Bill Text: FL S1110 | 2013 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Railroad Police Officers
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 3-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-25 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/CS/HB 489 (Ch. 2013-114) [S1110 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S1110-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Railroad Police Officers
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 3-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-25 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/CS/HB 489 (Ch. 2013-114) [S1110 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S1110-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2013 CS for CS for SB 1110 By the Committees on Criminal Justice; and Transportation; and Senator Evers 591-03345-13 20131110c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to railroad police officers; amending 3 s. 354.01, F.S.; requiring the Governor to appoint one 4 or more persons as special officers for a railroad or 5 other common carrier under certain circumstances; 6 authorizing the railroad or common carrier to 7 temporarily employ a person as a special officer; 8 requiring the special officer to have the same 9 training and certification as a law enforcement 10 officer; providing that a Class I, Class II, or Class 11 III railroad is considered an “employing agency” for 12 purposes of ss. 943.13 and 943.135(1), F.S.; providing 13 responsibility of certain costs; amending s. 784.07, 14 F.S.; defining the term “railroad special officer”; 15 providing for reclassification of certain offenses 16 committed against a railroad special officer; amending 17 s. 943.10, F.S.; including special officers employed 18 by a railroad or other common carrier within the 19 definition of “law enforcement officer” and including 20 certain railroads within the definition of “employing 21 agency” for purposes of specified provisions relating 22 to law enforcement officer standards; providing an 23 effective date. 24 25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 26 27 Section 1. Section 354.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to 28 read: 29 354.01 Appointment of special officers.—Upon the 30 application of any railroad or other common carrier doing 31 business in this state, the Governor shall appoint one or more 32 persons who have met the law enforcement qualifications and 33 training requirements of s. 943.13943.13(1)-(10)as special 34 officers for the protection and safety of such carriers; their 35 passengers and employees; and the property of such carriers, 36 passengers, and employees. However, until the Governor has 37 either appointed or rejected the appointment of the special 38 officer, a common carrier may temporarily employ a person as a 39 special officer if the person complies with the qualifications 40 for employment as a law enforcement officer in s. 943.13. 41 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a special officer 42 shall be required to have the same training and certification as 43 a law enforcement officer in accordance with s. 943.13 and s. 44 943.135(1) and a Class I, Class II, or Class III railroad shall 45 be considered an employing agency for purposes of s. 943.13 and 46 s. 943.135(1), and shall pay all costs associated with the 47 certification and continuing education of employed special 48 officers. 49 Section 2. Section 784.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to 50 read: 51 784.07 Assault or battery of law enforcement officers, 52 firefighters, emergency medical care providers, public transit 53 employees or agents, or other specified officers; 54 reclassification of offenses; minimum sentences.— 55 (1) As used in this section, the term: 56 (a) “Emergency medical care provider” means an ambulance 57 driver, emergency medical technician, paramedic, registered 58 nurse, physician as defined in s. 401.23, medical director as 59 defined in s. 401.23, or any person authorized by an emergency 60 medical service licensed under chapter 401 who is engaged in the 61 performance of his or her duties. The term “emergency medical 62 care provider” also includes physicians, employees, agents, or 63 volunteers of hospitals as defined in chapter 395, who are 64 employed, under contract, or otherwise authorized by a hospital 65 to perform duties directly associated with the care and 66 treatment rendered by the hospital’s emergency department or the 67 security thereof. 68 (b) “Firefighter” means any person employed by any public 69 employer of this state whose duty it is to extinguish fires; to 70 protect life or property; or to enforce municipal, county, and 71 state fire prevention codes, as well as any law pertaining to 72 the prevention and control of fires. 73 (c) “Law enforcement explorer” means any person who is a 74 current member of a law enforcement agency’s explorer program 75 and who is performing functions other than those required to be 76 performed by sworn law enforcement officers on behalf of a law 77 enforcement agency while under the direct physical supervision 78 of a sworn officer of that agency and wearing a uniform that 79 bears at least one patch that clearly identifies the law 80 enforcement agency that he or she represents. 81 (d) “Law enforcement officer” includes a law enforcement 82 officer, a correctional officer, a correctional probation 83 officer, a part-time law enforcement officer, a part-time 84 correctional officer, an auxiliary law enforcement officer, and 85 an auxiliary correctional officer, as those terms are 86 respectively defined in s. 943.10, and any county probation 87 officer; an employee or agent of the Department of Corrections 88 who supervises or provides services to inmates; an officer of 89 the Parole Commission; a federal law enforcement officer as 90 defined in s. 901.1505; and law enforcement personnel of the 91 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or the Department of 92 Law Enforcement. 93 (e) “Public transit employees or agents” means bus 94 operators, train operators, revenue collectors, security 95 personnel, equipment maintenance personnel, or field 96 supervisors, who are employees or agents of a transit agency as 97 described in s. 812.015(1)(l). 98 (f) “Railroad special officer” means a person employed by a 99 Class I, Class II, or Class III railroad and appointed or 100 pending appointment by the Governor pursuant to s. 354.01. 101 (2) Whenever any person is charged with knowingly 102 committing an assault or battery upon a law enforcement officer, 103 a firefighter, an emergency medical care provider, a railroad 104 special officer, a traffic accident investigation officer as 105 described in s. 316.640, a nonsworn law enforcement agency 106 employee who is certified as an agency inspector, a blood 107 alcohol analyst, or a breath test operator while such employee 108 is in uniform and engaged in processing, testing, evaluating, 109 analyzing, or transporting a person who is detained or under 110 arrest for DUI, a law enforcement explorer, a traffic infraction 111 enforcement officer as described in s. 316.640, a parking 112 enforcement specialist as defined in s. 316.640, a person 113 licensed as a security officer as defined in s. 493.6101 and 114 wearing a uniform that bears at least one patch or emblem that 115 is visible at all times that clearly identifies the employing 116 agency and that clearly identifies the person as a licensed 117 security officer, or a security officer employed by the board of 118 trustees of a community college, while the officer, firefighter, 119 emergency medical care provider, railroad special officer, 120 traffic accident investigation officer, traffic infraction 121 enforcement officer, inspector, analyst, operator, law 122 enforcement explorer, parking enforcement specialist, public 123 transit employee or agent, or security officer is engaged in the 124 lawful performance of his or her duties, the offense for which 125 the person is charged shall be reclassified as follows: 126 (a) In the case of assault, from a misdemeanor of the 127 second degree to a misdemeanor of the first degree. 128 (b) In the case of battery, from a misdemeanor of the first 129 degree to a felony of the third degree. 130 (c) In the case of aggravated assault, from a felony of the 131 third degree to a felony of the second degree. Notwithstanding 132 any other provision of law, any person convicted of aggravated 133 assault upon a law enforcement officer shall be sentenced to a 134 minimum term of imprisonment of 3 years. 135 (d) In the case of aggravated battery, from a felony of the 136 second degree to a felony of the first degree. Notwithstanding 137 any other provision of law, any person convicted of aggravated 138 battery of a law enforcement officer shall be sentenced to a 139 minimum term of imprisonment of 5 years. 140 (3) Any person who is convicted of a battery under 141 paragraph (2)(b) and, during the commission of the offense, such 142 person possessed: 143 (a) A “firearm” or “destructive device” as those terms are 144 defined in s. 790.001, shall be sentenced to a minimum term of 145 imprisonment of 3 years. 146 (b) A semiautomatic firearm and its high-capacity 147 detachable box magazine, as defined in s. 775.087(3), or a 148 machine gun as defined in s. 790.001, shall be sentenced to a 149 minimum term of imprisonment of 8 years. 150 151 Notwithstanding s. 948.01, adjudication of guilt or imposition 152 of sentence shall not be suspended, deferred, or withheld, and 153 the defendant is not eligible for statutory gain-time under s. 154 944.275 or any form of discretionary early release, other than 155 pardon or executive clemency, or conditional medical release 156 under s. 947.149, prior to serving the minimum sentence. 157 Section 3. Subsections (1) and (4) of section 943.10, 158 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 159 943.10 Definitions; ss. 943.085-943.255.—The following 160 words and phrases as used in ss. 943.085-943.255 are defined as 161 follows: 162 (1) “Law enforcement officer” means any person who is 163 elected, appointed, or employed full time by any municipality or 164 the state or any political subdivision thereof; who is vested 165 with authority to bear arms and make arrests; and whose primary 166 responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the 167 enforcement of the penal, criminal, traffic, or highway laws of 168 the state. This definition includes all certified supervisory 169 and command personnel whose duties include, in whole or in part, 170 the supervision, training, guidance, and management 171 responsibilities of full-time law enforcement officers, part 172 time law enforcement officers, or auxiliary law enforcement 173 officers but does not include support personnel employed by the 174 employing agency. For purposes of ss. 943.085-943.255 only, this 175 definition also includes special officers employed by a Class I 176 or Class II railroad and appointed by the Governor pursuant to 177 s. 354.01. 178 (4) “Employing agency” means any agency or unit of 179 government or any municipality or the state or any political 180 subdivision thereof, or any agent thereof, which has 181 constitutional or statutory authority to employ or appoint 182 persons as officers. The term also includes any private entity 183 which has contracted with the state or county for the operation 184 and maintenance of a nonjuvenile detention facility. For 185 purposes of ss. 943.085-943.255 only, the term also includes a 186 Class I or Class II railroad that employs special officers 187 pursuant to s. 354.01. 188 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.