Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1236 By Senator Jones 35-00828-22 20221236__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to county and municipal detention 3 facilities; amending s. 951.23, F.S.; revising the 4 definitions of the terms county detention facility 5 and municipal detention facility; creating the 6 Florida Model Jail Standards Commission to supersede a 7 working group; prescribing the commissions 8 membership; specifying that each entity that operates 9 a municipal or county detention facility shall adopt 10 the Florida Model Jail Standards approved by the 11 commission; specifying minimum commission standards; 12 creating s. 951.2302, F.S.; defining terms; requiring 13 the jail standards to include criteria and standards 14 for what actions result in serious violations and 15 notable violations; specifying that the jail standards 16 must require that each county detention facility and 17 municipal detention facility be inspected, at a 18 minimum, twice annually; prohibiting any person in 19 charge of a county detention facility or municipal 20 detention facility from refusing to be inspected or 21 refusing access to commission inspectors; providing 22 annual inspection requirements; providing procedures 23 and requirements for reinspections of detention 24 facilities due to noncompliance; providing timeframes 25 within which detention facilities must correct 26 violations; providing financial penalties for persons 27 in charge of detention facilities who refuse to allow 28 inspections or who refuse to provide access to 29 detention facilities, or for facilities found to be 30 noncompliant with the jail standards during an annual 31 inspection or any reinspection; requiring certain 32 noncompliant detention facilities to cease operations 33 and contract with other detention facilities for 34 inmate housing under certain circumstances; requiring 35 that the assessed financial penalties be deposited 36 into the detention facilitys inmate welfare fund; 37 providing an effective date. 38 39 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 40 41 Section 1.Paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection (1) and 42 paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 951.23, Florida 43 Statutes, are amended to read: 44 951.23County and municipal detention facilities; 45 definitions; administration; standards and requirements. 46 (1)DEFINITIONS.As used in this section, the term: 47 (a)County detention facility means a county jail, a 48 county stockade, a county work camp, a county residential 49 probation center, and any other place except a municipal 50 detention facility used by a county or county officer for the 51 detention of persons charged with or convicted of a either 52 felony or a misdemeanor, regardless of whether such facility is 53 operated by a board of county commissioners, a sheriff, or any 54 other entity. 55 (d)Municipal detention facility means a city jail, a 56 city stockade, a city prison camp, and any other place except a 57 county detention facility used by a municipality or municipal 58 officer for the detention of persons charged with or convicted 59 of violation of municipal laws or ordinances, regardless of 60 whether such facility is operated by a city or any other entity. 61 (4)STANDARDS FOR SHERIFFS AND CHIEF CORRECTIONAL 62 OFFICERS. 63 (a)There is shall be established the Florida Model Jail 64 Standards Commission, a seven-member commission five-member 65 working group consisting of four three persons appointed by the 66 Florida Sheriffs Association, three of whom must be currently 67 elected sheriffs and one of whom must be a Florida licensed 68 physician with at least 2 years of experience in correctional 69 health care, and three two persons appointed by the Florida 70 Association of Counties, of whom one must be a currently elected 71 county commissioner, one must be an experienced jail 72 administrator of a Florida county jail operated by a county, and 73 one must be a Florida licensed psychiatrist with at least 2 74 years of experience in correctional psychiatry, to develop and 75 maintain minimum model standards for county and municipal 76 detention facilities. Every sheriff, county, city, or other 77 entity that operates a municipal detention facility or a county 78 detention facility By October 1, 1996, each sheriff and chief 79 correctional officer shall adopt, at a minimum, the Florida 80 Model Jail Standards approved by the commission with reference 81 to all of the following: 82 1.a.The construction, equipping, maintenance, and 83 operation of county and municipal detention facilities. 84 b.The cleanliness and sanitation of county and municipal 85 detention facilities; the number of county and municipal 86 prisoners who may be housed therein per specified unit of floor 87 space; the quality, quantity, and supply of bedding furnished to 88 such prisoners; the quality, quantity, and diversity of food 89 served to them and the manner in which it is served; the 90 furnishing to them of medical attention and health and comfort 91 items; and the disciplinary treatment which may be meted out to 92 them. 93 94 Notwithstanding the provisions of the otherwise applicable 95 building code, a reduced custody housing area may be occupied by 96 inmates or may be used for sleeping purposes as allowed in 97 subsection (7). The sheriff or chief correctional officer shall 98 provide that a reduced custody housing area shall be governed by 99 fire and life safety standards which do not interfere with the 100 normal use of the facility and which affect a reasonable degree 101 of compliance with rules of the State Fire Marshal for 102 correctional facilities. 103 2.The confinement of prisoners by classification and 104 providing, whenever possible, for classifications which separate 105 males from females, juveniles from adults, and felons from 106 misdemeanants, and those awaiting trial from those convicted 107 and, in addition, providing for the separation of special risk 108 prisoners, such as the mentally ill, alcohol or narcotic 109 addicts, sex deviates, suicide risks, and any other 110 classification which the local unit may deem necessary for the 111 safety of the prisoners and the operation of the facility 112 pursuant to degree of risk and danger criteria. Nondangerous 113 felons may be housed with misdemeanants. Special consideration 114 must be given to the appropriate housing of pregnant women. 115 3.The additional jail standard requirements provided for 116 under s. 951.2302. 117 Section 2.Section 951.2302, Florida Statutes, is created 118 to read: 119 951.2302Inspection of county and municipal detention 120 facilities; penalties for noncompliance with jail standards. 121 (1)DEFINITIONS.As used in this section, the term: 122 (a)Commission means the Florida Model Jail Standards 123 Commission as provided in s. 951.23(4)(a). 124 (b)County detention facility has the same meaning as in 125 s. 951.23. 126 (c)Jail standards means the Florida Model Jail Standards 127 established by the commission, as set forth in s. 951.23(4)(a). 128 (d)Municipal detention facility has the same meaning as 129 in s. 951.23. 130 (2)VIOLATIONS CRITERIA.The jail standards must create and 131 identify criteria and standards for which noncompliance with 132 those provisions results in a serious violation or a notable 133 violation. 134 (3)TYPE AND FREQUENCY OF INSPECTIONS.The jail standards 135 must require that each county detention facility and municipal 136 detention facility be inspected, at a minimum, twice annually, 137 as outlined in this section, for compliance with the jail 138 standards. Each inspection must occur at least 120 days apart. A 139 county detention facility or municipal detention facility may 140 not refuse to be inspected or refuse access to the facility by 141 commission inspectors. If any person in charge of a county 142 detention facility or municipal detention facility refuses to 143 allow inspection of the facility or to provide access to the 144 facility, he or she shall be subject to the penalties in 145 paragraph (5)(f). 146 (a)One of the annual inspections must be announced, with 147 advance notice of the date on which the inspection will commence 148 provided to the detention facility. The announced annual 149 inspection must include an inspection of compliance with all 150 jail standards. 151 (b)One of the annual inspections must be a limited, 152 unannounced inspection, with no advance notice provided to the 153 detention facility. The scope of the unannounced annual 154 inspection must be limited to a review for serious violations. 155 (4)REINSPECTIONS. 156 (a)If an announced or unannounced annual inspection finds 157 a detention facility to be noncompliant with the jail standards 158 for a notable violation, the facility must correct the 159 noncompliance within 30 days and must be reinspected within 10 160 days after the 30-day correction period, or upon the facility 161 notifying the commission that it has corrected its 162 noncompliance, whichever is earlier. If upon reinspection the 163 detention facility is still found to be noncompliant, the 164 facility must correct the noncompliance within 15 days and must 165 have a second reinspection within 48 hours thereafter. If the 166 detention facility is found to be noncompliant during the second 167 reinspection, the penalties and procedures set forth in 168 paragraph (5)(e) shall apply. This paragraph does not prevent 169 reinspection from occurring before the expiration of the 170 timeframes stated in this paragraph if a detention facility 171 notifies the commission that it has cured the noncompliance 172 before the expiration of such timeframes. 173 (b)If an announced or unannounced annual inspection finds 174 a detention facility to be noncompliant with the jail standards 175 for a serious violation, the facility must correct the 176 noncompliance within 24 hours and must be reinspected within 48 177 hours after the violation was first observed. This paragraph 178 does not prevent reinspection from occurring before the 179 expiration of the 24-hour period if a detention facility 180 notifies the commission that it has cured the noncompliance 181 before such time. If the detention facility is found to be 182 noncompliant during the reinspection, the penalties and 183 procedures set forth in paragraph (5)(e) shall apply. 184 (5)PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE WITH JAIL STANDARDS.The 185 following penalties shall apply to any person in charge of a 186 detention facility who refuses to allow an inspection or to 187 provide access to a facility, or to a detention facility that is 188 found to be noncompliant with the jail standards during an 189 annual inspection or any reinspection: 190 (a)If an annual inspection reveals that a detention 191 facility is noncompliant with the jail standards for a notable 192 violation and the noncompliance is corrected within the initial 193 30-day correction period, there is no penalty. 194 (b)If an annual inspection reveals that a detention 195 facility is noncompliant with the jail standards for a notable 196 violation, and the noncompliance is not corrected within the 197 initial 30-day correction period, the facility must pay into the 198 facilitys inmate welfare fund the following specified amounts 199 per day that the facility is not in compliance until the 200 noncompliance has been corrected: 201 1.The 31st day through the 60th day: $500 per day of 202 noncompliance. 203 2.The 61st day through the 90th day: $1,000 per day of 204 noncompliance. 205 3.The 91st day and all remaining days: $2,000 per day of 206 noncompliance. 207 (c)If an annual inspection reveals that a detention 208 facility is noncompliant with the jail standards for a serious 209 violation, but the noncompliance is corrected within 24 hours 210 after its discovery, there is no penalty. 211 (d)If an annual inspection reveals that a detention 212 facility is noncompliant with the jail standards for a serious 213 violation and the noncompliance is not corrected within 24 hours 214 after its discovery, the facility must pay into the facilitys 215 inmate welfare fund $2,000 per day that the commission 216 determines that the facility is noncompliant. 217 (e)In addition to the penalties set forth in paragraphs 218 (b) and (d), if a second reinspection for a notable violation or 219 a serious violation reveals that a detention facility is still 220 noncompliant with the jail standards, the facility must cease 221 its operations as a detention facility within 14 days and must 222 contract with one or more other detention facilities to house 223 the noncompliant facilitys inmates until such time as the 224 facility is determined to be in compliance with the jail 225 standards. The receiving detention facility or facilities must 226 be in compliance with the jail standards in order to house the 227 noncompliant facilitys inmates. However, if a detention 228 facility consists of separate detention campuses, only the 229 campus determined to be noncompliant with the jail standards 230 must cease operations as stated in this paragraph. The 14-day 231 time period shall commence upon the expiration of the appeal 232 process specified in the jail standards, with the detention 233 facility failing to file a timely appeal, or upon the conclusion 234 of the appeal process specified in the jail standards, resulting 235 in a finding that the detention facility is noncompliant with 236 the jail standards. The noncompliant detention facility is 237 responsible for the costs accrued by another detention facility 238 or facilities for housing the noncompliant facilitys inmates. 239 This paragraph may not be deemed to limit or prevent any other 240 remedies or causes of action against a facility or an entity 241 that operates a facility which may be brought under any other 242 law, ordinance, or rule. 243 (f)If any person in charge of a county detention facility 244 or municipal detention facility refuses to allow inspection of 245 the facility or to provide access to the facility, such persons 246 salary must be withheld for each day he or she refuses such 247 inspection or access, and the amount withheld must be deposited 248 into the facilitys inmate welfare fund. This paragraph applies 249 regardless of whether the person refusing to allow the 250 inspection or refusing access to the detention facility is 251 elected, appointed, or an employee of a county, a city, or any 252 other political subdivision of this state. 253 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.