Bill Text: FL S1156 | 2018 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Missing Persons
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-05 - Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/HB 591 [S1156 Detail]
Download: Florida-2018-S1156-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2018 CS for SB 1156
By the Committee on Appropriations; and Senator Perry
576-03800-18 20181156c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to missing persons; amending s.
3 683.231, F.S.; abrogating the scheduled repeal of
4 provisions relating to a citizen support organization
5 for Florida Missing Children’s Day; amending s.
6 937.041, F.S.; expanding a pilot project for missing
7 persons with special needs from specified counties to
8 statewide, through regional autism centers; requiring
9 each center that opts to join the pilot project to
10 distribute personal devices to aid search-and-rescue
11 efforts; requiring that participants be selected based
12 on criteria developed by the respective participating
13 centers; revising the requirements for personal
14 devices used in the pilot project; deleting a
15 reporting requirement; delaying the scheduled repeal
16 of the pilot project; conforming provisions to changes
17 made by the act; providing an effective date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Section 683.231, Florida Statutes, is amended to
22 read:
23 683.231 Citizen support organization for Florida Missing
24 Children’s Day.—
25 (1) The Department of Law Enforcement may establish a
26 citizen support organization to provide assistance, funding, and
27 promotional support for activities authorized for Florida
28 Missing Children’s Day under s. 683.23.
29 (2) As used in this section, the term “citizen support
30 organization” means an organization that is:
31 (a) A Florida corporation not for profit incorporated under
32 chapter 617 and approved by the Department of State.
33 (b) Organized and operated to conduct programs and
34 activities; raise funds; request and receive grants, gifts, and
35 bequests of money; acquire, receive, hold, invest, and
36 administer, in its own name, securities, funds, objects of
37 value, or other property, either real or personal; and make
38 expenditures to or for the direct or indirect benefit of the
39 department in furtherance of Florida Missing Children’s Day.
40 (3) The citizen support organization is not a registered
41 lobbyist within the meaning of s. 11.045.
42 (4) The citizen support organization is specifically
43 authorized to collect and expend funds to be used for awards;
44 public awareness and awards ceremonies, workshops, and other
45 meetings, including distribution materials for public education
46 and awareness; travel; Internet and web-hosting services;
47 administrative costs, including personnel costs; costs of
48 audits; and costs of facilities rental.
49 (5) The activities of the citizen support organization must
50 be determined by the department to be consistent with the goals
51 and mission of the department and in the best interests of the
52 state and approved in writing by the department to operate for
53 the direct or indirect benefit of the department. The approval
54 shall be given in a letter of agreement from the department.
55 (6)(a) The department may fix and collect charges for the
56 rental of facilities and properties managed by the department
57 and may permit, without charge, appropriate use of
58 administrative services, property, and facilities of the
59 department by the citizen support organization, subject to this
60 section. The use must be directly in keeping with the approved
61 purposes of the citizen support organization and may not be made
62 at times or places that would unreasonably interfere with
63 opportunities for the public to use such facilities for
64 established purposes. Any money received from rentals of
65 facilities and properties managed by the department may be held
66 in the Operating Trust Fund of the department or in a separate
67 depository account in the name of the citizen support
68 organization and subject to the provisions of the letter of
69 agreement with the department. The letter of agreement must
70 provide that any funds held in the separate depository account
71 in the name of the citizen support organization must revert to
72 the department if the citizen support organization is no longer
73 approved by the department to operate in the best interests of
74 the state.
75 (b) The department may adopt rules with which a citizen
76 support organization must comply in order to use department
77 administrative services, property, or facilities.
78 (c) The department may not authorize permit the use of any
79 administrative services, property, or facilities of the state by
80 a citizen support organization that does not provide equal
81 membership and employment opportunities to all persons
82 regardless of race, color, religion, gender, age, or national
83 origin.
84 (7) The citizen support organization shall provide for an
85 independent annual financial audit in accordance with s.
86 215.981. Copies of the audit shall be provided to the
87 department, the Office of Policy and Budget in the Executive
88 Office of the Governor, and the Florida Cabinet.
89 (8) This section is repealed October 1, 2018, unless
90 reviewed and saved from repeal by the Legislature.
91 Section 2. Section 937.041, Florida Statutes, is amended to
92 read:
93 937.041 Missing persons with special needs pilot project
94 projects.—
95 (1)(a) There is created a statewide pilot project in
96 Alachua, Baker, Columbia, Hamilton, and Suwannee Counties, to be
97 known as “Project Leo,” through regional autism centers
98 established under s. 1004.55. Each center that opts to join the
99 pilot project shall distribute to provide personal devices to
100 aid search-and-rescue efforts for persons with special needs in
101 the case of elopement.
102 (b) There is created an additional pilot project in Palm
103 Beach County to provide personal devices to aid search-and
104 rescue efforts for persons with special needs in the case of
105 elopement.
106 (c) There is created an additional pilot project in
107 Hillsborough County to provide personal devices to aid search
108 and-rescue efforts for persons with special needs in the case of
109 elopement.
110 (2)(a)1. Participants for the pilot project specified in
111 paragraph (1)(a) shall be selected based on criteria developed
112 by each participating center based on the specific needs of that
113 center’s service area counties prescribed under s. 1004.55 the
114 Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at the University of
115 Florida.
116 2. Participants for the pilot project specified in
117 paragraph (1)(b) shall be selected based on criteria developed
118 by the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at Florida
119 Atlantic University.
120 3. Participants for the pilot project specified in
121 paragraph (1)(c) shall be selected based on criteria developed
122 by the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at the
123 University of South Florida.
124 (b) Criteria for participation in the pilot project
125 projects must include, at a minimum, the person’s risk of
126 elopement. The qualifying participants shall be selected on a
127 first-come, first-served basis by the respective centers to the
128 extent of available funding within their existing resources. The
129 Each project must be voluntary and free of charge to
130 participants.
131 (3) Under the each pilot project, personal devices to aid
132 search-and-rescue efforts which are attachable to clothing or
133 otherwise worn shall be provided by the respective center to the
134 sheriff’s offices of the participating counties. The devices
135 shall be distributed to project participants by the county
136 sheriff’s offices in conjunction with the respective center. The
137 respective center shall fund any costs associated with
138 monitoring the devices.
139 (4) Each center shall submit a preliminary report by
140 December 1, 2016, and a final report by December 15, 2017, to
141 the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
142 the House of Representatives describing the implementation and
143 operation of its pilot project. At a minimum, each report must
144 include the criteria used to select participants, the number of
145 participants, the nature of the participants’ special needs, the
146 number of participants who elope, the amount of time taken to
147 rescue such participants following elopement, and the outcome of
148 any rescue attempts. Each final report shall also provide
149 recommendations for modification or continued implementation of
150 the project.
151 (4)(5) The Each project shall operate to the extent of
152 available funding within the respective center’s existing
153 resources.
154 (5)(6) This section expires June 30, 2019 2018.
155 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.
