Florida 2024 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0443 Latest Draft

Bill / Introduced Version Filed 11/14/2023

                               
 
HB 443  	2024 
 
 
 
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 
hb0443-00 
Page 1 of 8 
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 
 
 
 
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 
hb0443-00 
Page 2 of 8 
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 
 29 
 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     
 
HB 443  	2024 
 
 
 
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 
hb0443-00 
Page 3 of 8 
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     
 
HB 443  	2024 
 
 
 
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 
hb0443-00 
Page 4 of 8 
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     
 
HB 443  	2024 
 
 
 
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 
hb0443-00 
Page 5 of 8 
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     
 
HB 443  	2024 
 
 
 
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 
hb0443-00 
Page 6 of 8 
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     
 
HB 443  	2024 
 
 
 
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 
hb0443-00 
Page 7 of 8 
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     
 
HB 443  	2024 
 
 
 
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 
hb0443-00 
Page 8 of 8 
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