HB 443 2024
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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 law enforcement officers and 2
correctional officers; amending s. 112.532, F.S.; 3
removing provisions relating to complaint review 4
boards; authorizing law enforcement officers and 5
correctional officers to pursue administrative relief 6
or file a civil action if the officer is disciplined 7
for certain violations; amending s. 112.534, F.S.; 8
removing the requirement that certain violations by 9
agencies or investigators be intentional; providing 10
that an interview of an officer may not begin or must 11
cease under certain circumstances; providing that the 12
third member of a compliance review panel may not be 13
employed by the agency head; requiring the compliance 14
review panel to determine if a violation occurred; 15
removing the requirement for an agency head to 16
initiate an investigation against an investigator; 17
requiring sustained allegations of an intentional 18
violation to be forwarded to the Criminal Justice 19
Standards and Training Commission for review; 20
providing for administrative and civil relief; 21
providing that an employing agency is responsible for 22
certain monetary expenses under certain circumstances; 23
amending s. 112.533, F.S.; removing a criminal 24
penalty; conforming provisions to changes made by the 25
HB 443 2024
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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
act; providing an effective date. 26
27
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 28
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Section 1. Subsections (3) through (7) of section 112.532, 30
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (2) through (6), 31
respectively, and present subsections (2) and (3) of that 32
section are amended, to rea d: 33
112.532 Law enforcement officers' and correctional 34
officers' rights.—All law enforcement officers and correctional 35
officers employed by or appointed to a law enforcement agency or 36
a correctional agency shall have the following rights and 37
privileges: 38
(2) COMPLAINT REVIEW BOARDS. —A complaint review board 39
shall be composed of three members: One member selected by the 40
chief administrator of the agency or unit; one member selected 41
by the aggrieved officer; and a third member to be selected by 42
the other two members. Agencies or units having more than 100 43
law enforcement officers or correctional officers shall utilize 44
a five-member board, with two members being selected by the 45
administrator, two members being selected by the aggrieved 46
officer, and the fifth member being selected by the other four 47
members. The board members shall be law enforcement officers or 48
correctional officers selected from any state, county, or 49
municipal agency within the county. There shall be a board for 50
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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
law enforcement officers and a board for correctional officers 51
whose members shall be from the same discipline as the aggrieved 52
officer. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to 53
sheriffs or deputy sheriffs. 54
(2)(3) ADMINISTRATIVE RELIEF AND CIVIL SUITS FOR BROUGHT 55
BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS OR CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS. —Every law 56
enforcement officer or correctional officer has shall have the 57
right to bring civil suit against any person, group of persons, 58
or organization or corporation, or the head of such organization 59
or corporation, for damages, either pecuniary or otherwise, 60
suffered during the performance of the officer's official 61
duties, for abridgment of the officer's civil rights arising out 62
of the officer's performance of official duties, or for filing a 63
complaint against the officer which the person knew was false 64
when it was filed. An officer may pursue appropriate 65
administrative relief or file a civil action in a court of 66
competent jurisdiction if he or she is subject to disciplinary 67
action in violation of this section. This section does not 68
establish a separate civil action against the officer's 69
employing law enforcement agency for the investigation and 70
processing of a complaint filed under this part. 71
Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 112.534, Florida 72
Statutes, is amended to read: 73
112.534 Failure to comply; official misconduct. — 74
(1) Notwithstanding s. 112.532(5), if any law enforcement 75
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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
agency or correctional agency, including investigators in its 76
internal affairs or professional standards division, or an 77
assigned investigating supervisor, violates intentionally fails 78
to comply with the requirements of this part, the following 79
procedures apply. For purposes of this section, the term "law 80
enforcement officer" or "correctional officer" includes the 81
officer's representative or legal counsel, except in application 82
of paragraph (d). 83
(a) The law enforcement officer or correctional officer 84
must notify shall advise the investigator of the alleged 85
intentional violation of the requirements of this part which is 86
alleged to have occurred. The officer's notice of violation is 87
sufficient to notify the investigator of the requirements of 88
this part which are alleged to have been violated and the 89
factual basis of each violation. 90
(b) If the investigator fails to cure the alleged 91
violation or continues the alleged violation after being 92
notified by the law enforcement officer or correctional officer, 93
the officer must shall request that the agency head or his or 94
her designee be informed of the alleged intentional violation. 95
If the alleged violation is discovered before or during the 96
interview of the officer Once this request is made , the 97
interview of the officer may not begin or must shall cease, and 98
the officer's refusal to respond to further investigative 99
questions does not consti tute insubordination or any similar 100
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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
type of policy violation. 101
(c) Thereafter, within 3 working days, a written notice of 102
alleged violation and request for a compliance review hearing 103
must shall be filed with the agency head or designee and which 104
must contain sufficient information to identify the requirements 105
of this part which are alleged to have been violated and the 106
factual basis of each violation. All evidence related to the 107
investigation must be preserved for review and presentation at 108
the compliance review hearing. For purposes of confidentiality, 109
the compliance review panel hearing is shall be considered part 110
of the original investigation. 111
(d) Unless otherwise remedied by the agency before the 112
compliance review hearing, the a compliance review hea ring must 113
be conducted within 10 working days after the request for a 114
compliance review hearing is filed, unless, by mutual agreement 115
of the officer and agency or for extraordinary reasons, an 116
alternate date is chosen. A compliance review The panel shall 117
review the circumstances and facts surrounding the alleged 118
intentional violation. The three-member compliance review panel 119
consists of shall be made up of three members: one member 120
selected by the agency head, one member selected by the office r 121
filing the request, and a third member who is not employed by 122
the agency head and is to be selected by the other two members. 123
The compliance review panel members must shall be law 124
enforcement officers or correctional officers who are active 125
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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
from the same law enforcement discipline as the officer 126
requesting the hearing. Compliance review panel members may be 127
selected from any state, county, or municipal agency within the 128
county in which the officer works. The compliance review hearing 129
shall be conducted in the county in which the officer works. 130
(e) It is the responsibility of the compliance review 131
panel to determine whether a violation occurred and if or not 132
the investigator or agency intentionally violated the 133
requirements provided under this part. It ma y hear evidence, 134
review relevant documents, and hear argument before making such 135
a determination; however, all evidence received must shall be 136
strictly limited to the allegation under consideration and may 137
not be related to the disciplinary charges pending against the 138
officer. The investigative materials are considered confidential 139
for purposes of the compliance review hearing and determination. 140
(f) The officer bears the burden of proof to establish 141
that the alleged violation of this part was intentional. The 142
standard of proof for such a determination is by a preponderance 143
of the evidence. The determination of the compliance review 144
panel must be made at the conclusion of the compliance review 145
hearing, in writing, and filed with the agency head and the 146
officer. 147
(g) If the alleged violation is sustained as intentional 148
by the compliance review panel, the agency head must shall 149
immediately remove the investigator from any further involvement 150
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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
with the investigation of the officer if the investigation is 151
still ongoing. Additionally, the agency head shall direct an 152
investigation be initiated against the investigator determined 153
to have intentionally violated the requirements provided under 154
this part for purposes of agency disciplinary action. if the 155
compliance review panel sustains the violation as intentional 156
against the investigator or any other officer involved in the 157
violation that investigation is sustained , the violation must 158
sustained allegations against the investigator shall be 159
forwarded to the Criminal Ju stice Standards and Training 160
Commission for review as an act of official misconduct or misuse 161
of position. 162
(h) If an officer is disciplined after a violation of this 163
part, the violation may be addressed and remedied 164
administratively or in a court of comp etent jurisdiction. If a 165
disciplinary action is directly connected to an intentional 166
violation of this part and the intentional violation results in 167
the reversal of the disciplinary action, the employing agency is 168
responsible for the monetary expenses incu rred by the aggrieved 169
officer, including attorney fees and costs, hardship draws from 170
the officer's retirement accounts, loss of income, and loss of 171
personal property. 172
Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 112.533, Florida 173
Statutes, is amended to read: 174
112.533 Receipt and processing of complaints. — 175
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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
(4) Any person who is a participant in an internal 176
investigation, including the complainant, the subject of the 177
investigation and the subject's legal counsel or a 178
representative of his or her choice, the i nvestigator conducting 179
the investigation, and any witnesses in the investigation, who 180
willfully discloses any information obtained pursuant to the 181
agency's investigation, including, but not limited to, the 182
identity of the officer under investigation, the n ature of the 183
questions asked, information revealed, or documents furnished in 184
connection with a confidential internal investigation of an 185
agency, before such complaint, document, action, or proceeding 186
becomes a public record as provided in this section com mits a 187
misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 188
775.082 or s. 775.083. However, this subsection does not limit a 189
law enforcement or correctional officer's ability to gain access 190
to information under paragraph (2)(a). Additionally, a sh eriff, 191
police chief, or other head of a law enforcement agency, or his 192
or her designee, is not precluded by this section from 193
acknowledging the existence of a complaint and the fact that an 194
investigation is underway. 195
Section 4. This act shall take effe ct July 1, 2024. 196