Title: Criminal Justice Accountability

Summary: Authorizes AG to call upon state attorney to appear before Cabinet for certain purpose; authorizes AG to receive cases from certain state attorneys; authorizes Governor to move cases to AG from state attorney for prosecution; provides that AG shall serve as permeant member & chair of JAC; expands required duties of commission; requires state attorneys to collect data on annual charges referred by law enforcement agencies for which case numbers were not assigned; requires DLA, by specified date, to develop schedule for auditing certain record.

Full Text:
An act relating to criminal justice accountability; creating s. 16.081, F.S.; authorizing the Attorney General to call upon a state attorney to appear before the Cabinet for a certain purpose; creating s. 16.082, F.S.; authorizing the Attorney General to receive cases from certain state attorneys upon request of the Governor; amending s. 16.09, F.S.; requiring state attorneys' reports to be submitted to the Attorney General as he or she prescribes, rather than quarterly; amending s. 16.53, F.S.; revising th euse of the Legal Affairs Revolving Trust Fund to pay for the investigation, prosecution, and enforcement of certain cases forwarded to the Attorney General; amending s. 27.14, F.S.; authorizing the Governor to move cases to the Attorney General from a st ate attorney for prosecution under certain circumstances; amending s. 43.16, F.S.; providing that the Attorney General shall serve as a permeant member and chair of the Justice Administrative Commission; expanding the duties of the commission; revising app licability; amending s. 900.05, F.S.; requiring state attorneys to collect data on annual charges referred by law enforcement agencies for which case numbers were not assigned; requiring the Department of Legal Affairs, HB 1515 2025 by a specified date, to develop a sc hedule for auditing certain records, and review compliance and performance of the reporting entities and the validity of their reports; requiring the department, by a specified date, to begin auditing certain entities; requiring periodic auditing; reenacti ng s. 27.151(1) and (3), F.S., relating to the confidentiality of specified executive orders, to incorporate the amendment made to s. 27.14, F.S., in references thereto; reenacting s. 943.6871, F.S., relating to criminal justice data transparency, to incor porate the amendment made to s. 900.05, F.S., in references thereto; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Section 16.081, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 16.081 Prosecutorial ex pediency; enforcement.-The Attorney General may, with the consent of the Governor, call upon a state attorney to speak before the Cabinet to provide information regarding the oversight of his or her office. Section 2. Section 16.082, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 16.082 Reception of cases for prosecution.-Upon request by HB 1515 2025 the Governor, the Attorney General may receive cases forwarded from a state attorney in a process under s. 27.14. Section 3. Section 16.09, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 16.09 Regulations as to the reports of state attorneys.-The Attorney General shall prescribe the time and manner in which regular quarterly reports must shall be made to him or her by state attorneys, and they shall comply with the Attorney General's instructions in this respect. Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 16.53, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 16.53 Legal Affairs Revolving Trust Fund.-(1) There is created in the State Treasury the Legal Affairs Revolving Trust Fund, from which the Legislature may appropriate funds for the purpose of funding investigation, prosecution, and enforcement by the Attorney General of:(a) the provisions of The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act., (b) The Florida Deceptive and Un fair Trade Practices Act., (c) The Florida False Claims Act., (d) State or federal antitrust laws., (e) Section s. 501.1735., or (f) Part Vof chapter 501. (g) Cases forwarded from state attorneys under s. 27.14. Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 27.14, Florida HB 1515 2025 Statutes, is amended to read: 27.14 Assigning state attorneys to other circuits.-(1)(a) If any state attorney is disqualified to represent the state in any investigation, case, or matter pending in the courts of his or her circuit or if, for any other good and sufficient reason, the Governor determines that the ends of justice would be best served, the Governor may, by executive order filed with the Department of State:, either 1. Order an exchange of circuits or of courts between such state attorney and any other state attorney;or 2. Order an assignment of any state attorney to discharge the duties of the state attorney with respect to one or more specified investigations, cases, or matters, spe cified in general in the executive order of the Governor;or 3. Order the assignment to the Attorney General for prosecution one or more specified investigations, cases, or matters of any state attorney, specified in general in the executive order of the Governor.(b) Any exchange or assignment of any state attorney to a particular circuit shall expire months after the date of issuance, unless an extension is approved by order of the Supreme Court upon application of the Governor showing good and sufficient cause to extend such exchange or assignment. Section 6. Subsections (2), (5), (7), and (8) of section 43.16, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: HB 1515 2025 43.16 Justice Administrative Commission; membership, powers and duties.-(2) Other than the Attorney General, members of the Justice Administrative Commission shall serve for a period of 104 years, with the terms of each dating from July 1, 1985, except that initially, one state attorney member and one public defender member shall each serve a-year term. The Attorney General shall be a permanent member and shall serve as chair. The remaining members shall be selected in the following manner: (a) Two state attorneys, to be appointed by the president of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Associatio n. (b) Two public defenders, to be appointed by the president of the Florida Public Defender Association. (5) The duties of the commission shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (a) Providing information to each state attorney, public defender, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office to notify them of any statutory changes that affect any such entities. (b) Overseeing, directing, coordinating, and administering all statutory requirements affecting the state attorney, public defender, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office. (c) Maintaining The maintenance of a central state office for administrative services and assistance when possible to an d HB 1515 2025 on behalf of the state attorneys and public defenders of Florida, the capital collateral regional counsel of Florida, the criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office. (d)(b) Ensuring that each state attorney,public defender, and criminal conflict and civil regional counsel and the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office shall continue to prepare necessary budgets, vouchers that represent valid claims for reimbursement by the state for authorized expenses, and oth er things incidental to the proper administrative operation of the office, such as revenue transmittals to the Chief Financial Officer and automated systems plans, but will forward such items to the commission for recording and submission to the proper state officer. However, when requested by a state attorney, a public defender, a criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, or the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office, the commission will either assist in the preparation of budget requests, voucher schedule s, and other forms and reports or accomplish the entire project involved. (7) This section is supplemental to chapter 16, relating to the Attorney General; to chapter 27, relating to state attorneys, public defenders, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and capital collateral regional counsel; to chapter 39, relating to the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office; or to other laws pertaining hereto. HB 1515 2025 (8) Chapter does not apply to the Justice Administrative Commission. Section 7. Paragraph (b ) of subsection (3) of section 900.05, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (7) is added to that section, to read: 900.05 Criminal justice data collection.-(3) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.-An entity required to collect data in accordance wit hthis subsection shall collect the specified data and report them in accordance with this subsection to the Department of Law Enforcement on a monthly basis. (b) State attorney.-Each state attorney shall collect the following data: 1. Information rela ted to a human victim of a criminal offense, including: a. Identifying information of the victim, including race, ethnicity, gender, and age at the time of the offense. b. Relationship to the offender, if any. 2. Number of full-time prosecutors. 3. Number of part-time prosecutors. 4. Annual felony caseload. 5. Annual misdemeanor caseload. 6. Disposition of each referred charge, such as filed, declined, or diverted. 7. Number of cases in which a no-information was filed. HB 1515 2025 8. Information rela ted to each defendant, including: a. Each charge referred to the state attorney by a law enforcement agency or sworn complainant related to an episode of criminal activity. b. Case number, name, and date of birth. c. Drug type for each drug charge, i fapplicable. d. Deferred prosecution or pretrial diversion agreement date, if applicable. e. Annual charges referred by any law enforcement agency for which a case number was not assigned. (7) AUDITING.-(a) By December 31, 2025, the Department of Legal Affairs shall develop a schedule for the auditing of records provided by reporting entities under this section, having established the scope of such audits that must review, at a minimum, the compliance and performance of each entity with respect to the requirements of this section, and the validity of such reports. Each entity required to report under this section must be notified of the scope and the schedule of such audits. (b) Beginning July 1, 2026, the Department of Legal Affairs shall begin auditing each entity pursuant to the scope and schedule established in paragraph (a). Each entity must be audited once every years thereafter. Section 8. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment made by this act to section 27.14, Florida Statut es, in HB 1515 2025 references thereto, subsections (1) and (3) of section 27.151, Florida Statutes, are reenacted to read: 27.151 Confidentiality of specified executive orders; criteria.-(1) If the Governor provides in an executive order issued pursuant to s. 27. or s. 27.15 that the order or a portion thereof is confidential, the order or portion so designated, the application of the Governor to the Supreme Court and all proceedings thereon, and the order of the Supreme Court shall be confidential and exempt fr om the provisions of s. 119.07(1). (3) To maintain the confidentiality of the executive order, the state attorney, upon entering the circuit of assignment, shall immediately have the executive order sealed by the court prior to filing it with the clerk of the circuit court. The Governor may make public any executive order issued pursuant to s. 27.14 or s. 27.15 by a subsequent executive order, and at the expiration of a confidential executive order or any extensions thereof, the executive order and all associated orders and reports shall be open to the public pursuant to chapter unless the information contained in the executive order is confidential pursuant to the provisions of chapter 39, chapter 415, chapter 984, or chapter 985. Section 9. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment made by this act to section 900.05, Florida Statutes, in references thereto, section 943.6871, Florida Statutes, is HB 1515 2025 reenacted to read: 943.6871 Criminal justice data transparency.-In order to facilitate the avail ability of comparable and uniform criminal justice data, the department shall: (1) Collect, compile, maintain, and manage the data submitted by local and state entities pursuant to s. 900.05 and coordinate related activities to collect and submit data. The department shall create a unique identifier for each criminal case received from the clerks of court which identifies the person who is the subject of the criminal case. The unique identifier must be the same for that person in any court case and used a cross local and state entities for all information related to that person at any time. The unique identifier shall be randomly created and may not include any portion of the person's social security number or date of birth. (2) Promote criminal justice data sharing by making such data received under s. 900.05 comparable, transferable, and readily usable. (3) Create and maintain an Internet-based database of criminal justice data received under s. 900.05 in a modern, open, electronic format that is machi ne-readable and readily accessible through an application program interface. The database shall allow the public to search, at a minimum, by each data element, county, judicial circuit, or unique identifier. The department may not require a license or char ge a fee to HB 1515 2025 access or receive information from the database. (4) Develop written agreements with local, state, and federal agencies to facilitate criminal justice data sharing. (5) Establish by rule: (a) Requirements for the entities subject to the requirements of s. 900.05 to submit data through an application program interface. (b) A data catalog defining data objects, describing data fields, and detailing the meaning of and options for each data element reported pursuant to s. 900.05. (c) How data collected pursuant to s. 900.05 is compiled, processed, structured, used, or shared. The rule shall provide for tagging all information associated with each case number and unique identifier. (d) Requirements for implementing and monitoring the Internet-based database under subsection (3). (e) How information contained in the Internet-based database under subsection (3) is accessed by the public. (6) Consult with local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies and other public and private use rs of the database under subsection (3) on the data elements collected under s. 900.05, the use of such data, and adding data elements to be collected. (7) Monitor data collection procedures and test data quality to facilitate the dissemination of accura te, valid, HB 1515 2025 reliable, and complete criminal justice data. (8) Develop methods for archiving data, retrieving archived data, and data editing and verification. (9) Keep all information received by the department under s. 900.05 which is confidential and exempt when collected by the reporting agency confidential and exempt for purposes of this section and s. 900.05. (10)(a) By October 1, 2019, assist the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Information Systems Council in developing specifications for a uniform arrest affidavit to be used by each state, county, and municipal law enforcement agency to facilitate complete, accurate, and timely collection and reporting of data from each criminal offense arrest. The uniform arrest affidavit must at a minimum include all of the following: 1. Identification of the arrestee. 2. Details of the arrest, including each charge. 3. Details of each vehicle and item seized at the time of arrest. 4. Juvenile arrestee information. 5. Release information. The uniform arr est affidavit specifications must also include guidelines for developing a uniform criminal charge and disposition statute crosswalk table to be used by each law enforcement agency, state attorney, and jail administrator; and HB 1515 2025 guidelines for developing a un iform criminal disposition and sentencing statute crosswalk table to be used by each clerk of the court. (b) By January 1, 2020, subject to appropriation, the department shall procure a uniform arrest affidavit, a uniform criminal charge and disposition statute crosswalk table, and a uniform criminal disposition and sentencing statute crosswalk table following the specifications developed under paragraph (a). The department shall provide training on use of the affidavit and crosswalk tables to each state, county, and municipal law enforcement agency, clerk of the court, state attorney, and jail administrator, as appropriate. (c) By July 1, 2020, each state, county, and municipal law enforcement agency must use the uniform arrest affidavit, each state att orney and jail administrator must use the uniform criminal charge and statute crosswalk table, and each clerk of the court must use the uniform criminal disposition and sentencing statute crosswalk table. Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.