Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1278
By Senator Martin
33-00969-24 20241278__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to Department of Corrections; amending
3 s. 944.31, F.S.; providing additional authority for
4 law enforcement officers of the office of the
5 inspector general concerning department and private
6 correctional facilities; amending s. 957.04, F.S.;
7 providing that correctional privatization contracts
8 are not exempt from specified state contracting
9 provisions unless otherwise specified; providing
10 construction; amending s. 957.07, F.S.; revising
11 terminology; removing provisions concerning
12 development of consensus per diem rates by the Prison
13 Per-Diem Workgroup; amending s. 957.12, F.S.; revising
14 provisions concerning contact with the department by
15 specified persons; amending s. 957.15, F.S.; removing
16 a provision concerning department control over certain
17 funds appropriated for private correctional
18 facilities; providing an effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Section 944.31, Florida Statutes, is amended to
23 read:
24 944.31 Inspector general; inspectors; power and duties.—
25 (1) The inspector general shall be responsible for prison
26 inspection and investigation, internal affairs investigations,
27 and management reviews. The office of the inspector general
28 shall be charged with the duty of inspecting the penal and
29 correctional systems of the state.
30 (2) The office of the inspector general shall inspect each
31 correctional institution or any place in which state prisoners
32 are housed, worked, or kept within the state, with reference to
33 its physical conditions, cleanliness, sanitation, safety, and
34 comfort; the quality and supply of all bedding; the quality,
35 quantity, and diversity of food served and the manner in which
36 it is served; the number and condition of the prisoners confined
37 therein; and the general conditions of each institution.
38 (3) The office of inspector general shall see that all the
39 rules and regulations issued by the department are strictly
40 observed and followed by all persons connected with the
41 correctional systems of the state. The office of the inspector
42 general shall coordinate and supervise the work of inspectors
43 throughout the state.
44 (4) The inspector general and inspectors may enter any
45 place where prisoners in this state are kept and shall be
46 immediately admitted to such place as they desire and may
47 consult and confer with any prisoner privately and without
48 molestation.
49 (5)(a) The inspector general and inspectors shall be
50 responsible for criminal and administrative investigation of
51 matters relating to the Department of Corrections.
52 (b) The secretary may designate persons within the office
53 of the inspector general as law enforcement officers to conduct
54 any criminal investigation that occurs on property owned or
55 leased by the department or involves matters over which the
56 department has jurisdiction. All criminal investigations,
57 involving matters over which the department has jurisdiction at
58 private correctional facilities, as defined in s. 944.710, may
59 be conducted by the law enforcement officers of the office of
60 the inspector general.
61 (c) A person designated as a law enforcement officer must
62 be certified pursuant to s. 943.1395 and must have a minimum of
63 3 years’ experience as an inspector in the inspector general’s
64 office or as a law enforcement officer.
65 (d) The department shall maintain a memorandum of
66 understanding with the Department of Law Enforcement for the
67 notification and investigation of mutually agreed-upon predicate
68 events that shall include, but are not limited to, suspicious
69 deaths and organized criminal activity.
70 (e) During investigations, the inspector general and
71 inspectors may consult and confer with any prisoner or staff
72 member privately and without molestation and persons designated
73 as law enforcement officers under this section shall have the
74 authority to arrest, with or without a warrant, any prisoner of
75 or visitor to a state correctional institution for a violation
76 of the criminal laws of the state. Law enforcement officers
77 under this section shall have the authority to arrest, with or
78 without a warrant, any prisoner of or visitor to any state
79 correctional institution, as defined in s. 944.02, including all
80 private correctional facilities, for any violation of the
81 criminal laws of the state involving matters over which the
82 department has jurisdiction, involving an offense classified as
83 a felony that occurs on property owned or leased by the
84 department and may arrest offenders who have escaped or
85 absconded from custody.
86 (f) Persons designated as law enforcement officers have the
87 authority to arrest with or without a warrant a staff member of
88 the department, including any contract employee, subcontractor,
89 or volunteer, for a violation of the criminal laws of the state
90 that occurs involving an offense classified as a felony under
91 this chapter or chapter 893 on property owned or leased by the
92 department, or any private correctional facility staff member,
93 contract employee, subcontractor, or volunteer, for a violation
94 of the criminal laws of the state involving matters over which
95 the department has jurisdiction at any private correctional
96 facility. A person designated as a law enforcement officer under
97 this section may make arrests of persons against whom arrest
98 warrants have been issued, including arrests of offenders who
99 have escaped or absconded from custody. The arrested person
100 shall be surrendered without delay to the sheriff of the county
101 in which the arrest is made, with a formal complaint
102 subsequently made against her or him in accordance with law.
103 Section 2. Present paragraphs (a) through (h) of subsection
104 (1) of section 957.04, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
105 paragraphs (b) through (i), respectively, a new paragraph (a) is
106 added to that subsection, and present paragraphs (a) and (e) of
107 that subsection are amended, to read:
108 957.04 Contract requirements.—
109 (1) A contract entered into under this chapter for the
110 operation of private correctional facilities shall maximize the
111 cost savings of such facilities and shall:
112 (a) Unless otherwise specified herein, contracts entered
113 into under this chapter are not exempt from chapter 287,
114 including the competitive solicitation requirements thereof.
115 However, to the extent of a direct conflict between this chapter
116 and chapter 287, the provisions of this chapter shall control.
117 Contracts entered into under this chapter for the operation of
118 private correctional facilities are not considered to be an
119 outsource as defined in s. 287.012. The specific outsourcing
120 requirements in s. 287.0571 are not required under this section.
121 (b)(a) Be executed negotiated with the contractor firm
122 found most qualified. However, a contract for private
123 correctional services may not be entered into by the department
124 unless the department determines that the contractor has
125 demonstrated that it has:
126 1. The qualifications, experience, and management personnel
127 necessary to carry out the terms of the contract.
128 2. The ability to expedite the siting, design, and
129 construction of correctional facilities.
130 3. The ability to comply with applicable laws, court
131 orders, and national correctional standards.
132 (f)(e) Establish operations standards for correctional
133 facilities subject to the contract. However, if the department
134 and the contractor disagree with an operations standard, the
135 contractor may propose to waive any rule, policy, or procedure
136 of the department related to the operations standards of
137 correctional facilities which is inconsistent with the mission
138 of the contractor to establish cost-effective, privately
139 operated correctional facilities. The department shall be
140 responsible for considering all requests proposals from the
141 contractor to waive any rule, policy, or procedure and shall
142 render a final decision granting or denying such request.
143 Section 3. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 957.07,
144 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
145 957.07 Cost-saving requirements.—
146 (4) The department shall provide a report detailing the
147 state cost to design, finance, acquire, lease, construct, and
148 operate a facility similar to the private correctional facility
149 on a per diem basis. This report shall be provided to the
150 Auditor General in sufficient time that it may be certified to
151 be included in the competitive solicitation request for
152 proposals.
153 (5)(a) At the request of the Speaker of the House of
154 Representatives or the President of the Senate, the Prison Per
155 Diem Workgroup shall develop consensus per diem rates for use by
156 the Legislature. The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
157 Government Accountability and the staffs of the appropriations
158 committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives
159 are the principals of the workgroup. The workgroup may consult
160 with other experts to assist in the development of the consensus
161 per diem rates. All meetings of the workgroup shall be open to
162 the public as provided in chapter 286.
163 (b) When developing the consensus per diem rates, the
164 workgroup must:
165 1. Use data provided by the department from the most recent
166 fiscal year to determine per diem costs for the following
167 activities:
168 a. Custody and control;
169 b. Health services;
170 c. Substance abuse programs; and
171 d. Educational programs;
172 2. Include the cost of departmental, regional,
173 institutional, and program administration and any other fixed
174 costs of the department;
175 3. Calculate average per diem rates for the following
176 offender populations: adult male, youthful offender male, and
177 female; and
178 4. Make per diem adjustments, as appropriate, to account
179 for variations in size and location of correctional facilities.
180 (c) The consensus per diem rates determined by the
181 workgroup may be used to assist the Legislature in determining
182 the level of funding provided to privately operated prisons to
183 meet the 7-percent savings required of private prisons by this
184 chapter.
185 (d) If a private vendor chooses not to renew the contract
186 at the appropriated level, the department shall terminate the
187 contract as provided in s. 957.14.
188 Section 4. Section 957.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to
189 read:
190 957.12 Prohibition on contact.—Except in writing to the
191 procurement office or as provided in the solicitation documents,
192 a bidder or potential bidder is not permitted to have any
193 contact with any member or employee of or consultant to the
194 department regarding a competitive solicitation request for
195 proposal, a proposal, or the evaluation or selection process
196 from the time a request for proposals for a private correctional
197 facility is issued until the time a notification of intent to
198 award is announced, except if such contact is in writing or in a
199 meeting for which notice was provided in the Florida
200 Administrative Register.
201 Section 5. Section 957.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to
202 read:
203 957.15 Funding of contracts for operation, maintenance, and
204 lease-purchase of private correctional facilities.—The request
205 for appropriation of funds to make payments pursuant to
206 contracts entered into by the department for the operation,
207 maintenance, and lease-purchase of the private correctional
208 facilities authorized by this chapter shall be included in its
209 budget request to the Legislature as a separately identified
210 item. After an appropriation has been made by the Legislature to
211 the department for the private correctional facilities, the
212 department shall have no authority over such funds other than to
213 pay from such appropriation to the appropriate private vendor
214 such amounts as are certified for payment by the department.
215 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.