Senate Bill sb1792c1
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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 1792
    By the Committees on Transportation; and Criminal Justice
    596-2126-07
  1                      A bill to be entitled
  2         An act relating to the Department of
  3         Corrections; amending s. 316.003, F.S.;
  4         including vehicles operated by the department
  5         within the definition of the term "authorized
  6         emergency vehicles" for purposes of the Florida
  7         Uniform Traffic Control Law; amending s.
  8         316.2397, F.S.; authorizing the department to
  9         operate vehicles that have emergency lights and
10         sirens; amending s. 945.215, F.S.; providing
11         for the funds in the Employee Benefit Trust
12         Fund to be used for certain additional
13         purposes; limiting the types of donations that
14         the department may accept for deposit into the
15         fund; requiring that the fund be subject to
16         oversight by the Secretary of Corrections and
17         an annual audit; requiring that the department
18         provide an annual report concerning allocations
19         from the trust fund at the request of the
20         Legislature and Governor; requiring that the
21         department adopt rules; amending s. 945.21501,
22         F.S.; requiring that facilities constructed
23         using funds from the Employee Benefit Trust
24         Fund provide maximum benefit for all employees;
25         requiring that the department adopt rules;
26         providing an effective date.
27  
28  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29  
30         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 316.003, Florida
31  Statutes, is amended to read:
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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 1792
    596-2126-07
 1         316.003  Definitions.--The following words and phrases,
 2  when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings
 3  respectively ascribed to them in this section, except where
 4  the context otherwise requires:
 5         (1)  AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLES.--Vehicles of the
 6  fire department (fire patrol), police vehicles, and such
 7  ambulances and emergency vehicles of municipal departments,
 8  public service corporations operated by private corporations,
 9  the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of
10  Health, and the Department of Transportation, and the
11  Department of Corrections as are designated or authorized by
12  their respective department or the chief of police of an
13  incorporated city or any sheriff of any of the various
14  counties.
15         Section 2.  Subsection (3) of section 316.2397, Florida
16  Statutes, is amended to read:
17         316.2397  Certain lights prohibited; exceptions.--
18         (3)  Vehicles of the fire department and fire patrol,
19  including vehicles of volunteer firefighters as permitted
20  under s. 316.2398, vehicles of medical staff physicians or
21  technicians of medical facilities licensed by the state as
22  authorized under s. 316.2398, ambulances as authorized under
23  this chapter, and buses and taxicabs as authorized under s.
24  316.2399 are permitted to show or display red lights. Vehicles
25  of the fire department, fire patrol, police vehicles, and such
26  ambulances and emergency vehicles of municipal and county
27  departments, public service corporations operated by private
28  corporations, the Department of Environmental Protection, the
29  Department of Transportation, and the Department of
30  Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Department of
31  Corrections as are designated or authorized by their
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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 1792
    596-2126-07
 1  respective department or the chief of police of an
 2  incorporated city or any sheriff of any county are hereby
 3  authorized to operate emergency lights and sirens in an
 4  emergency. Wreckers, mosquito control fog and spray vehicles,
 5  and emergency vehicles of governmental departments or public
 6  service corporations may show or display amber lights when in
 7  actual operation or when a hazard exists provided they are not
 8  used going to and from the scene of operation or hazard
 9  without specific authorization of a law enforcement officer or
10  law enforcement agency. Wreckers must use amber rotating or
11  flashing lights while performing recoveries and loading on the
12  roadside day or night, and may use such lights while towing a
13  vehicle on wheel lifts, slings, or under reach if the operator
14  of the wrecker deems such lights necessary. A flatbed, car
15  carrier, or rollback may not use amber rotating or flashing
16  lights when hauling a vehicle on the bed unless it creates a
17  hazard to other motorists because of protruding objects.
18  Further, escort vehicles may show or display amber lights when
19  in the actual process of escorting overdimensioned equipment,
20  material, or buildings as authorized by law. Vehicles of
21  private watch, guard, or patrol agencies licensed pursuant to
22  chapter 493 may show or display amber lights while patrolling
23  condominium, cooperative, and private residential and business
24  communities by which employed and which traverse public
25  streets or highways.
26         Section 3.  Subsection (3) of section 945.215, Florida
27  Statutes, is amended to read:
28         945.215  Inmate welfare and employee benefit trust
29  funds.--
30         (3)  EMPLOYEE BENEFIT TRUST FUND; DEPARTMENT OF
31  CORRECTIONS.--
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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 1792
    596-2126-07
 1         (a)  The department may establish an Employee Benefit
 2  Trust Fund. Trust fund sources may be derived from any of the
 3  following:
 4         1.  Proceeds of vending machines, staff canteens, or
 5  other such services not intended for use by inmates.
 6         2.  Net proceeds of the recycling program.
 7         3.2.  Donations, except for donations made by, or on
 8  behalf of, an individual inmate, and except for donations made
 9  by a person who provides, or seeks to provide, goods or
10  services to the department under a contract or an agreement,
11  individually or through a corporation or organization.
12         4.3.  Additional trust funds and grants which may
13  become available.
14         (b)  Funds from the Employee Benefit Trust Fund may be
15  used for employee appreciation programs and activities and to
16  construct, operate, and maintain training and recreation
17  facilities at correctional facilities for the exclusive use of
18  department employees. Such facilities are the property of the
19  department and must provide the maximum benefit to all
20  interested employees, regardless of gender.
21         (c)  The Employee Benefit Trust Fund shall be
22  established as a separate and distinct set of accounts, which
23  shall be maintained centrally by the department, overseen by
24  the secretary, and subject to an annual audit by the
25  department's inspector general.
26         (d)  The department shall maintain sufficient data to
27  provide an annual report, upon request, to the President of
28  the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
29  the Executive Office of the Governor on December 1 which lists
30  the types of services provided using moneys in the trust fund
31  and the allocations of funds spent.
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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 1792
    596-2126-07
 1         (e)  The department shall adopt rules under ss.
 2  120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this subsection.
 3         Section 4.  Section 945.21501, Florida Statutes, is
 4  amended to read:
 5         945.21501  Employee Benefit Trust Fund.--
 6         (1)  There is hereby created in the Department of
 7  Corrections the Employee Benefit Trust Fund. The purpose of
 8  the trust fund shall be to:
 9         (a)  Construct, operate, and maintain training and
10  recreation facilities at correctional facilities for the
11  exclusive use of department employees. Any facility
12  constructed using funds from the Employee Benefit Trust Fund
13  is the property of the department and must provide the maximum
14  benefit to all interested employees, regardless of gender.
15         (b)  Provide funding for employee appreciation programs
16  and activities designed to enhance the morale of employees.
17  
18  Moneys shall be deposited in the trust fund as provided in s.
19  945.215.
20         (2)  Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 216.301 and
21  pursuant to s. 216.351, any balance in the trust fund at the
22  end of any fiscal year shall remain in the trust fund at the
23  end of the year and shall be available for carrying out the
24  purposes of the trust fund.
25         (3)  The department shall adopt rules pursuant to ss.
26  120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section.
27         Section 5.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a
28  law.
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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 1792
    596-2126-07
 1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 2                         Senate Bill 1792
 3                                 
 4  This Committee Substitute (CS) authorizes the Department of
    Corrections (DOC) to be prepared to provide its annual report
 5  on the Employee Benefit Trust Fund on December 1, rather than
    January 1.
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