305 (f) The office may subpoena department records, employees,
306 or contractors.
307 (g) The department has an affirmative duty to provide data
308 related to the collection and dissemination of information under
309 subparagraph (2)(b)5.
310 (5)(a) Correspondence and communication with the office,
311 including that made pursuant to s. 944.102, are confidential and
312 must be protected as privileged correspondence in the same
313 manner as legal correspondence or communication.
314 (b) The office shall establish confidentiality rules and
315 procedures for all information maintained by the office to
316 ensure that:
317 1. Department employees or contractors are not aware of the
318 identity of a person who submits a complaint or inquiry before,
319 during, or after an investigation, to the greatest extent
320 practicable. The office may disclose personal identifying
321 information for the sole purpose of carrying out an
322 investigation; and
323 2. Other persons in department custody are not aware of the
324 identity of a person who submits a complaint or inquiry before,
325 during, or after an investigation, to the greatest extent
326 practicable. The office may disclose personal identifying
327 information for the sole purpose of carrying out an
328 investigation.
329 (6) The office shall conduct periodic inspections of each
330 department facility.
331 (a) Initial inspection.—The office shall conduct an
332 inspection of each department facility and release a public
333 report by July 1, 2029.
334 (b) Subsequent inspection.—Subsequent inspections of each
335 facility must be conducted on a staggered schedule dependent on
336 the facility’s safety and compliance classification.
337 (c) Inspection assessment.—The office shall conduct a
338 complete inspection of a department facility which covers all
339 matters pertinent to the welfare of staff and incarcerated
340 persons within the facility, including, but not limited to, an
341 assessment of all of the following:
342 1. All policies and procedures in place at the facility
343 related to the care of incarcerated persons.
344 2. Conditions of confinement.
345 3. Availability to incarcerated persons of educational and
346 rehabilitative programming, drug and mental health treatment,
347 and jobs and vocational training.
348 4. All policies and procedures related to visitation.
349 5. All medical facilities and medical procedures and
350 policies.
351 6. Lockdowns at the facility in the time since the last
352 audit. For an initial assessment, the office shall review
353 lockdowns from the last 3 years.
354 7. Staffing at the facility, including the number and job
355 assignments of correctional staff, the ratio of staff to
356 incarcerated persons at the facility, and the staff position
357 vacancy rate at the facility.
358 8. Physical and sexual assaults at the facility in the time
359 since the last inspection. For an initial assessment, the office
360 shall review assaults from the last 3 years.
361 9. Incarcerated person or staff deaths that occurred at the
362 facility in the time since the last inspection. For an initial
363 assessment, the office shall review incarcerated person and
364 staff deaths from the last 3 years.
365 10. Department staff recruitment, training, supervision,
366 and discipline.
367 11. Programming within the facility, including type of
368 programming, program eligibility, and length of waiting list, if
369 applicable.
370 12. Any other aspect of the operation of the facility which
371 the office deems necessary over the course of an inspection.
372 (d) Report.—Upon completion of an inspection, the office
373 shall produce a report and make it publicly available on its
374 website and submit the report to the Governor, the Attorney
375 General, the judiciary committees of each house of the
376 Legislature, and the secretary of the department. The report
377 must include all of the following:
378 1. A summary of the facility’s policies and procedures
379 related to the care of the incarcerated persons.
380 2. A characterization of the conditions of confinement.
381 3. A catalog of the educational and rehabilitative
382 programming, drug and mental health treatment, and jobs and
383 vocational training available to incarcerated persons.
384 4. A summary of visitation policies and procedures.
385 5. A summary of medical facilities and medical procedures
386 and policies.
387 6. A summary of the lockdowns reviewed by the office.
388 7. A summary of the staffing at the facility, including
389 policies relating to staff recruitment, training, supervision,
390 and discipline.
391 8. A summary of physical and sexual assaults reviewed by
392 the office.
393 9. A summary of any incarcerated person or staff deaths
394 that occurred at the facility.
395 10. Recommendations made to the facility to improve safety
396 and conditions within the facility.
397 11. Safety and compliance classification with recommended
398 timeline for the next inspection.
399 (e) Safety and compliance classification.—Upon completion
400 of an inspection, the office shall assign the facility a safety
401 and compliance classification. The classification system must be
402 divided into 3 tiers and be determined based on the factors
403 described in this paragraph. The safety and compliance
404 classification are:
405 1. Tier 1. This classification requires subsequent
406 inspection within 12 months and is used for maximum security
407 facilities and facilities that present clear violations of
408 rights, risks to the safety of incarcerated persons, or severe
409 lack of quality programming for the successful rehabilitation of
410 incarcerated persons.
411 2. Tier 2. This classification requires subsequent
412 inspection between 18 months and 36 months and is used for
413 facilities that may have violations of rights, substandard
414 conditions of confinement, or substandard programming options.
415 3. Tier 3. This classification requires subsequent
416 inspection within 36 months and is used for facilities with
417 adequate conditions of confinement and programming options.
418 (f) Responses.—The department shall respond in writing to
419 each inspection report issued by the office within 60 days after
420 issuance of the report, and its response must include a
421 corrective action plan. The office shall monitor the
422 department’s compliance with the corrective action plan and may
423 conduct further inspections or investigations as necessary to
424 ensure compliance.
425 (7)(a) The office may initiate and attempt to resolve a
426 complaint investigation upon its own initiative, or upon receipt
427 of a complaint from an incarcerated person, a family member, a
428 representative of an incarcerated person, a department employee
429 or contractor, or others, regarding any of the following that
430 may adversely affect the health, safety, welfare, or rights of
431 incarcerated persons:
432 1. Abuse or neglect.
433 2. Conditions of confinement.
434 3. Department decisions or administrative actions.
435 4. Department inactions or omissions.
436 5. Department policies, rules, or procedures.
437 6. Alleged violations of law by department employees or
438 contractors which may adversely affect the health, safety,
439 welfare, or rights of incarcerated persons.
440 (b) The office may decline to investigate any complaint. If
441 the office does not investigate a complaint, the office must
442 notify the person who submitted the complaint in writing of the
443 decision not to investigate and the reasons for the decision.
444 (c) Filing a complaint with the office, or any action or
445 lack of action on a complaint by the office, may not be deemed
446 an administrative procedure required for exhaustion of remedies
447 prior to bringing an action pursuant to the Prison Litigation
448 Reform Act, 42 U.S.C. s. 1997e.
449 (d) The office may not investigate a complaint relating to
450 an incarcerated person’s underlying criminal conviction.
451 (e) The office may not investigate a complaint from a
452 department employee or contractor which relates to the
453 employee’s or contractor’s employment relationship with the
454 department unless the complaint is related to the health,
455 safety, welfare, or rehabilitation of incarcerated persons.
456 (f) The office may refer the person who submitted a
457 complaint and others to appropriate resources or state, tribal,
458 or federal agencies, as applicable.
459 (g) The office may not levy any fees for the submission or
460 investigation of complaints.
461 (h) At the conclusion of an investigation of a complaint,
462 the office shall render a public decision on the merits of each
463 complaint, except that the documents supporting the decision are
464 subject to the confidentiality provision of this section. The
465 office shall communicate the decision to the person who
466 submitted the complaint and to the department. The office must
467 state its recommendations and reasoning if, in the office’s
468 opinion, the department or any employee or contractor thereof
469 should:
470 1. Consider the matter further;
471 2. Modify or cancel any action;
472 3. Alter a rule, practice, or ruling;
473 4. Explain in detail the administrative action in question;
474 or
475 5. Rectify an omission.
476 (i) Upon a request by the office, the department shall,
477 within the time specified or within a reasonable time, inform
478 the office in writing about any action taken on the
479 recommendations or the reasons for not complying with the
480 recommendations.
481 (j) If the office believes, based on the investigation,
482 that there has been or continues to be a significant health,
483 safety, welfare, or rehabilitation issue, the office must report
484 the finding to the Governor, the Attorney General, the judiciary
485 committees of each house of the Legislature, and the secretary
486 of the department.
487 (k) If the department conducts an internal disciplinary
488 investigation and review of one or more of its staff members as
489 a result of an office investigation, the department’s
490 disciplinary review may be subject to additional review and
491 investigation by the office to ensure a fair and objective
492 process.
493 (l) Before announcing a conclusion or recommendation that
494 expressly, or by implication, criticizes a person or the
495 department, the office shall consult with that person or the
496 department. The office may request to be notified by the
497 department, within a specified time, of any action taken on any
498 recommendation presented.
499 (m) The department and its employees and contractors may
500 not terminate, retaliate against, or in any manner discriminate
501 against any person because he or she has filed a complaint or
502 instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or
503 related to this subsection.
504 1. Any alleged termination of, retaliation against, or
505 discrimination against a person who submitted a complaint may be
506 considered by the office as an appropriate subject of an
507 investigation.
508 2. Any department employee or contractor who believes that
509 he or she has been terminated or otherwise discriminated against
510 by a person in violation of this subsection may, within 30 days
511 after such violation occurs, file a complaint pursuant to the
512 state’s whistleblower or wrongful termination laws, or both.
513 (8)(a) By December 31 of each year, the office shall
514 produce an annual report and make it publicly available on its
515 website and submit it to the Governor, the Attorney General, the
516 judiciary committees of each house of the Legislature, and the
517 secretary of the department. The report must include all of the
518 following:
519 1. A summary of the office’s inspections and complaint
520 investigations conducted that calendar year, including the
521 office’s findings and recommendations and the department’s
522 responses and corrective actions.
523 2. A characterization of the conditions of confinement.
524 3. A summary of educational and rehabilitative programming,
525 drug and mental health treatment, and jobs and vocational
526 training available to incarcerated persons.
527 4. A summary of visitation policies and procedures.
528 5. A summary of medical facilities and medical procedures
529 and policies.
530 6. A summary of the lockdowns reviewed by the office.
531 7. A summary of the staffing at each facility and in the
532 department overall.
533 8. A summary of physical and sexual assaults reviewed by
534 the office.
535 9. A summary of any incarcerated person or staff deaths
536 that occurred at a facility.
537 10. A summary of the office’s investigations, findings, and
538 resolutions of any complaints submitted pursuant to this section
539 or s. 944.102.
540 11. A summary of the pending and settled lawsuits during
541 the previous calendar year in which the department or its
542 contractors are a party and which relate to any covered issue as
543 defined in s. 944.102, with a description of the nature of the
544 claims, their date and location, and attorney fees, court costs,
545 and settlement costs spent by the department, its contractors,
546 or the state.
547 12. A summary of the criminal prosecutions of department
548 employees, contractors, or incarcerated persons initiated or
549 concluded during the previous calendar year, with a description
550 of the dates and locations of the alleged offenses, the nature
551 of the charges, and any adjudication or disposition of the
552 cases.
553 13. Recommendations to the Legislature and the department,
554 including, but not limited to, all of the following:
555 a. How the office and the department could be better funded
556 and staffed.
557 b. How to improve staff retention, training, working
558 conditions, compensation, benefits, morale, and safety.
559 c. How to improve incarcerated person health, safety,
560 conditions of confinement, or medical care.
561 d. How to improve visitation and limiting the use of
562 lockdowns and administrative segregation or solitary
563 confinement.
564 e. How to improve complaint investigation and resolution.
565 f. How to improve access to and quality and availability of
566 educational and rehabilitative programming, drug and mental
567 health treatment, and jobs and vocational training to
568 incarcerated persons.
569 g. How to improve transparency about conditions in the
570 facilities and the department overall.
571 h. How to improve the disciplinary process to hold staff
572 accountable for mistreatment of incarcerated persons.
573 i. How to prevent future violations of incarcerated
574 persons’ rights protected under state and federal law.
575 (b) Upon a request by the office, the department shall,
576 within the time specified or within a reasonable time, inform
577 the office in writing about any action taken on the
578 recommendations or the reasons for not complying with the
579 recommendations.
580 (9) The department and the office may adopt rules to enact
581 this section.
582 Section 2. Section 944.102, Florida Statutes, is created to
583 read:
584 944.102 Incarcerated person and family support services;
585 function of the Office of the Department of Corrections
586 Ombudsperson.—
587 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
588 (a) “Covered issue” includes, but is not limited to, all of
589 the following:
590 1. Sanitation in prison facilities.
591 2. Access to proper nutrition.
592 3. Livable temperatures in prison facilities.
593 4. Physical or sexual abuse from fellow incarcerated
594 persons.
595 5. Physical or sexual abuse from department staff or
596 contractors.
597 6. Credible threats against an incarcerated person from
598 another incarcerated person, staff, or contractors.
599 7. Neglect of prison staff or contractors which results in
600 physical or sexual trauma.
601 8. Denial of rights afforded to incarcerated persons under
602 federal or state law.
603 9. Access to visitation and communication with family.
604 10. Any instance in which the office determines an action
605 or behavior to be such that it constitutes abuse or neglect
606 against an incarcerated person.
607 11. Access to medical or mental health care or substance
608 abuse treatment.
609 12. Access to educational and rehabilitative programming,
610 drug and mental health treatment, and incarcerated person jobs
611 and vocational training.
612 (b) “Family form” means a secure online form created by the
613 office through which a family member can submit a complaint or
614 an inquiry.
615 (c) “Family member” has the same meaning as in s. 944.101.
616 (d) “Incarcerated person form” means a secure online form
617 available through the department’s intranet through which an
618 incarcerated person can submit a complaint or inquiries
619 regarding covered issues on his or her behalf.
620 (e) “Office” means the Office of the Department of
621 Corrections Ombudsperson.
622 (2) FAMILY ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT SERVICES ONLINE FORM.—The
623 office shall create an electronic family form and make it
624 publicly available on the office’s website so that family
625 members, friends, and advocates can submit complaints and
626 inquiries regarding covered issues on behalf of a person
627 incarcerated within the department. Upon receipt of a family
628 form, the office shall:
629 (a) Confirm receipt of the family form within 5 business
630 days after receipt;
631 (b) Determine whether an investigation is warranted within
632 7 business days after the confirmation of receipt of the form
633 and notify the person who submitted the form of the office’s
634 determination; and
635 (c) If the office determines an investigation is
636 unwarranted, provide a written statement explaining its decision
637 to the person who submitted the form.
638 (3) INCARCERATED PERSON ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT SERVICES
639 ONLINE FORM.—The office shall create an incarcerated person
640 advocacy and support services form.
641 (a) Availability.—The department shall ensure that the
642 incarcerated person form is available and operating on at least
643 12 computers within each department facility and accessible to
644 all incarcerated persons from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. each day.
645 For incarcerated persons in administrative segregation or
646 solitary confinement, the department shall ensure that employees
647 and contractors provide incarcerated persons with access to the
648 incarcerated person form on a computer or computer tablet or by
649 providing a paper copy upon the incarcerated person’s request.
650 The department shall make paper copies of the incarcerated
651 person form available, at no cost to incarcerated persons, in
652 each facility’s library, law library, and recreational and
653 medical facilities.
654 (b) Confidentiality.—The office shall create the
655 incarcerated person form in a secure format that excludes any
656 electronic monitoring or reproduction by the department or its
657 employees or contractors. Any submissions of paper copies of the
658 incarcerated person form by an incarcerated person must be
659 treated as confidential and privileged by department employees
660 or contractors in the same manner as legal correspondence or
661 communication.
662 (c) Requirements.—The office shall:
663 1. Confirm receipt of the incarcerated person form within 5
664 business days after receipt;
665 2. Determine whether an investigation is warranted within 7
666 business days after the confirmation of receipt of the form and
667 notify the person who submitted the form of the office’s
668 determination; and
669 3. If the office determines an investigation is
670 unwarranted, provide a written statement explaining its decision
671 to the person who submitted the form.
672 (4) FAMILY ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT SERVICES HOTLINE.—The
673 office shall create a telephone hotline that family members,
674 friends, and advocates of incarcerated persons can call to file
675 complaints and inquiries regarding covered issues on behalf of a
676 person incarcerated within the department. The office shall:
677 (a) Confirm receipt of the complaint or inquiry within 5
678 business days after its receipt;
679 (b) Determine whether an investigation is warranted within
680 7 business days after the confirmation of receipt of the
681 complaint or inquiry and notify the person who submitted the
682 complaint or inquiry; and
683 (c) If the office determines an investigation is
684 unwarranted, provide a written statement explaining its decision
685 to the person who submitted the complaint or inquiry.
686 (5) ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT SERVICES HOTLINE.—The office shall
687 create a secure telephone hotline that all department employees
688 and contractors and incarcerated persons can call to file
689 complaints and inquiries regarding covered issues on their own
690 behalf.
691 (a) Prohibition on phone call fees.—The secretary of the
692 department shall ensure that the hotline and its use are made
693 available to all incarcerated persons free of charge.
694 (b) Confidentiality.—The office and the secretary of the
695 department shall ensure that calls to the hotline are not
696 monitored or recorded by department employees or contractors.
697 (c) Requirements.—The office shall:
698 1. Confirm receipt of the complaint or inquiry within 5
699 business days after receipt;
700 2. Determine whether an investigation is warranted within 7
701 business days after the confirmation of receipt of the complaint
702 or inquiry and notify the person who submitted the complaint or
703 inquiry of the office’s determination; and
704 3. If the office determines an investigation is
705 unwarranted, provide a written statement explaining its decision
706 to the person who submitted the complaint or inquiry.
707 (6) BAN ON RETALIATION.—The department and its employees
708 and contractors may not terminate, retaliate against, or in any
709 manner discriminate against a person because he or she has filed
710 a complaint or inquiry or instituted or caused to be instituted
711 any proceeding under or related to this section.
712 (a) Any alleged termination of, retaliation against, or
713 discrimination against the person who submitted the complaint or
714 inquiry may be considered by the office as an appropriate
715 subject of an investigation.
716 (b) A department employee or contractor who believes that
717 he or she has been terminated or otherwise discriminated against
718 by any person in violation of this subsection may, within 30
719 days after such violation occurs, file a complaint pursuant to
720 the state’s whistleblower or wrongful termination laws, or both.
721 (7) FEDERAL CLAIMS.—A complaint or lack of complaint to the
722 office or any action or lack of action by the office on a
723 complaint made pursuant to this section may not be deemed an
724 administrative procedure required for exhaustion of remedies
725 before bringing an action pursuant to the Prison Litigation
726 Reform Act, 42 U.S.C. s. 1997e.
727 (8) RULES.—The department and the office may adopt rules to
728 enact this section.
729 Section 3. (1) Spending on the Office of the Department of
730 Corrections Ombudsperson to carry out the activities in this act
731 must equal an amount between 0.5 percent and 1 percent of the
732 Department of Corrections’ annual appropriation.
733 (2) Beginning with the 2026-2027 fiscal year through the
734 2031-2032 fiscal year, the recurring sum of $1.5 million is
735 appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of
736 Corrections to implement this act.
737 Section 4. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
738 act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2026.