Florida 2025 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H1515 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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10	10	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
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14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to criminal justice accountability; 2
16	16	creating s. 16.081, F.S.; authorizing the Attorney 3
17	17	General to call upon a state attorney to appear before 4
18	18	the Cabinet for a certain purpose; creating s. 16.082, 5
19	19	F.S.; authorizing the Attorney General to r eceive 6
20	20	cases from certain state attorneys upon request of the 7
21	21	Governor; amending s. 16.09, F.S.; requiring state 8
22	22	attorneys' reports to be submitted to the Attorney 9
23	23	General as he or she prescribes, rather than 10
24	24	quarterly; amending s. 16.53, F.S.; revising th e use 11
25	25	of the Legal Affairs Revolving Trust Fund to pay for 12
26	26	the investigation, prosecution, and enforcement of 13
27	27	certain cases forwarded to the Attorney General; 14
28	28	amending s. 27.14, F.S.; authorizing the Governor to 15
29	29	move cases to the Attorney General from a st ate 16
30	30	attorney for prosecution under certain circumstances; 17
31	31	amending s. 43.16, F.S.; providing that the Attorney 18
32	32	General shall serve as a permeant member and chair of 19
33	33	the Justice Administrative Commission; expanding the 20
34	34	duties of the commission; revising app licability; 21
35	35	amending s. 900.05, F.S.; requiring state attorneys to 22
36	36	collect data on annual charges referred by law 23
37	37	enforcement agencies for which case numbers were not 24
38	38	assigned; requiring the Department of Legal Affairs, 25
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47	47	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
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49	49
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51	51	by a specified date, to develop a sc hedule for 26
52	52	auditing certain records, and review compliance and 27
53	53	performance of the reporting entities and the validity 28
54	54	of their reports; requiring the department, by a 29
55	55	specified date, to begin auditing certain entities; 30
56	56	requiring periodic auditing; reenacti ng s. 27.151(1) 31
57	57	and (3), F.S., relating to the confidentiality of 32
58	58	specified executive orders, to incorporate the 33
59	59	amendment made to s. 27.14, F.S., in references 34
60	60	thereto; reenacting s. 943.6871, F.S., relating to 35
61	61	criminal justice data transparency, to incor porate the 36
62	62	amendment made to s. 900.05, F.S., in references 37
63	63	thereto; providing an effective date. 38
64	64	39
65	65	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 40
66	66	41
67	67	Section 1. Section 16.081, Florida Statutes, is created to 42
68	68	read: 43
69	69	16.081 Prosecutorial ex pediency; enforcement. —The Attorney 44
70	70	General may, with the consent of the Governor, call upon a state 45
71	71	attorney to speak before the Cabinet to provide information 46
72	72	regarding the oversight of his or her office. 47
73	73	Section 2. Section 16.082, Florida Statutes, is created to 48
74	74	read: 49
75	75	16.082 Reception of cases for prosecution. —Upon request by 50
76	76
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84	84	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
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86	86
87	87
88	88	the Governor, the Attorney General may receive cases forwarded 51
89	89	from a state attorney in a process under s. 27.14. 52
90	90	Section 3. Section 16.09, Florida Statutes, is amended to 53
91	91	read: 54
92	92	16.09 Regulations as to the reports of state attorneys. —55
93	93	The Attorney General shall prescribe the time and manner in 56
94	94	which regular quarterly reports must shall be made to him or her 57
95	95	by state attorneys, and they shall comply with the Attorney 58
96	96	General's instructions in this respect. 59
97	97	Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 16.53, Florida 60
98	98	Statutes, is amended to read: 61
99	99	16.53 Legal Affairs Revolving Trust Fund. — 62
100	100	(1) There is created in the State Treasury the Legal 63
101	101	Affairs Revolving Trust Fund, from w hich the Legislature may 64
102	102	appropriate funds for the purpose of funding investigation, 65
103	103	prosecution, and enforcement by the Attorney General of : 66
104	104	(a) the provisions of The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt 67
105	105	Organization Act., 68
106	106	(b) The Florida Deceptive and Un fair Trade Practices Act ., 69
107	107	(c) The Florida False Claims Act ., 70
108	108	(d) State or federal antitrust laws ., 71
109	109	(e) Section s. 501.1735., or 72
110	110	(f) Part V of chapter 501. 73
111	111	(g) Cases forwarded from state attorneys under s. 27.14. 74
112	112	Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 27.14, Florida 75
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121	121	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
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125	125	Statutes, is amended to read: 76
126	126	27.14 Assigning state attorneys to other circuits. — 77
127	127	(1)(a) If any state attorney is disqualified to represent 78
128	128	the state in any investigation, case, or matter pending in the 79
129	129	courts of his or her circuit or if, for any other good and 80
130	130	sufficient reason, the Governor determines that the ends of 81
131	131	justice would be best served, the Governor may, by executive 82
132	132	order filed with the Department of State :, either 83
133	133	1. Order an exchange of circuits or of courts between such 84
134	134	state attorney and any other state attorney ; or 85
135	135	2. Order an assignment of any state attorney to discharge 86
136	136	the duties of the state attorney with respect to one or more 87
137	137	specified investigations, cases, or matters, spe cified in 88
138	138	general in the executive order of the Governor ; or 89
139	139	3. Order the assignment to the Attorney General for 90
140	140	prosecution one or more specified investigations, cases, or 91
141	141	matters of any state attorney, specified in general in the 92
142	142	executive order of the Governor. 93
143	143	(b) Any exchange or assignment of any state attorney to a 94
144	144	particular circuit shall expire 12 months after the date of 95
145	145	issuance, unless an extension is approved by order of the 96
146	146	Supreme Court upon application of the Governor showing good and 97
147	147	sufficient cause to extend such exchange or assignment. 98
148	148	Section 6. Subsections (2), (5), (7), and (8) of section 99
149	149	43.16, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 100
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158	158	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
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162	162	43.16 Justice Administrative Commission; membership, 101
163	163	powers and duties.— 102
164	164	(2) Other than the Attorney General, members of the 103
165	165	Justice Administrative Commission shall serve for a period of 2 104
166	166	years, with the terms of each dating from July 1, 1985, except 105
167	167	that initially, one state attorney member and one public 106
168	168	defender member shall each serve a 1 -year term. The Attorney 107
169	169	General shall be a permanent member and shall serve as chair. 108
170	170	The remaining members shall be selected in the following manner: 109
171	171	(a) Two state attorneys, to be appointed by the president 110
172	172	of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Associatio n. 111
173	173	(b) Two public defenders, to be appointed by the president 112
174	174	of the Florida Public Defender Association. 113
175	175	(5) The duties of the commission shall include, but not be 114
176	176	limited to, the following: 115
177	177	(a) Providing information to each state attorney, public 116
178	178	defender, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and the 117
179	179	Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office to notify them of any 118
180	180	statutory changes that affect any such entities. 119
181	181	(b) Overseeing, directing, coordinating, and administering 120
182	182	all statutory requirements affecting the state attorney, public 121
183	183	defender, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and 122
184	184	Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office. 123
185	185	(c) Maintaining The maintenance of a central state office 124
186	186	for administrative services and assistance when possible to an d 125
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195	195	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
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197	197
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199	199	on behalf of the state attorneys and public defenders of 126
200	200	Florida, the capital collateral regional counsel of Florida, the 127
201	201	criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and the Statewide 128
202	202	Guardian ad Litem Office. 129
203	203	(d)(b) Ensuring that each state attorney, public defender, 130
204	204	and criminal conflict and civil regional counsel and the 131
205	205	Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office shall continue to prepare 132
206	206	necessary budgets, vouchers that represent valid claims for 133
207	207	reimbursement by the state for authorized expenses, and oth er 134
208	208	things incidental to the proper administrative operation of the 135
209	209	office, such as revenue transmittals to the Chief Financial 136
210	210	Officer and automated systems plans, but will forward such items 137
211	211	to the commission for recording and submission to the proper 138
212	212	state officer. However, when requested by a state attorney, a 139
213	213	public defender, a criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, 140
214	214	or the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office, the commission will 141
215	215	either assist in the preparation of budget requests, voucher 142
216	216	schedules, and other forms and reports or accomplish the entire 143
217	217	project involved. 144
218	218	(7) This section is supplemental to chapter 16, relating 145
219	219	to the Attorney General; to chapter 27, relating to state 146
220	220	attorneys, public defenders, criminal conflict and civil 147
221	221	regional counsel, and capital collateral regional counsel; to 148
222	222	chapter 39, relating to the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office; 149
223	223	or to other laws pertaining hereto. 150
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232	232	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
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236	236	(8) Chapter 120 does not apply to the Justice 151
237	237	Administrative Commission. 152
238	238	Section 7. Paragraph (b ) of subsection (3) of section 153
239	239	900.05, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (7) is 154
240	240	added to that section, to read: 155
241	241	900.05 Criminal justice data collection. — 156
242	242	(3) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING. —An entity required to 157
243	243	collect data in accordance wit h this subsection shall collect 158
244	244	the specified data and report them in accordance with this 159
245	245	subsection to the Department of Law Enforcement on a monthly 160
246	246	basis. 161
247	247	(b) State attorney.—Each state attorney shall collect the 162
248	248	following data: 163
249	249	1. Information rela ted to a human victim of a criminal 164
250	250	offense, including: 165
251	251	a. Identifying information of the victim, including race, 166
252	252	ethnicity, gender, and age at the time of the offense. 167
253	253	b. Relationship to the offender, if any. 168
254	254	2. Number of full-time prosecutors. 169
255	255	3. Number of part-time prosecutors. 170
256	256	4. Annual felony caseload. 171
257	257	5. Annual misdemeanor caseload. 172
258	258	6. Disposition of each referred charge, such as filed, 173
259	259	declined, or diverted. 174
260	260	7. Number of cases in which a no -information was filed. 175
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269	269	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
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273	273	8. Information rela ted to each defendant, including: 176
274	274	a. Each charge referred to the state attorney by a law 177
275	275	enforcement agency or sworn complainant related to an episode of 178
276	276	criminal activity. 179
277	277	b. Case number, name, and date of birth. 180
278	278	c. Drug type for each drug charge, i f applicable. 181
279	279	d. Deferred prosecution or pretrial diversion agreement 182
280	280	date, if applicable. 183
281	281	e. Annual charges referred by any law enforcement agency 184
282	282	for which a case number was not assigned. 185
283	283	(7) AUDITING.— 186
284	284	(a) By December 31, 2025, the Department of Legal Affairs 187
285	285	shall develop a schedule for the auditing of records provided by 188
286	286	reporting entities under this section, having established the 189
287	287	scope of such audits that must review, at a minimum, the 190
288	288	compliance and performance of each entity with respect to the 191
289	289	requirements of this section, and the validity of such reports. 192
290	290	Each entity required to report under this section must be 193
291	291	notified of the scope and the schedule of such audits. 194
292	292	(b) Beginning July 1, 2026, the Department of Legal 195
293	293	Affairs shall begin auditing each entity pursuant to the scope 196
294	294	and schedule established in paragraph (a). Each entity must be 197
295	295	audited once every 5 years thereafter. 198
296	296	Section 8. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 199
297	297	made by this act to section 27.14, Florida Statut es, in 200
298	298
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306	306	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
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308	308
309	309
310	310	references thereto, subsections (1) and (3) of section 27.151, 201
311	311	Florida Statutes, are reenacted to read: 202
312	312	27.151 Confidentiality of specified executive orders; 203
313	313	criteria.— 204
314	314	(1) If the Governor provides in an executive order issued 205
315	315	pursuant to s. 27.14 or s. 27.15 that the order or a portion 206
316	316	thereof is confidential, the order or portion so designated, the 207
317	317	application of the Governor to the Supreme Court and all 208
318	318	proceedings thereon, and the order of the Supreme Court shall be 209
319	319	confidential and exempt fr om the provisions of s. 119.07(1). 210
320	320	(3) To maintain the confidentiality of the executive 211
321	321	order, the state attorney, upon entering the circuit of 212
322	322	assignment, shall immediately have the executive order sealed by 213
323	323	the court prior to filing it with the clerk o f the circuit 214
324	324	court. The Governor may make public any executive order issued 215
325	325	pursuant to s. 27.14 or s. 27.15 by a subsequent executive 216
326	326	order, and at the expiration of a confidential executive order 217
327	327	or any extensions thereof, the executive order and all 218
328	328	associated orders and reports shall be open to the public 219
329	329	pursuant to chapter 119 unless the information contained in the 220
330	330	executive order is confidential pursuant to the provisions of 221
331	331	chapter 39, chapter 415, chapter 984, or chapter 985. 222
332	332	Section 9. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 223
333	333	made by this act to section 900.05, Florida Statutes, in 224
334	334	references thereto, section 943.6871, Florida Statutes, is 225
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343	343	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
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347	347	reenacted to read: 226
348	348	943.6871 Criminal justice data transparency. —In order to 227
349	349	facilitate the avail ability of comparable and uniform criminal 228
350	350	justice data, the department shall: 229
351	351	(1) Collect, compile, maintain, and manage the data 230
352	352	submitted by local and state entities pursuant to s. 900.05 and 231
353	353	coordinate related activities to collect and submit data. T he 232
354	354	department shall create a unique identifier for each criminal 233
355	355	case received from the clerks of court which identifies the 234
356	356	person who is the subject of the criminal case. The unique 235
357	357	identifier must be the same for that person in any court case 236
358	358	and used across local and state entities for all information 237
359	359	related to that person at any time. The unique identifier shall 238
360	360	be randomly created and may not include any portion of the 239
361	361	person's social security number or date of birth. 240
362	362	(2) Promote criminal justice d ata sharing by making such 241
363	363	data received under s. 900.05 comparable, transferable, and 242
364	364	readily usable. 243
365	365	(3) Create and maintain an Internet -based database of 244
366	366	criminal justice data received under s. 900.05 in a modern, 245
367	367	open, electronic format that is machi ne-readable and readily 246
368	368	accessible through an application program interface. The 247
369	369	database shall allow the public to search, at a minimum, by each 248
370	370	data element, county, judicial circuit, or unique identifier. 249
371	371	The department may not require a license or char ge a fee to 250
372	372
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380	380	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
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384	384	access or receive information from the database. 251
385	385	(4) Develop written agreements with local, state, and 252
386	386	federal agencies to facilitate criminal justice data sharing. 253
387	387	(5) Establish by rule: 254
388	388	(a) Requirements for the entities subject to the 255
389	389	requirements of s. 900.05 to submit data through an application 256
390	390	program interface. 257
391	391	(b) A data catalog defining data objects, describing data 258
392	392	fields, and detailing the meaning of and options for each data 259
393	393	element reported pursuant to s. 900.05. 260
394	394	(c) How data collected pursuant to s. 900.05 is compiled, 261
395	395	processed, structured, used, or shared. The rule shall provide 262
396	396	for tagging all information associated with each case number and 263
397	397	unique identifier. 264
398	398	(d) Requirements for implementing and monitoring the 265
399	399	Internet-based database under subsection (3). 266
400	400	(e) How information contained in the Internet -based 267
401	401	database under subsection (3) is accessed by the public. 268
402	402	(6) Consult with local, state, and federal criminal 269
403	403	justice agencies and other public and private use rs of the 270
404	404	database under subsection (3) on the data elements collected 271
405	405	under s. 900.05, the use of such data, and adding data elements 272
406	406	to be collected. 273
407	407	(7) Monitor data collection procedures and test data 274
408	408	quality to facilitate the dissemination of accura te, valid, 275
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417	417	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
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421	421	reliable, and complete criminal justice data. 276
422	422	(8) Develop methods for archiving data, retrieving 277
423	423	archived data, and data editing and verification. 278
424	424	(9) Keep all information received by the department under 279
425	425	s. 900.05 which is confidential and exempt when collected by the 280
426	426	reporting agency confidential and exempt for purposes of this 281
427	427	section and s. 900.05. 282
428	428	(10)(a) By October 1, 2019, assist the Criminal and 283
429	429	Juvenile Justice Information Systems Council in developing 284
430	430	specifications for a uniform arrest affidavit to be used by each 285
431	431	state, county, and municipal law enforcement agency to 286
432	432	facilitate complete, accurate, and timely collection and 287
433	433	reporting of data from each criminal offense arrest. The uniform 288
434	434	arrest affidavit must at a minimum include all of the following: 289
435	435	1. Identification of the arrestee. 290
436	436	2. Details of the arrest, including each charge. 291
437	437	3. Details of each vehicle and item seized at the time of 292
438	438	arrest. 293
439	439	4. Juvenile arrestee information. 294
440	440	5. Release information. 295
441	441	296
442	442	The uniform arrest affidavit specifications must also include 297
443	443	guidelines for developing a uniform criminal charge and 298
444	444	disposition statute crosswalk table to be used by each law 299
445	445	enforcement agency, state attorney, and jail administrator; and 300
446	446
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454	454	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
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458	458	guidelines for developing a un iform criminal disposition and 301
459	459	sentencing statute crosswalk table to be used by each clerk of 302
460	460	the court. 303
461	461	(b) By January 1, 2020, subject to appropriation, the 304
462	462	department shall procure a uniform arrest affidavit, a uniform 305
463	463	criminal charge and disposition statute crosswalk table, and a 306
464	464	uniform criminal disposition and sentencing statute crosswalk 307
465	465	table following the specifications developed under paragraph 308
466	466	(a). The department shall provide training on use of the 309
467	467	affidavit and crosswalk tables to each state, county, and 310
468	468	municipal law enforcement agency, clerk of the court, state 311
469	469	attorney, and jail administrator, as appropriate. 312
470	470	(c) By July 1, 2020, each state, county, and municipal law 313
471	471	enforcement agency must use the uniform arrest affidavit, each 314
472	472	state attorney and jail administrator must use the uniform 315
473	473	criminal charge and statute crosswalk table, and each clerk of 316
474	474	the court must use the uniform criminal disposition and 317
475	475	sentencing statute crosswalk table. 318
476	476	Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 319