Florida Senate - 2026 SB 950
By Senator Truenow
13-00941-26 2026950__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Financial Crimes Intelligence
3 Center; creating s. 817.101, F.S.; defining the term
4 “department”; establishing the center within the
5 Department of Legal Affairs; specifying the purposes
6 of the center; authorizing the department to enter
7 into operational agreements; providing for the
8 appointment of a director; specifying powers and
9 duties of the department; requiring annual reporting
10 beginning on a specified date; providing reporting
11 requirements; requiring the department to adopt rules;
12 providing an effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Section 817.101, Florida Statutes, is created to
17 read:
18 817.101 Financial Crimes Intelligence Center.—
19 (1) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term
20 “department” means the Department of Legal Affairs.
21 (2) ESTABLISHED.—The Financial Crimes Intelligence Center
22 is established within the department.
23 (3) PURPOSE.—The purposes of the center are:
24 (a) To serve as the state’s primary entity responsible for
25 the planning, coordination, and integration of law enforcement
26 agencies and other governmental agencies that respond to
27 criminal activity related to:
28 1. Fraud and fraudulent practices under this part and part
29 II of this chapter;
30 2. Forgery and counterfeiting under chapter 831; and
31 3. Check and payment fraud under chapter 832.
32 (b) To maximize the ability of the department, of law
33 enforcement agencies, and of other governmental agencies to
34 detect, prevent, and respond to criminal activities related to
35 financial fraud.
36 (4) OPERATION AGREEMENTS AUTHORIZED; DIRECTOR.—
37 (a) The department:
38 1. May enter into agreements with law enforcement agencies
39 or other governmental agencies for the operation of the center;
40 and
41 2. Shall enter into an agreement with a law enforcement
42 agency or other governmental agency to appoint a director to
43 supervise and manage the operations of the center.
44 (b) The director may be a licensed attorney or law
45 enforcement officer. The agreement must provide that the
46 commission of a director who is a licensed law enforcement
47 officer will be carried by the agency with which the department
48 enters into the agreement.
49 (c) Any information that a law enforcement agency or other
50 governmental agency collects and maintains under an agreement
51 entered into with the department under this chapter is the
52 intellectual property of the center. On termination of the
53 agreement, the contracting agency must transfer the information
54 to the department in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
55 (5) POWERS AND DUTIES.—
56 (a) The center may collaborate with federal, state, and
57 local governmental agencies to accomplish the purposes of the
58 center.
59 (b) The center shall assist law enforcement agencies, other
60 governmental agencies, financial institutions, credit card
61 issuers, debit card issuers, payment card networks, institutions
62 of higher education, and merchants in their efforts to develop
63 and implement strategies for identifying and prosecuting
64 financial crimes.
65 (c) The center may:
66 1. Serve as a centralized collection point for information
67 related to payment fraud;
68 2. Provide training and educational opportunities to law
69 enforcement agencies;
70 3. Provide outreach to the public; and
71 4. Release information to affected financial institutions,
72 credit card issuers, debit card issuers, payment card networks,
73 institutions of higher education, and merchants if the center
74 does not deem the information to be sensitive to law
75 enforcement. Information is deemed sensitive to law enforcement
76 if the information could cause harm to law enforcement
77 activities or jeopardize an investigation or operation if
78 disclosed.
79 (6) ANNUAL REPORT.—
80 (a) By December 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the
81 director of the center shall submit a report to the department.
82 (b) The report must include all of the following:
83 1. A plan of operation for the center and an estimate of
84 the moneys necessary to implement that plan.
85 2. An assessment of the current state of payment financial
86 fraud in this state, including:
87 a. An identification of the geographic locations in this
88 state which have the highest statistical probability for
89 financial fraud; and
90 b. A summary of financial fraud statistics for the year in
91 which the report is filed.
92 3. A detailed plan of operation for combatting financial
93 fraud.
94 4. A communications plan for outreach to law enforcement
95 agencies, financial institutions, credit card issuers, debit
96 card issuers, payment card networks, merchants, and the public.
97 5. A list of expenditures made since the most recent report
98 was filed with the department.
99 (7) RULES.—The department shall adopt rules to implement
100 and administer this section.
101 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.