Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1544 By Senator Pizzo 37-00267A-26 20261544__ Page 1 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1

An act relating to complaints against law enforcement 2 and correctional officers; amending s. 112.532, F.S.; 3 requiring that a copy of a complaint, signed by the 4 complainant under oath, be provided to law enforcement 5 officers and correctional officers who are under 6 investigation before any interrogation begins; 7 providing that complainant names and signatures are 8 not required if a complaint is accompanied by 9 corroborating evidence; prohibiting certain personnel 10 actions from being taken against a law enforcement 11 officer or correctional officer unless such officer 12 receives a copy of the complaint signed by the 13 complainant under oath; providing an exception; 14 requiring that the investigative file of certain 15 investigations of a law enforcement officer or 16 correctional officer be included in such officer’s 17 personnel file; providing that certain investigations 18 do not affect such officer’s ability to receive a 19 promotion, a raise, or any other commendation; 20 amending s. 112.533, F.S.; requiring a complaint 21 against a law enforcement officer or correctional 22 officer to be in writing and signed under oath by the 23 person filing the complaint; providing an exception; 24 providing penalties for making a false complaint; 25 providing an effective date. 26 27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 28 29

Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1544 37-00267A-26 20261544__ Page 2 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.

Section 1. Paragraph (

d) of subsection (1) and subsection 30 (4) of

section 112.532, Florida Statutes, are amended, and 31 subsection (8) is added to that section, to read: 32 112.532 Law enforcement officers’ and correctional 33 officers’ rights.—All law enforcement officers and correctional 34 officers employed by or appointed to a law enforcement agency or 35 a correctional agency shall have the following rights and 36 privileges: 37

(1) RIGHTS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND CORRECTIONAL 38 OFFICERS WHILE UNDER INVESTIGATION.—Whenever a law enforcement 39 officer or correctional officer is under investigation and 40 subject to interrogation by members of his or her agency for any 41 reason that could lead to disciplinary action, suspension, 42 demotion, or dismissal, the interrogation must be conducted 43 under the following conditions: 44 (

d) The law enforcement officer or correctional officer 45 under investigation must be informed of the nature of the 46 investigation and the names of all complainants and must be 47 provided with a copy of the complaint, signed by the complainant 48 under oath, before any interrogation begins, and he or she must 49 be informed of the names of all complainants. However, if a 50 complaint is accompanied by corroborating evidence, the 51 complainant names and a signature are not required.

All 52 identifiable witnesses shall be interviewed, whenever possible, 53 prior to the beginning of the investigative interview of the 54 accused officer. The complaint, all witness statements, 55 including all other existing subject officer statements, and all 56 other existing evidence, including, but not limited to, incident 57 reports, GPS locator information, and audio or video recordings 58

Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1544 37-00267A-26 20261544__ Page 3 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. relating to the incident under investigation, must be provided 59 to each officer who is the subject of the complaint before the 60 beginning of any investigative interview of that officer. An 61 officer, after being informed of the right to review witness 62 statements, may voluntarily waive the provisions of this 63 paragraph and provide a voluntary statement at any time. 64

(4) NOTICE OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION; COPY OF AND OPPORTUNITY 65 TO ADDRESS CONTENTS OF INVESTIGATIVE FILE; CONFIDENTIALITY.— 66 (

a) A dismissal, demotion, transfer, reassignment, or other 67 personnel action that might result in loss of pay or benefits or 68 that might otherwise be considered a punitive measure may not be 69 taken against any law enforcement officer or correctional 70 officer unless the law enforcement officer or correctional 71 officer is notified of the action and the reason or reasons for 72 the action and is provided with a copy of the complaint, signed 73 by the complainant under oath, unless the exception in paragraph 74 (1)(

d) applies, before the effective date of the action. 75 (

b) Notwithstanding s. 112.533(5), whenever a law 76 enforcement officer or correctional officer is subject to 77 disciplinary action consisting of suspension with loss of pay, 78 demotion, or dismissal, the officer or the officer’s 79 representative must, upon request, be provided with a complete 80 copy of the investigative file, including the complaint signed 81 by the complainant under oath, the final investigative report, 82 and all evidence, and with the opportunity to address the 83 findings in the report with the employing law enforcement agency 84 before imposing disciplinary action consisting of suspension 85 with loss of pay, demotion, or dismissal.

The contents of the 86 complaint and investigation must remain confidential until such 87

Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1544 37-00267A-26 20261544__ Page 4 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. time as the employing law enforcement agency makes a final 88 determination whether to issue a notice of disciplinary action 89 consisting of suspension with loss of pay, demotion, or 90 dismissal. This paragraph does not provide law enforcement 91 officers with a property interest or expectancy of continued 92 employment, employment, or appointment as a law enforcement 93 officer. 94

(8) RIGHTS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND CORRECTIONAL 95 OFFICERS AFTER AN INVESTIGATION.—The investigative file produced 96 during an investigation of a law enforcement or correctional 97 officer, which investigation does not result in the imposition 98 of disciplinary action on the officer, must be included in the 99 personnel file of such officer. An investigation of a law 100 enforcement officer or correctional officer which does not 101 result in the imposition of disciplinary action on the officer 102 does not affect the ability of such officer to receive a 103 promotion, a raise, or any other commendation. 104

Section 2. Paragraph (

a) of subsection (4) of

section 105 112.533, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 106 112.533 Receipt and processing of complaints.— 107 (4)(

a) Every law enforcement agency and correctional agency 108 shall establish and put into operation a system for the receipt, 109 investigation, and determination of complaints received by such 110 agency from any person, which must be the procedure for 111 investigating a complaint against a law enforcement or 112 correctional officer and for determining whether to proceed with 113 disciplinary action or to file disciplinary charges, 114 notwithstanding any other law or ordinance to the contrary. A 115 complaint against a law enforcement or correctional officer must 116

Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1544 37-00267A-26 20261544__ Page 5 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. be in writing and be signed under oath as provided in s. 117 92.525(2) by the person filing the complaint, except as provided 118 in s. 112.532(1)(d). A complainant who makes a false complaint 119 is subject to the penalties in s. 92.525(3). When law 120 enforcement or correctional agency personnel assigned the 121 responsibility of investigating the complaint prepare an 122 investigative report or

summary, regardless of form, the person 123 preparing the report shall, at the time the report is completed: 124 1. Verify pursuant to s. 92.525 that the contents of the 125 report are true and accurate based upon the person’s personal 126 knowledge, information, and belief. 127 2.

Include the following statement, sworn and subscribed to 128 pursuant to s. 92.525: 129 130 “I, the undersigned, do hereby swear, under penalty of perjury, 131 that, to the best of my personal knowledge, information, and 132 belief, I have not knowingly or willfully deprived, or allowed 133 another to deprive, the subject of the investigation of any of 134 the rights contained in ss. 112.532 and 112.533, Florida 135 Statutes.” 136 137 The requirements of subparagraphs 1. and 2. must be completed 138 before the determination as to whether to proceed with 139 disciplinary action or to file disciplinary charges.

This 140 subsection does not preclude the Criminal Justice Standards and 141 Training Commission from exercising its authority under

chapter 142 943. 143

Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 144