Florida Senate - 2017 SB 1212
By Senator Simmons
9-01407B-17 20171212__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to emergency alerts; creating s.
3 316.02703, F.S.; defining the terms “serious bodily
4 injury” and “Yellow Alert”; authorizing a law
5 enforcement agency to request the Florida Highway
6 Patrol to activate a Yellow Alert if a hit-and-run
7 incident is reported to the agency and the agency
8 determines that specified requirements are satisfied;
9 authorizing the Florida Highway Patrol, if it concurs
10 that the specified requirements are satisfied, to
11 activate a Yellow Alert within the geographic area
12 requested by the agency; providing that radio,
13 television, and cable and satellite systems are
14 encouraged to cooperate in disseminating the
15 information contained in a Yellow Alert; requiring the
16 Florida Highway Patrol, upon activation of the alert,
17 to assist the investigating law enforcement agency by
18 issuing the alert, in cooperation with the Department
19 of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the
20 Department of Transportation, using certain dynamic
21 message signs; authorizing the Florida Highway Patrol
22 to prioritize the activation of alerts if multiple
23 Yellow Alerts are requested, subject to certain
24 requirements; specifying the conditions that an agency
25 must determine to have been satisfied in order for the
26 agency to be allowed to request that a Yellow Alert be
27 activated; creating s. 784.072, F.S.; defining terms;
28 authorizing a local law enforcement agency to activate
29 the Emergency Alert System and issue a Lockdown Alert
30 to public and private schools and child care
31 facilities under certain circumstances; specifying
32 certain conditions under which Lockdown Alerts may be
33 issued; requiring local law enforcement agencies to
34 create and maintain a list of all public schools,
35 private schools, and child care facilities within
36 their jurisdictions, which must be included in the
37 Lockdown Alert system; authorizing public or private
38 schools or child care facilities to contact their
39 local law enforcement agencies to verify that they are
40 included on the list or to register for inclusion on
41 the list; requiring a local law enforcement agency to
42 take a private school or child care facility off the
43 list if the school or facility requests that it be
44 taken off the list; requiring the Department of Law
45 Enforcement, in cooperation with the Department of
46 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the Department
47 of Transportation, to activate the Emergency Alert
48 System and issue an Imminent Threat Alert to the
49 public at the request of a local law enforcement
50 agency under certain circumstances; specifying
51 information that must be provided in Imminent Threat
52 Alerts, if available; requiring Imminent Threat Alerts
53 to be disseminated to the public through the Emergency
54 Alert System and through the use of certain dynamic
55 message signs; providing that the agency responsible
56 for posting the Imminent Threat Alert on the dynamic
57 message sign does not violate this section if certain
58 traffic emergency information is displayed on the sign
59 in lieu of the alert; providing an effective date.
60
61 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
62
63 Section 1. Section 316.02703, Florida Statutes, is created
64 to read:
65 316.02703 Hit-and-run incidents; Yellow Alert.—
66 (1) As used in this section, the term:
67 (a) “Serious bodily injury” means an injury that involves,
68 either at the time of the actual injury or at a later time, a
69 substantial risk of serious and permanent disfigurement, a
70 substantial risk of protracted loss or impairment of the
71 function of any part of the body, or a break, fracture, or burn
72 of the second or third degree.
73 (b) “Yellow Alert” means a notification system activated
74 pursuant to subsection (2) which is designed to issue and
75 coordinate alerts with respect to a hit-and-run incident
76 resulting in the death or injury of a person.
77 (2)(a) If a hit-and-run incident is reported to a law
78 enforcement agency and that agency determines that the
79 requirements of subsection (3) are satisfied, the agency may
80 request the Florida Highway Patrol to activate a Yellow Alert.
81 If the Florida Highway Patrol concurs that the requirements of
82 subsection (3) are satisfied, it may activate a Yellow Alert
83 within the geographic area requested by the investigating law
84 enforcement agency.
85 (b) Radio, television, and cable and satellite systems are
86 encouraged, but are not required, to cooperate in disseminating
87 the information contained in a Yellow Alert.
88 (c) Upon activation of a Yellow Alert, the Florida Highway
89 Patrol shall assist the investigating law enforcement agency by
90 issuing the Yellow Alert, in cooperation with the Department of
91 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the Department of
92 Transportation, through the use of the dynamic message signs
93 that are located along the state’s highways.
94 (d) If there are multiple Yellow Alerts requested, the
95 Florida Highway Patrol may prioritize the activation of alerts
96 based on factors that include, but not are not limited to, the
97 severity of the injury, the time elapsed between a hit-and-run
98 incident and the request, or the likelihood that an activation
99 would reasonably lead to the apprehension of a suspect.
100 (3) A law enforcement agency may request that a Yellow
101 Alert be activated if that agency determines that all of the
102 following conditions are satisfied with regard to the
103 investigation of the hit-and-run incident:
104 (a) A person has been killed or has suffered serious bodily
105 injury due to a hit-and-run incident.
106 (b) There is an indication that a suspect has fled the
107 scene using the state highway system or is likely to be observed
108 by the public on the state highway system.
109 (c) The investigating law enforcement agency has additional
110 information concerning the suspect or the suspect’s vehicle,
111 including, but not limited to, any of the following:
112 1. The complete license plate number of the suspect’s
113 vehicle.
114 2. A partial license plate number and additional unique
115 identifying characteristics, such as the make, model, and color
116 of the suspect’s vehicle, which could reasonably lead to the
117 apprehension of the suspect.
118 3. The identity of the suspect.
119 (d) Public dissemination of available information could
120 either help avert further harm or hasten apprehension of the
121 suspect based on factors that include, but are not limited to,
122 the severity of the injury, the time elapsed between a hit-and
123 run incident and the request, or the likelihood that an
124 activation would reasonably lead to the apprehension of a
125 suspect.
126 Section 2. Section 784.072, Florida Statutes, is created to
127 read:
128 784.072 Notification of imminent threat to schools and
129 child care facilities or the public; Lockdown Alert; Imminent
130 Threat Alert.—
131 (1) As used in this section, the term:
132 (a) “Child care facility” has the same meaning as in s.
133 402.302.
134 (b) “Imminent Threat Alert” means a notification issued
135 pursuant to subsection (3) which informs the public that an
136 imminent threat exists such that the lives and safety of
137 citizens are endangered, including, but not limited to,
138 instances in which a person suspected of killing or causing
139 serious bodily injury to another person or assaulting another
140 person with a deadly weapon has fled the scene of the offense.
141 (c) “Lockdown Alert” means a notification issued pursuant
142 to subsection (2) which informs public schools, private schools,
143 and child care facilities that an imminent threat exists,
144 including, but not limited to, instances in which a person
145 suspected of killing or causing serious bodily injury to another
146 person or assaulting another person with a deadly weapon has
147 fled the scene of the offense. The alert advises the schools and
148 facilities to lock their doors and encourages persons in those
149 schools and facilities to remain in lockdown and be vigilant in
150 watching for and reporting any suspicious activity.
151 (d) “Private school” has the same meaning as in s. 1002.01.
152 (2)(a) A local law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction
153 over the scene of an incident giving rise to an imminent threat
154 to members of the public may activate the Emergency Alert System
155 and issue a Lockdown Alert to all public and private schools and
156 child care facilities that it determines are at risk, given
157 their proximity to the incident, including an incident in which
158 the following conditions are satisfied:
159 1. A person has been killed or has suffered serious bodily
160 injury or a person has been assaulted with a deadly weapon by
161 another person.
162 2. The person suspected of committing the offense has fled
163 the scene.
164 3. The law enforcement agency investigating the offense has
165 determined that the suspect poses an imminent threat to the
166 public safety.
167 (b) For purposes of complying with this subsection, each
168 local law enforcement agency shall create and maintain a list of
169 all public schools, private schools, and child care facilities
170 within its jurisdiction.
171 (c) A public or private school or child care facility may
172 contact local law enforcement agencies to verify that it is
173 included on the list of those that will receive a Lockdown Alert
174 or to register to be included on the list. A local law
175 enforcement agency must take a private school or child care
176 facility off the list if the school or facility requests that it
177 be taken off the list.
178 (3) At the request of a local law enforcement agency, the
179 Department of Law Enforcement, in cooperation with the
180 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the
181 Department of Transportation, shall activate the Emergency Alert
182 System and issue an Imminent Threat Alert to the public when the
183 local law enforcement agency confirms that an imminent threat to
184 the public exists, including, but not limited to, circumstances
185 in which the following conditions have been satisfied:
186 (a) A person has been killed or has suffered serious bodily
187 injury or a person has been assaulted with a deadly weapon by
188 another person.
189 (b) The person suspected of committing the offense has fled
190 the scene.
191 (c) The agency has determined that the suspect poses an
192 imminent threat to the public safety.
193 (4) An Imminent Threat Alert must, to the extent
194 practicable, provide a detailed description of a suspect’s
195 vehicle or other means of escape, the license plate number of
196 the suspect’s vehicle, or any other available information that
197 may assist in averting further harm or in the apprehending of a
198 suspect.
199 (5)(a) An Imminent Threat Alert must be immediately
200 disseminated to the public through the Emergency Alert System
201 and through the use of the dynamic message signs that are
202 located along the State Highway System.
203 (b) If a traffic emergency arises requiring that
204 information pertaining to the traffic emergency be displayed on
205 a dynamic message sign on a state highway in lieu of an Imminent
206 Threat Alert, the agency responsible for posting the Imminent
207 Threat Alert on the dynamic message sign does not violate this
208 section.
209 Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2017.