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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Florida State Guard; amending 2
s. 120.80, F.S.; providing that certain functions of 3
the Florida State Guard are not rules as defined by 4
ch. 120, F.S.; amending s. 250.44, F.S.; prohibiting 5
certain actions regarding clothing, arms, mil itary 6
outfits, and property of the Florida State Guard; 7
requiring certain information to be reported to the 8
director of the Division of the State Guard within the 9
Department of Military Affairs; providing a penalty; 10
amending s. 251.001, F.S.; providing a s hort title; 11
providing the scope of chapter 251, F.S.; revising 12
provisions relating to the creation and authorization 13
of the Florida State Guard; revising the authorized 14
maximum number of personnel of the Florida State 15
Guard; creating the Division of the St ate Guard within 16
the Department of Military Affairs; providing that the 17
head of the division is a director appointed by and 18
serving at the pleasure of the Governor; providing 19
eligibility requirements for the director; providing 20
that the division is a separ ate budget entity; 21
requiring the department to provide administrative 22
support to the division; providing division 23
responsibilities; defining the terms "director" and 24
"division"; deleting provisions establishing authority 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
of the department and the Adjutant General with 26
respect to the Florida State Guard; providing 27
additional duties of the division; revising 28
qualifications for applicants to the Florida State 29
Guard; requiring the director to organize and 30
establish a specialized unit within the Florida State 31
Guard; providing criteria and authority for members of 32
the specialized unit; revising the criteria for 33
activation of the Florida State Guard; requiring the 34
division to reimburse members for per diem and travel 35
expenses; authorizing other compensation subject to 36
appropriation; requiring the director to adopt rules; 37
conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 38
repealing ss. 251.01, 251.02, 251.03, 251.04, 251.05, 39
251.06, 251.07, 251.08, 251.09, 251.10, 251.11, 40
251.12, 251.13, 251.14, 251.15, 251.16, and 25 1.17, 41
F.S., relating to the Florida State Defense Force; 42
amending s. 790.25, F.S.; conforming provisions to 43
changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 44
45
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 46
47
Section 1. Subsection (20) is added to section 120.80, 48
Florida Statutes, to read: 49
120.80 Exceptions and special requirements; agencies. — 50
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(20) FLORIDA STATE GUARD. —Notwithstanding s. 120.52(16), 51
the enlistment, organization, administration, equipment, 52
maintenance, training, and discipline of the Florida State Guard 53
are not rules as defined by this chapter. 54
Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 250.44, Florida 55
Statutes, is amended to read: 56
250.44 Military equipment regulations; penalties. — 57
(3) The clothing, arms, military o utfits, and property 58
furnished by or through the state to any member of the militia 59
or the Florida State Guard , may not be sold, bartered, loaned, 60
exchanged, pledged, or given away. A person who is not a member 61
of the military forces of this state or the U nited States, or an 62
authorized agent of this state or the United States, who 63
possesses clothing, arms, military outfits, or property that is 64
unlawfully disposed of has no right, title, or interest therein, 65
and the clothing, arms, military outfits, or prope rty shall be 66
seized and taken wherever found by any civil or military officer 67
of the state and delivered to any commanding officer or other 68
authorized officer, who must: 69
(a) If such clothing, arms, military outfits, or property 70
were issued by or are prop erty of the militia, make an immediate 71
report to the Adjutant General. 72
(b) If such clothing, arms, military outfits, or property 73
were issued by or are property of the Florida State Guard, make 74
an immediate report to the director of the Division of the St ate 75
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Guard within the Department of Military Affairs. 76
77
The possession of any such clothing, arms, military outfits, or 78
property by any person not a member of the military forces of 79
this state, or any other state, or of the United States, is 80
presumptive evidence of such sale, barter, loan, exchange, 81
pledge, or gift and is punishable as provided in chapter 812. 82
Section 3. Section 251.001, Florida Statutes, is amended 83
to read: 84
251.001 Florida State Guard Act. — 85
(1) SHORT TITLE AND SCOPE. —This chapter may be cited as 86
the "Florida State Guard Act." This chapter shall be 87
supplemental to provisions relating to the organized militia in 88
chapter 250 other than the Florida National Guard. 89
(2)(1) CREATION AND AUTHORIZATION. —The Florida State Guard 90
is created to protect and defend the people of Florida from all 91
threats to public safety and to augment all existing state and 92
local agencies. The Florida State Guard is created as authorized 93
under federal law for use exclusively within the state, 94
activated only by the Governor under the specific limitations 95
created by this section , and is at all times under the final 96
command and control of the Governor as commander in chief of all 97
military and guard forces of the state. The Florida State Guard 98
is created and authorized as a component of the organized guard 99
separate and apart from the Florida National Guard and shall be 100
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used exclusively within the state for the purposes stated in 101
this section and may not be called, ordered, or drafted into the 102
armed forces of the United S tates. The authorized maximum number 103
of personnel that may be commissioned, enrolled, or employed as 104
members of the Florida State Guard is 1,500 400. 105
(3) DIVISION OF THE STATE GUARD. —The Division of the State 106
Guard is created within the Department of Mil itary Affairs and 107
shall be headed by a director who shall be appointed by and 108
serve at the pleasure of the Governor, subject to confirmation 109
by the Senate. The director must be a former commissioned 110
officer of the United States Armed Forces, United States Reserve 111
Forces, or Florida National Guard who served at least 5 years 112
and attained a rank of colonel, or its equivalent, or higher. 113
The division shall be a separate budget entity, and the director 114
shall be its agency head for all purposes. The Department o f 115
Military Affairs shall provide administrative support and 116
service to the division to the extent requested by the director. 117
The division shall not be subject to control, supervision, or 118
direction by the Department of Military Affairs in any manner, 119
including, but not limited to, personnel, purchasing, 120
transactions involving real or personal property, and budgetary 121
matters. The division is responsible for the organization, 122
recruitment, training, equipping, management, and functions of 123
the Florida State Guar d, including selection of units for 124
activation by the Governor, selection of candidates for 125
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commissioning by the Governor, and approving applicants as 126
enlisted personnel. 127
(4)(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 128
(a) The terms "active duty," "armed forces," "enlisted 129
personnel," "National Guard," and "rank" have the same meanings 130
as in s. 250.01. 131
(b) The term "department" means the Department of Military 132
Affairs. 133
(c) The term "director" means the director of the Division 134
of the State Guard. 135
(d) The term "division" means the Division of the State 136
Guard within the Department of Military Affairs. 137
(e)(c) The term "officer" means an officer commissioned by 138
the Governor. 139
(d) The term "organized guard" means an organized military 140
force that is authorized by law. 141
(f)(e) The term "warrant officer" means a technical 142
specialist commissioned as a warrant officer by the Governor. 143
(3) ADJUTANT GENERAL. —The Adjutant General is the 144
commanding general of the Florida State Guard subject at all 145
times to the Governor as commander in chief. The Adjutant 146
General is responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, 147
equipping, managing, and disciplining the Florida State Guard, 148
including selecting units for activation by the Governor, 149
selecting candidates for com missioning by the Governor, and 150
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approving applicants as enlisted personnel. 151
(5)(4) PERSONNEL.— 152
(a) Subject to approval by the Governor, the director 153
Adjutant General shall determine the number of officers, warrant 154
officers, and enlisted personnel neces sary to meet the staffing 155
and operational requirements of the Florida State Guard, and 156
determine the specific ranks and number of personnel within each 157
rank. 158
(b) The Governor shall commission all officers and warrant 159
officers of the Florida State Guard. 160
(c) Each applicant for the Florida State Guard shall meet 161
the following qualifications: 162
1. The applicant must shall be a citizen of the United 163
States and a resident of the state. 164
2. The applicant may not cannot have a felony conviction. 165
Each applicant shall submit a complete set of fingerprints and 166
all information required by state and federal law to process 167
fingerprints for purposes of conducting a criminal background 168
check. 169
3. The applicant may not be an active duty servicemember, 170
a member of the armed forces reserves, or a member of the 171
Florida National Guard. 172
4. If the applicant is a former member of the armed forces 173
or of any military or naval organization of this state or 174
another state, the applicant must have been separated under 175
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terms no less than a general discharge under honorable 176
conditions. 177
(d) The director Adjutant General shall establish minimum 178
standards for the age, physical and health condition, and 179
physical fitness of applicants which are no less than the 180
standards required for r ecruitment, enrollment, and retention in 181
the Florida National Guard. 182
(e) The director Adjutant General shall develop and 183
implement a code of regulations for the administration and 184
discipline of members of the Florida State Guard that shall 185
provide no less protection and impose no more severe sanctions 186
than as provided in s. 250.35, except that the director Adjutant 187
General shall not have no authority to impose any term of 188
incarceration. 189
(6) SPECIALIZED UNIT. —The director shall organize a 190
specialized unit within the Florida State Guard which shall be 191
considered a criminal justice agency as defined in s. 943.045 192
while activated. In addition to the requirements set forth in 193
paragraph (5)(c), all members of the specialized unit: 194
(a) Must meet the requir ements in s. 943.13 and be 195
certified as law enforcement officers as defined in s. 196
943.10(1). 197
(b) Are vested with the authority to bear arms, detect, 198
apprehend, and make arrests while activated. 199
(c) Shall have the same law enforcement authority as the 200
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law enforcement agency in conjunction with which they are 201
working when activated. 202
(7)(5) TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT. —The director Adjutant 203
General shall develop and implement a program for training for 204
members of the Florida State Guard. 205
(a) All training programs for the Florida State Guard 206
shall be at least equivalent to the training requirements for 207
members of the Florida National Guard under applicable federal 208
law at the time the training is conducted. As required by the 209
director Adjutant General, all members of the Florida State 210
Guard shall complete initial training within 180 days after 211
their appointment or enrollment and periodic ongoing training. 212
(b) The director Adjutant General may provide for staff to 213
prepare and conduct training required in thi s section. The staff 214
may include members of the Florida National Guard whose duty 215
assignments may include conducting training under this section 216
but who may not be considered members of the Florida State 217
Guard. 218
(c) The division Adjutant General shall provide all 219
equipment necessary for the training and service of members of 220
the Florida State Guard and shall arrange and contract for the 221
use of sufficient and adequate facilities for training, 222
organizing, and all other purposes of the Florida State Guard . 223
Section 250.44 applies The provisions of s. 250.44 apply to the 224
allocation, delegation, use of, and accounting for all equipment 225
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furnished under this section. 226
(d) The Adjutant General may make available for training 227
and other purposes under this section the facilities controlled 228
and operated by the department. 229
(8)(6) ACTIVATION AND DEACTIVATION OF THE FLORIDA STATE 230
GUARD.— 231
(a) The Florida State Guard, by component units or in 232
total, may be activated : 233
1. During any period when any part of the Florida National 234
Guard is in active federal service and the Governor has declared 235
a state of emergency ;. The Florida State Guard may be activated 236
as part of an emergency order issued by the Governor or in a 237
separate executive order issued during a declared state of 238
emergency. 239
2.(b) The Florida State Guard may be activated only To 240
preserve the public peace, execute the laws of the state, 241
enhance domestic security, respond to terrorist threats or 242
attacks, respond to an emergency as defined in s. 252.34 or 243
imminent danger thereof, or respond to any need for emergency 244
aid to civil authorities as specified in s. 252.38 ; or 245
3. To protect and defend the people of Florida from 246
threats to public safety and to augment any existing state or 247
local agency. 248
(b)(c) The Florida State Guard shall be deactivated by the 249
expiration of the order of activation or by a separate order by 250
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the Governor deactivating the Florida State Guard. 251
(9)(7) REIMBURSEMENT AND COMPENSATION. — 252
(a) The division shall department may reimburse members of 253
the Florida State Guard for per diem and travel expenses 254
incurred to attend required training or in the course of active 255
service as provided in s. 112.061. 256
(b) Members of the Florida State Guard may be compensated 257
for time spent training or in the course of active service at 258
rates established by the director, subject to appropriation 259
Adjutant General. 260
(c) A No member of the Florida State Guard may not make 261
any purchase or enter into any contract or agreement for 262
purchases or services as a charge a gainst the state without the 263
authority of the director Adjutant General. 264
(10)(8) EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION, SUSPENSION OF PROCEEDINGS, 265
LIABILITY, AND WORKERS' COMPENSATION. — 266
(a) The protections for members of the Florida National 267
Guard provided in ss. 250. 48-250.483 and 250.5201 -250.5205 shall 268
apply to each member of the Florida State Guard engaged in 269
required training or active service. 270
(b) Members of the Florida State Guard ordered into active 271
service or engaged in required training are not liable for a ny 272
lawful act done in performance of their duties under this 273
section while acting in good faith within the scope of those 274
duties. 275
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(c) While activated or in training, members of the Florida 276
State Guard are considered volunteers for the state, as defined 277
in s. 440.02(15)(d)6., and are entitled to workers' compensation 278
protections pursuant to chapter 440. 279
(11)(9) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY. —The director Adjutant 280
General, as head of the division department, shall adopt rules 281
to implement the provisions of this section. 282
(10) APPROPRIATION. —This section is subject to an 283
appropriation in the General Appropriations Act. 284
(11) EXPIRATION.—This section expires July 1, 2023. 285
Section 4. Sections 251.01, 251.02, 251.03, 251.04, 286
251.05, 251.06, 251.07, 251.08 , 251.09, 251.10, 251.11, 251.12, 287
251.13, 251.14, 251.15, 251.16, and 251.17, Florida Statutes, 288
are repealed. 289
Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 290
790.25, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 291
790.25 Lawful ownership, possession, and use of firearms 292
and other weapons.— 293
(3) LAWFUL USES.—The provisions of ss. 790.053 and 790.06 294
do not apply in the following instances, and, despite such 295
sections, it is lawful for the following persons to own, 296
possess, and lawfully use firearms and othe r weapons, 297
ammunition, and supplies for lawful purposes: 298
(a) Members of the Militia, National Guard, Florida State 299
Guard Defense Force, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space 300
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Force, Coast Guard, organized reserves, and other armed forces 301
of the state and of the United States, when on duty, when 302
training or preparing themselves for military duty, or while 303
subject to recall or mobilization; 304
Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 305