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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 Department of Corrections; amending 2
s. 944.31, F.S.; providing additional authority for 3
law enforcement officers of the office of the 4
inspector general concerning department and private 5
corrections facilities; amending s. 957.04, F.S.; 6
providing that correctional privatization contracts 7
are not exempted from specified state contracting 8
provisions unless otherwise specified; providing 9
construction; amending s. 957.07, F.S.; revising 10
terminology; removing provisions concerning 11
development of consensus per diem rates by the Prison 12
Per-Diem Workgroup; amending s. 957.12, F.S.; revising 13
provisions concerning contact with the department by 14
specified persons; amending s. 957.15, F.S.; removing 15
a provision concerning department control over certain 16
funds appropriated for private correctional 17
facilities; providing an effective date. 18
19
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 20
21
Section 1. Section 944.31, Florida Statutes, is amended to 22
read: 23
944.31 Inspector general; inspectors; power and duties. —24
(1) The inspector general shall be responsible for prison 25
HB 1337 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
inspection and investigation, internal affairs investigations, 26
and management reviews. The office of the inspector general 27
shall be charged with the duty of inspecting the penal and 28
correctional systems of the state. 29
(2) The office of the inspector general shall inspect each 30
correctional institution or any place in which st ate prisoners 31
are housed, worked, or kept within the state, with reference to 32
its physical conditions, cleanliness, sanitation, safety, and 33
comfort; the quality and supply of all bedding; the quality, 34
quantity, and diversity of food served and the manner i n which 35
it is served; the number and condition of the prisoners confined 36
therein; and the general conditions of each institution. 37
(3) The office of inspector general shall see that all the 38
rules and regulations issued by the department are strictly 39
observed and followed by all persons connected with the 40
correctional systems of the state. The office of the inspector 41
general shall coordinate and supervise the work of inspectors 42
throughout the state. 43
(4) The inspector general and inspectors may enter any 44
place where prisoners in this state are kept and shall be 45
immediately admitted to such place as they desire and may 46
consult and confer with any prisoner privately and without 47
molestation. 48
(5)(a) The inspector general and inspectors shall be 49
responsible for criminal and administrative investigation of 50
HB 1337 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
matters relating to the Department of Corrections. 51
(b) The secretary may designate persons within the office 52
of the inspector general as law enforcement officers to conduct 53
any criminal investigation that occ urs on property owned or 54
leased by the department or involves matters over which the 55
department has jurisdiction. All criminal investigations, 56
involving matters over which the department has jurisdiction at 57
private correctional facilities, as defined in s. 944.710, may 58
be conducted by the law enforcement officers of the office of 59
the inspector general. 60
(c) A person designated as a law enforcement officer must 61
be certified pursuant to s. 943.1395 and must have a minimum of 62
3 years' experience as an inspect or in the inspector general's 63
office or as a law enforcement officer. 64
(d) The department shall maintain a memorandum of 65
understanding with the Department of Law Enforcement for the 66
notification and investigation of mutually agreed -upon predicate 67
events that shall include, but are not limited to, suspicious 68
deaths and organized criminal activity. 69
(e) During investigations, the inspector general and 70
inspectors may consult and confer with any prisoner or staff 71
member privately and without molestation and p ersons designated 72
as law enforcement officers under this section shall have the 73
authority to arrest, with or without a warrant, any prisoner of 74
or visitor to a state correctional institution for a violation 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
of the criminal laws of the state . Law enforcement officers 76
under this section shall have the authority to arrest, with or 77
without a warrant, any prisoner of or visitor to any state 78
correctional institution, as defined in s. 944.02, including all 79
private correctional facilities, for any violation of the 80
criminal laws of the state involving matters over which the 81
department has jurisdiction, involving an offense classified as 82
a felony that occurs on property owned or leased by the 83
department and may arrest offenders who have escaped or 84
absconded from custo dy. 85
(f) Persons designated as law enforcement officers have 86
the authority to arrest with or without a warrant a staff member 87
of the department, including any contract employee, 88
subcontractor, or volunteer, for a violation of the criminal 89
laws of the state that occurs involving an offense classified as 90
a felony under this chapter or chapter 893 on property owned or 91
leased by the department , or any private correctional facility 92
staff member, contract employee, subcontractor, or volunteer, 93
for a violation of the criminal laws of the state involving 94
matters over which the department has jurisdiction at any 95
private correctional facility . A person designated as a law 96
enforcement officer under this section may make arrests of 97
persons against whom arrest warrants have been issued, including 98
arrests of offenders who have escaped or absconded from custody. 99
The arrested person shall be surrendered without delay to the 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
sheriff of the county in which the arrest is made, with a formal 101
complaint subsequently made against her or him in accordance 102
with law. 103
Section 2. Paragraphs (a) through (h) of subsection (1) of 104
section 957.04, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as paragraphs 105
(b) through (i), respectively, a new paragraph (a) is added to 106
that subsection, and present p aragraphs (a) and (e) of that 107
subsection are amended, to read: 108
957.04 Contract requirements. — 109
(1) A contract entered into under this chapter for the 110
operation of private correctional facilities shall maximize the 111
cost savings of such facilities and shall: 112
(a) Unless otherwise specified herein, contracts entered 113
into under this chapter are not exempt from chapter 287, 114
including the competitive solicitation requirements thereof. 115
However, to the extent of a direct conflict between this chapter 116
and chapter 287, the provisions of this chapter shall control. 117
Contracts entered into under this chapter for the operation of 118
private correctional facilities are not considered to be an 119
outsource, as defined in s. 287.012. The specific outsourcing 120
requirements in s. 287.0571 are not required under this section. 121
(b)(a) Be executed negotiated with the contractor firm 122
found most qualified. However, a contract for private 123
correctional services may not be entered into by the department 124
unless the department determine s that the contractor has 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
demonstrated that it has: 126
1. The qualifications, experience, and management 127
personnel necessary to carry out the terms of the contract. 128
2. The ability to expedite the siting, design, and 129
construction of correctional facilities . 130
3. The ability to comply with applicable laws, court 131
orders, and national correctional standards. 132
(f)(e) Establish operations standards for correctional 133
facilities subject to the contract. However, if the department 134
and the contractor disagree with a n operations standard, the 135
contractor may propose to waive any rule, policy, or procedure 136
of the department related to the operations standards of 137
correctional facilities which is inconsistent with the mission 138
of the contractor to establish cost -effective, privately 139
operated correctional facilities. The department shall be 140
responsible for considering all requests proposals from the 141
contractor to waive any rule, policy, or procedure and shall 142
render a final decision granting or denying such request. 143
Section 3. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 957.07, 144
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 145
957.07 Cost-saving requirements. — 146
(4) The department shall provide a report detailing the 147
state cost to design, finance, acquire, lease, construct, and 148
operate a facility similar to the private correctional facility 149
on a per diem basis. This report shall be provided to the 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
Auditor General in sufficient time that it may be certified to 151
be included in the competitive solicitation request for 152
proposals. 153
(5)(a) At the request of the Speaker of the House of 154
Representatives or the President of the Senate, the Prison Per -155
Diem Workgroup shall develop consensus per diem rates for use by 156
the Legislature. The Office of Program Policy Analysis and 157
Government Accountability and the staffs of the appropriations 158
committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives 159
are the principals of the workgroup. The workgroup may consult 160
with other experts to assist in the development of the consensus 161
per diem rates. All meetings of the workgroup shall be open to 162
the public as provided in chapter 286. 163
(b) When developing the consensus per diem rates, the 164
workgroup must: 165
1. Use data provided by the department from the most 166
recent fiscal year to determine per diem costs for the following 167
activities: 168
a. Custody and control; 169
b. Health services; 170
c. Substance abuse programs; and 171
d. Educational programs; 172
2. Include the cost of departmental, regional, 173
institutional, and program administration and any other fixed 174
costs of the department; 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
3. Calculate average per diem rates for the following 176
offender populations: adult male, youthful offender male, and 177
female; and 178
4. Make per diem adjustments, as appropriate, to account 179
for variations in size and location of correctional fac ilities. 180
(c) The consensus per diem rates determined by the 181
workgroup may be used to assist the Legislature in determining 182
the level of funding provided to privately operated prisons to 183
meet the 7-percent savings required of private prisons by this 184
chapter. 185
(d) If a private vendor chooses not to renew the contract 186
at the appropriated level, the department shall terminate the 187
contract as provided in s. 957.14. 188
Section 4. Section 957.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to 189
read: 190
957.12 Prohibition on co ntact.—Except in writing to the 191
procurement office or as provided in the solicitation documents, 192
a bidder or potential bidder is not permitted to have any 193
contact with any member or employee of or consultant to the 194
department regarding a competitive solicitation request for 195
proposal, a proposal, or the evaluation or selection process 196
from the time a request for proposals for a private correctional 197
facility is issued until the time a notification of intent to 198
award is announced, except if such contact is in writing or in a 199
meeting for which notice was provided in the Florida 200
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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
Administrative Register . 201
Section 5. Section 957.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to 202
read: 203
957.15 Funding of contracts for operation, maintenance, 204
and lease-purchase of private corre ctional facilities.—The 205
request for appropriation of funds to make payments pursuant to 206
contracts entered into by the department for the operation, 207
maintenance, and lease -purchase of the private correctional 208
facilities authorized by this chapter shall be i ncluded in its 209
budget request to the Legislature as a separately identified 210
item. After an appropriation has been made by the Legislature to 211
the department for the private correctional facilities, the 212
department shall have no authority over such funds othe r than to 213
pay from such appropriation to the appropriate private vendor 214
such amounts as are certified for payment by the department. 215
Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 216