Senate Bill 740 (2021) — Administration of justice
SB 740
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2021 SB 740 By Senator Bracy 11-00036-21 2021740__ Page 1 of 15 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the administration of justice; 2 amending s. 40.24, F.S.; revising the rate of 3 compensation for jurors; requiring clerks of the 4 circuit court to provide quarterly estimates regarding 5 juror compensation costs to the Justice Administrative 6 Commission; requiring the commission to submit a 7 request for payment to the Chief Financial Officer 8 upon receipt and endorsement of the clerks’ estimates; 9 amending s. 900.05, F.S.; requiring each law 10 enforcement agency to collect and report specified 11 information to the Department of Law Enforcement on a 12 monthly basis; creating s. 900.06, F.S.; requiring law 13 enforcement agencies that employ law enforcement 14 officers being investigated for use of force by a 15 citizen review board to include a member of the 16 citizen review board as part of the law enforcement 17 agency’s investigative team; creating s. 900.061, 18 F.S.; providing legislative findings and intent; 19 requiring the county commission or other governing 20 body of each county to establish by a specified date a 21 citizen review board with the authority and ability to 22 independently investigate law enforcement agencies 23 within that county; providing requirements for citizen 24 review boards; creating s. 900.07, F.S.; requiring the 25 state attorney of a judicial circuit in which a law 26 enforcement officer use of force death occurs to 27 request that a state attorney from another judicial 28 circuit review the case and make a certain written and 29
Florida Senate - 2021 SB 740 11-00036-21 2021740__ Page 2 of 15 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. detailed recommendation; requiring a state attorney 30 who receives such a request to provide a specified 31 notice to the requesting state attorney within a 32 certain timeframe; amending s. 913.08, F.S.; 33 prohibiting the use of peremptory challenges to strike 34 prospective jurors in criminal jury trials that 35 commence on or after a specified date; repealing Rule 36 3.350, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, relating 37 to peremptory challenges, to conform to changes made 38 by the act; requesting the Florida Supreme Court to 39 amend Rule 1.431(d), Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, 40 to prohibit the use of peremptory challenges in jury 41 selection for civil jury trials; creating s. 943.1714, 42 F.S.; requiring the Criminal Justice Standards and 43 Training Commission to establish and maintain 44 standards for instruction of officers in the subjects 45 of implicit bias and deescalation of conflict to 46 minimize violence; requiring every basic skills course 47 required for officers to obtain initial certification 48 to include such training; amending s. 943.1718, F.S.; 49 providing legislative intent; defining the term 50 “vehicle dash camera”; requiring every law enforcement 51 agency to mandate that its law enforcement officers 52 wear body cameras and use vehicle dash cameras; 53 requiring law enforcement agencies to establish 54 specified policies and procedures; deleting a 55 provision relating to applicability; providing a 56 declaration of important state interest; creating s. 57 943.6872, F.S.; defining terms; requiring that each 58
Florida Senate - 2021 SB 740 11-00036-21 2021740__ Page 3 of 15 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. law enforcement agency have a written policy regarding 59 the investigation of officer-involved deaths; 60 providing requirements for such policies; authorizing 61 internal investigations under certain circumstances; 62 authorizing compensation for certain investigations to 63 be determined in a manner consistent with mutual aid 64 agreements; requiring certain investigators to provide 65 a complete report to the appropriate state attorney; 66 requiring such investigators to publicly release the 67 completed report, redacted as required by law, if the 68 state attorney determines that there is no basis to 69 prosecute the law enforcement officer involved; 70 creating s. 943.6875, F.S.; providing legislative 71 findings and intent; requiring every law enforcement 72 agency to create an early intervention system to track 73 and identify potentially damaging patterns of behavior 74 by law enforcement officers; providing risk 75 indicators; providing effective dates. 76 77 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 78 79
Section 1. Effective October 1, 2021, subsections (3) and 80 (4) of
section 40.24, Florida Statutes, are amended, and 81 subsection (9) is added to that section, to read: 82 40.24 Compensation and reimbursement policy.— 83 (3)(
a) Jurors who are regularly employed and who continue 84 to receive regular wages while serving as a juror are not 85 entitled to receive compensation from the clerk of the circuit 86 court for the first 3 days of juror service. 87
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b) Jurors who are not regularly employed or who do not 88 continue to receive regular wages while serving as a juror are 89 entitled to receive $30 $15 per day for the first 3 days of 90 juror service. 91
(4) Each juror who serves more than 3 days is entitled to 92 be paid by the clerk of the circuit court for the fourth day of 93 service and each day thereafter at the rate of $50 $30 per day 94 of service. 95
(9) Beginning October 1, 2021, each clerk of the circuit 96 court shall forward to the Justice Administrative Commission a 97 quarterly estimate of funds necessary to pay compensation to 98 jurors in accordance with subsections (3) and (4). Upon receipt 99 of such estimates, the Justice Administrative Commission shall 100 endorse the amount deemed necessary for payment to the clerks of 101 the circuit court during the quarter and shall submit a request 102 for payment to the Chief Financial Officer. 103
Section 2. Paragraph (
h) is added to subsection (3) of 104
section 900.05, Florida Statutes, to read: 105 900.05 Criminal justice data collection.— 106
(3) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.—An entity required to 107 collect data in accordance with this subsection shall collect 108 the specified data and report them in accordance with this 109 subsection to the Department of Law Enforcement on a monthly 110 basis. 111 (
h) Law enforcement agencies.—Each law enforcement agency 112 shall collect all of the following data: 113 1. The number of full-time law enforcement officers. 114 2. The number of part-time law enforcement officers. 115 3. The number of law enforcement officer stops, including: 116
Florida Senate - 2021 SB 740 11-00036-21 2021740__ Page 5 of 15 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. a. The race or ethnicity of each law enforcement officer 117 and individual involved in each stop; and 118 b. Whether the stop was a vehicle traffic stop or was made 119 on foot or by other means, which must be specified. 120 4. The number of arrests by, or notices to appear in lieu 121 of physical arrest issued by, law enforcement officers, 122 including: 123 a.
The race or ethnicity of each law enforcement officer 124 and individual involved in the arrest or issuance of notice to 125 appear; and 126 b. Whether the arrest or issuance of notice to appear arose 127 out of a vehicle traffic stop or was made on foot or by other 128 means, which must be specified. 129
Section
Section 900.06, Florida Statutes, is created to 130 read: 131 900.06 Citizen review board member participation in use of 132 force investigations.—Each law enforcement agency in this state 133 that employs a law enforcement officer for whom an investigation 134 is opened under s. 900.061(4)(b)1. by a citizen review board 135 shall include a member of the citizen review board as part of 136 the law enforcement agency’s investigative team. 137
Section
Section 900.061, Florida Statutes, is created to 138 read: 139 900.061 Citizen review boards.— 140
(1) The Legislature finds that an effective way for our 141 communities and the law enforcement agencies that serve them to 142 build mutual trust and positive relationships is through the 143 establishment of citizen review boards. 144
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature to require the 145
Florida Senate - 2021 SB 740 11-00036-21 2021740__ Page 6 of 15 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. establishment of a citizen review board in each county of this 146 state to provide civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies 147 within that county through independent investigations. 148
(3) By July 1, 2022, the county commission or other 149 governing body, as appropriate, of each county in this state 150 shall establish a citizen review board with the authority and 151 ability to independently investigate each law enforcement agency 152 within that county. 153
(4) Each citizen review board shall comply with all of the 154 following requirements: 155 (
a) Be composed of at least 5 but not more than 15 156 individuals appointed by the county commission or other 157 governing body of the county, as appropriate. A member of the 158 board may not be a current employee of the state or county, or 159 of any subdivision of the county. 160 (
b) Investigate all complaints relating to: 161 1. Use of force. This includes, but is not limited to, an 162 investigation into whether excessive force was used or whether 163 use of force was justified. 164 2. Abuse of authority. This includes, but is not limited 165 to, investigations to determine whether unauthorized or illegal 166 searches or seizures, inappropriate entry onto property, or 167 refusal to provide name and badge number occurred. 168 3. Discourtesy.
This includes, but is not limited to, the 169 use of foul language, acting in a rude or unprofessional manner, 170 or the display of rude or offensive gestures. 171 4. Discriminatory language. This includes, but is not 172 limited to, the use of slurs based on race, religion, ethnicity, 173 sex, or gender. 174
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c) Create a standard form and a uniform process for the 175 submission of complaints. 176 (
d) Create a uniform process or procedure for the 177 processing of complaints. 178 (
e) Meet with the individual who submitted the complaint. 179 (
f) Meet with the law enforcement officer against whom the 180 complaint was made. 181 (
g) Meet with one or more witnesses, if any, to the event 182 that prompted the complaint. 183 (
h) Prepare a report on the findings of the investigation. 184 (
i) Submit the report and any recommendations to the county 185 commission or other governing body of the county, as 186 appropriate, and to the head of the law enforcement agency that 187 employs the law enforcement officer. 188
Section
Section 900.07, Florida Statutes, is created to 189 read: 190 900.07 Requiring review and recommendation from another 191 state attorney in cases of law enforcement officer use of force 192 deaths.— 193
(1) In each case in which a death results from a law 194 enforcement officer’s use of force, the state attorney of the 195 judicial circuit in which the use of force death occurred shall 196 request a state attorney from another judicial circuit to review 197 the case and the circumstances surrounding the use of force 198 death and to make a written and detailed recommendation on 199 whether he or she believes that charges should be brought 200 against the law enforcement officer. 201
(2) A state attorney who receives a request under 202 subsection (1) must notify the requesting state attorney within 203
Florida Senate - 2021 SB 740 11-00036-21 2021740__ Page 8 of 15 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 10 business days after receipt as to whether the state attorney 204 receiving the request can review the case and, if so, must 205 provide the written and detailed recommendation in an 206 expeditious manner. 207
Section 6. Effective October 1, 2021,
section 913.08, 208 Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 209 913.08 Number of Peremptory challenges prohibited.—For any 210 trial that commences on or after October 1, 2021, any party to 211 the proceeding may not use a peremptory challenge to strike a 212 prospective juror from the venire. 213
(1) The state and the defendant shall each be allowed the 214 following number of peremptory challenges: 215 (
a) Ten, if the offense charged is punishable by death or 216 imprisonment for life; 217 (
b) Six, if the offense charged is punishable by 218 imprisonment for more than 12 months but is not punishable by 219 death or imprisonment for life; 220 (
c) Three, for all other offenses. 221
(2) If two or more defendants are tried jointly, each 222 defendant shall be allowed the number of peremptory challenges 223 specified in subsection (1), and the state shall be allowed as 224 many challenges as are allowed to all of the defendants. 225
Section 7. Effective October 1, 2021, Rule 3.350, Florida 226 Rules of Criminal Procedure, is repealed. 227
Section 8. Effective October 1, 2021, the Supreme Court is 228 requested to amend Rule 1.431(d), Florida Rules of Civil 229 Procedure, relating to peremptory challenges, to prohibit the 230 use of peremptory challenges in jury selection in a civil jury 231 trial. 232
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Section
Section 943.1714, Florida Statutes, is created 233 to read: 234 943.1714 Basic skills training relating to implicit bias 235 and deescalation of conflict.—The commission shall establish and 236 maintain standards for instruction of officers in the subjects 237 of implicit bias and deescalation of conflict to minimize 238 violence. Every basic skills course required in order for 239 officers to obtain initial certification must include training 240 on implicit bias and deescalation of conflict to minimize 241 violence. 242
Section
Section 943.1718, Florida Statutes, is amended 243 to read: 244 943.1718 Body cameras and vehicle dash cameras required; 245 policies and procedures.— 246
(1) It is the intent of the Legislature to require that all 247 law enforcement officers in this state wear body cameras and use 248 vehicle dash cameras to ensure the safety of both the law 249 enforcement officers and members of the public and for purposes 250 of accountability and accuracy in instances when the 251 circumstances surrounding a law-enforcement-related encounter or 252 activity are in question. 253
(2) As used in this section, the term: 254 (a) “Body camera” means a portable electronic recording 255 device that is worn on a law enforcement officer’s person which 256 that records audio and video data of the officer’s law-257 enforcement-related encounters and activities. 258 (b) “Law enforcement agency” means an agency that has a 259 primary mission of preventing and detecting crime and enforcing 260 the penal, criminal, traffic, and motor vehicle laws of the 261
Florida Senate - 2021 SB 740 11-00036-21 2021740__ Page 10 of 15 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. state and in furtherance of that primary mission employs law 262 enforcement officers as defined in s. 943.10. 263 (c) “Law enforcement officer” has the same meaning as 264 provided in s. 943.10. 265 (d) “Vehicle dash camera” means a nonportable electronic 266 recording device used by a law enforcement officer in a law 267 enforcement officer’s vehicle which records audio or video data 268 of the officer’s law-enforcement-related encounters and 269 activities. 270 (3)
(2) Every A law enforcement agency shall require that 271 permits its law enforcement officers to wear body cameras and 272 use vehicle dash cameras and shall establish policies and 273 procedures addressing the proper use, maintenance, and storage 274 of body cameras and vehicle dash cameras and the data recorded 275 by the body cameras and vehicle dash cameras. The policies and 276 procedures must include all of the following: 277 (
a) General guidelines for the proper use, maintenance, and 278 storage of body cameras and vehicle dash cameras. 279 (
b) Any limitations on which law enforcement officers are 280 required permitted to wear body cameras and use vehicle dash 281 cameras. 282 (
c) Any limitations on law-enforcement-related encounters 283 and activities in which law enforcement officers are required 284 permitted to wear body cameras and use vehicle dash cameras. 285 (
d) A provision authorizing permitting a law enforcement 286 officer using a body camera or vehicle dash camera to review the 287 recorded footage from the body camera or vehicle dash camera, 288 upon his or her own initiative or request, before writing a 289 report or providing a statement regarding any event arising 290
Florida Senate - 2021 SB 740 11-00036-21 2021740__ Page 11 of 15 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. within the scope of his or her official duties. Any such 291 provision may not apply to an officer’s inherent duty to 292 immediately disclose information necessary to secure an active 293 crime scene or to identify suspects or witnesses. 294 (
e) General guidelines for the proper storage, retention, 295 and release of audio and video data recorded by body cameras and 296 vehicle dash cameras. 297 (4)
(3) Each A law enforcement agency under subsection (3) 298 that permits its law enforcement officers to wear body cameras 299 shall: 300 (
a) Ensure that all personnel who wear, use, maintain, or 301 store body cameras and vehicle dash cameras are trained in the 302 law enforcement agency’s policies and procedures concerning 303 them. 304 (
b) Ensure that all personnel who use, maintain, store, or 305 release audio or video data recorded by body cameras and vehicle 306 dash cameras are trained in the law enforcement agency’s 307 policies and procedures. 308 (
c) Retain audio and video data recorded by body cameras in 309 accordance with the requirements of s. 119.021, except as 310 otherwise provided by law. 311 (
d) Perform a periodic review of actual agency body camera 312 and vehicle dash camera practices to ensure conformity with the 313 agency’s policies and procedures. 314
(4) Chapter 934 does not apply to body camera recordings 315 made by law enforcement agencies that elect to use body cameras. 316
Section 11. The Legislature finds that a proper and 317 legitimate state purpose is served by safeguarding law 318 enforcement officers and the persons they interact with on a 319
Florida Senate - 2021 SB 740 11-00036-21 2021740__ Page 12 of 15 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. daily basis and by validating the accuracy of the circumstances 320 surrounding such interactions. The Legislature determines and 321 declares that this act fulfills an important state interest. 322
Section
Section 943.6872, Florida Statutes, is created 323 to read: 324 943.6872 Investigations of officer-involved deaths.— 325
(1) As used in this section, the term: 326 (a) “Law enforcement agency” means an agency that has as 327 its primary mission the prevention and detection of crime and 328 the enforcement of the penal, criminal, traffic, and motor 329 vehicle laws of this state and, in furtherance of that primary 330 mission, employs law enforcement officers. 331 (b) “Law enforcement officer” has the same meaning as in s. 332 943.10. 333 (c) “Officer-involved death” means the death of an 334 individual which results directly from an action or an omission 335 by a law enforcement officer while the law enforcement officer 336 is on duty or while he or she is off duty but performing 337 activities that are within the scope of his or her law 338 enforcement duties. 339
(2) Each law enforcement agency in this state shall have a 340 written policy regarding the investigation of officer-involved 341 deaths that involve a law enforcement officer employed by that 342 law enforcement agency. Each policy adopted under this 343 subsection: 344 (
a) Must require that any such investigation be conducted 345 by at least two investigators, one of whom must be designated 346 the lead investigator. An investigator may not be employed by 347 the law enforcement agency that employs a law enforcement 348
Florida Senate - 2021 SB 740 11-00036-21 2021740__ Page 13 of 15 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. officer involved in the officer-involved death. 349 (
b) Must require that, if the officer-involved death being 350 investigated is traffic-related, the investigators use a crash 351 reconstruction unit from a law enforcement agency that does not 352 employ a law enforcement officer involved in the officer-353 involved death; however, the policy may provide that, if the law 354 enforcement agency is a state law enforcement agency, the state 355 law enforcement agency may use a crash reconstruction unit from 356 the same state law enforcement agency. 357 (
c) May allow an internal investigation of the officer-358 involved death if the internal investigation does not interfere 359 with the investigation conducted under paragraph (a). 360
(3) Compensation for investigations conducted under 361 paragraph (2)(
a) or paragraph (2)(
b) may be determined in a 362 manner consistent with mutual aid agreements. 363 (4)(
a) The investigators who conduct an investigation under 364 paragraph (2)(
a) or paragraph (2)(
b) shall provide, in an 365 expeditious manner, a complete report to the state attorney of 366 the judicial circuit in which the officer-involved death 367 occurred. 368 (
b) If the state attorney determines that there is no basis 369 for prosecuting the law enforcement officer involved in the 370 officer-involved death, the investigators who provided the 371 report to the state attorney must publicly release the completed 372 report, after redacting any information as required by law. 373
Section
Section 943.6875, Florida Statutes, is created 374 to read: 375 943.6875 Early intervention systems for law enforcement 376 officers.— 377
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(1) The Legislature finds that a small percentage of law 378 enforcement officers is responsible for a disproportionate 379 number of excessive force complaints received by law enforcement 380 agencies. The Legislature also finds that proactive and early 381 identification of that small percentage of law enforcement 382 officers and intervention through mentorship, counseling, and 383 additional training may lead to positive outcomes in the careers 384 of such officers and in their encounters with the public. 385
(2) The Legislature intends for all law enforcement 386 agencies in this state to create early intervention systems to 387 proactively identify law enforcement officers who are likely to 388 engage in potentially damaging behaviors, such as excessive 389 force, before such behaviors occur in order to protect such 390 officers, other law enforcement officers, and the members of the 391 public with whom they interact and to offer intervention through 392 mentorship, counseling, and additional training. 393
(3) Every law enforcement agency in this state shall create 394 an early intervention system to track and identify potentially 395 damaging patterns of behavior by law enforcement officers. 396
(4) Risk indicators to track which may identify potentially 397 damaging patterns of behavior by law enforcement officers 398 include, but need not be limited to: 399 (
a) Complaints against an individual law enforcement 400 officer or a group of law enforcement officers. 401 (
b) Frequency and severity of disciplinary incidents. 402 (
c) Incidents involving use of force. 403 (
d) Incidents involving use of deadly force. 404 (
e) Arrests made by a law enforcement officer of 405 individuals for resisting arrest. 406
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f) Reports of injuries suffered by a law enforcement 407 officer. 408 (
g) Vehicle accidents involving a law enforcement officer. 409 (
h) Civil litigation filed against a law enforcement 410 officer. 411