Florida Senate - 2024 SB 710 By Senator Ingoglia 11-00364A-24 2024710__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to law enforcement officers and 3 correctional officers; amending s. 112.532, F.S.; 4 deleting provisions relating to complaint review 5 boards; authorizing law enforcement officers and 6 correctional officers to pursue appropriate 7 administrative relief or file a civil action if the 8 officer is disciplined for certain violations; 9 amending s. 112.534, F.S.; deleting the requirement 10 that certain violations by agencies or investigators 11 be intentional; providing that an interview of an 12 officer may not begin or must cease under certain 13 circumstances; providing that the third member of a 14 compliance review panel may not be employed by the 15 agency head; requiring the compliance review panel to 16 determine if a violation occurred; providing that if 17 the alleged violation is sustained as intentional, the 18 investigator must be removed from the investigation if 19 such investigation is still ongoing; deleting the 20 requirement for an agency head to initiate an 21 investigation against an investigator; requiring that 22 sustained allegations of an intentional violation be 23 forwarded to the Criminal Justice Standards and 24 Training Commission for review; providing for 25 administrative and civil relief; providing that an 26 employing agency is responsible for certain monetary 27 expenses under certain circumstances; amending s. 28 112.533, F.S.; deleting a criminal penalty; conforming 29 provisions to changes made by the act; providing an 30 effective date. 31 32 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 33 34 Section 1.Subsections (3) through (7) of section 112.532, 35 Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (2) through (6), 36 respectively, and present subsections (2) and (3) of that 37 section are amended, to read: 38 112.532Law enforcement officers and correctional 39 officers rights.All law enforcement officers and correctional 40 officers employed by or appointed to a law enforcement agency or 41 a correctional agency shall have the following rights and 42 privileges: 43 (2)COMPLAINT REVIEW BOARDS.A complaint review board shall 44 be composed of three members: One member selected by the chief 45 administrator of the agency or unit; one member selected by the 46 aggrieved officer; and a third member to be selected by the 47 other two members. Agencies or units having more than 100 law 48 enforcement officers or correctional officers shall utilize a 49 five-member board, with two members being selected by the 50 administrator, two members being selected by the aggrieved 51 officer, and the fifth member being selected by the other four 52 members. The board members shall be law enforcement officers or 53 correctional officers selected from any state, county, or 54 municipal agency within the county. There shall be a board for 55 law enforcement officers and a board for correctional officers 56 whose members shall be from the same discipline as the aggrieved 57 officer. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to 58 sheriffs or deputy sheriffs. 59 (2)(3)ADMINISTRATIVE RELIEF AND CIVIL SUITS FOR BROUGHT BY 60 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS OR CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS.Every law 61 enforcement officer or correctional officer has shall have the 62 right to bring civil suit against any person, group of persons, 63 or organization or corporation, or the head of such organization 64 or corporation, for damages, either pecuniary or otherwise, 65 suffered during the performance of the officers official 66 duties, for abridgment of the officers civil rights arising out 67 of the officers performance of official duties, or for filing a 68 complaint against the officer which the person knew was false 69 when it was filed. An officer may pursue appropriate 70 administrative relief or file a civil action in a court of 71 competent jurisdiction if he or she is subject to disciplinary 72 action in violation of this section. This section does not 73 establish a separate civil action against the officers 74 employing law enforcement agency for the investigation and 75 processing of a complaint filed under this part. 76 Section 2.Subsection (1) of section 112.534, Florida 77 Statutes, is amended to read: 78 112.534Failure to comply; official misconduct. 79 (1)Notwithstanding s. 112.532(5), if any law enforcement 80 agency or correctional agency, including investigators in its 81 internal affairs or professional standards division, or an 82 assigned investigating supervisor, violates intentionally fails 83 to comply with the requirements of this part, the following 84 procedures apply. For purposes of this section, the term law 85 enforcement officer or correctional officer includes the 86 officers representative or legal counsel, except in application 87 of paragraph (d). 88 (a)The law enforcement officer or correctional officer 89 must notify shall advise the investigator of the alleged 90 intentional violation of the requirements of this part which is 91 alleged to have occurred. The officers notice of violation is 92 sufficient to notify the investigator of the requirements of 93 this part which are alleged to have been violated and the 94 factual basis of each violation. 95 (b)If the investigator fails to cure the alleged violation 96 or continues the alleged violation after being notified by the 97 law enforcement officer or correctional officer, the officer 98 must shall request that the agency head or his or her designee 99 be informed of the alleged intentional violation. If the alleged 100 violation is discovered before or during the interview of the 101 officer Once this request is made, the interview of the officer 102 may not begin or must shall cease, and the officers refusal to 103 respond to further investigative questions does not constitute 104 insubordination or any similar type of policy violation. 105 (c)Thereafter, within 3 working days, a written notice of 106 alleged violation and request for a compliance review hearing 107 must shall be filed with the agency head or designee and which 108 must contain sufficient information to identify the requirements 109 of this part which are alleged to have been violated and the 110 factual basis of each violation. All evidence related to the 111 investigation must be preserved for review and presentation at 112 the compliance review hearing. For purposes of confidentiality, 113 the compliance review panel hearing is shall be considered part 114 of the original investigation. 115 (d)Unless otherwise remedied by the agency before the 116 compliance review hearing, the a compliance review hearing must 117 be conducted within 10 working days after the request for a 118 compliance review hearing is filed, unless, by mutual agreement 119 of the officer and agency or for extraordinary reasons, an 120 alternate date is chosen. A compliance review The panel shall 121 review the circumstances and facts surrounding the alleged 122 intentional violation. The three-member compliance review panel 123 consists of shall be made up of three members: one member 124 selected by the agency head, one member selected by the officer 125 filing the request, and a third member who is not employed by 126 the agency head and is to be selected by the other two members. 127 The compliance review panel members must shall be law 128 enforcement officers or correctional officers who are active 129 from the same law enforcement discipline as the officer 130 requesting the hearing. Compliance review panel members may be 131 selected from any state, county, or municipal agency within the 132 county in which the officer works. The compliance review hearing 133 must shall be conducted in the county in which the officer 134 works. 135 (e)It is the responsibility of the compliance review panel 136 to determine whether a violation occurred and if or not the 137 investigator or agency intentionally violated the requirements 138 provided under this part. It may hear evidence, review relevant 139 documents, and hear argument before making such a determination; 140 however, all evidence received must shall be strictly limited to 141 the allegation under consideration and may not be related to the 142 disciplinary charges pending against the officer. The 143 investigative materials are considered confidential for purposes 144 of the compliance review hearing and determination. 145 (f)The officer bears the burden of proof to establish that 146 the alleged violation of this part was intentional. The standard 147 of proof for such a determination is by a preponderance of the 148 evidence. The determination of the compliance review panel must 149 be made at the conclusion of the compliance review hearing, in 150 writing, and filed with the agency head and the officer. 151 (g)If the alleged violation is sustained as intentional by 152 the compliance review panel, the agency head must shall 153 immediately remove the investigator from any further involvement 154 with the investigation of the officer if the investigation is 155 still ongoing. Additionally, the agency head shall direct an 156 investigation be initiated against the investigator determined 157 to have intentionally violated the requirements provided under 158 this part for purposes of agency disciplinary action. if the 159 compliance review panel sustains the violation as intentional 160 against the investigator or any other officer involved in the 161 violation that investigation is sustained, the violation must 162 sustained allegations against the investigator shall be 163 forwarded to the Criminal Justice Standards and Training 164 Commission for review as an act of official misconduct or misuse 165 of position. 166 (h)If an officer is disciplined after a violation of this 167 part, the violation may be addressed and remedied 168 administratively or in a court of competent jurisdiction. If a 169 disciplinary action is directly connected to an intentional 170 violation of this part and the intentional violation results in 171 the reversal of the disciplinary action, the employing agency is 172 responsible for the monetary expenses incurred by the aggrieved 173 officer, including attorney fees and costs, hardship draws from 174 the officers retirement accounts, loss of income, and loss of 175 personal property. 176 Section 3.Subsection (4) of section 112.533, Florida 177 Statutes, is amended to read: 178 112.533Receipt and processing of complaints. 179 (4)Any person who is a participant in an internal 180 investigation, including the complainant, the subject of the 181 investigation and the subjects legal counsel or a 182 representative of his or her choice, the investigator conducting 183 the investigation, and any witnesses in the investigation, who 184 willfully discloses any information obtained pursuant to the 185 agencys investigation, including, but not limited to, the 186 identity of the officer under investigation, the nature of the 187 questions asked, information revealed, or documents furnished in 188 connection with a confidential internal investigation of an 189 agency, before such complaint, document, action, or proceeding 190 becomes a public record as provided in this section commits a 191 misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 192 775.082 or s. 775.083. However, this subsection does not limit a 193 law enforcement or correctional officers ability to gain access 194 to information under paragraph (2)(a). Additionally, a sheriff, 195 police chief, or other head of a law enforcement agency, or his 196 or her designee, is not precluded by this section from 197 acknowledging the existence of a complaint and the fact that an 198 investigation is underway. 199 Section 4.This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.