THE BILL ITSELF
SB 1304
Special Risk Class
Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1304 By Senator Martin 33-01134B-26 20261304__
1
A bill to be entitled
2
An act relating to the special risk class; amending s.
3
121.0515, F.S.; revising the Special Risk Class member
4
criteria to include members employed as certain
5
prosecutors and special investigators; providing the
6
years of creditable service for full retirement
7
eligibility; making technical changes; amending ss.
8
121.052 and 121.055, F.S.; conforming provisions to
9
changes made by the act; providing a declaration of
10
important state interest; providing an effective date.
12
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
Section 1. Paragraph (h) of subsection (2), subsection (3),
15
and paragraph (d) of subsection (8) of section 121.0515, Florida
16
Statutes, are amended to read:
17
121.0515 Special Risk Class.—
18
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—
19
(h) Effective August 1, 2008, “special risk member”
20
includes any member who meets the special criteria for continued
21
membership set forth in paragraph (3)(k) (3)(j) .
22
(3) CRITERIA.—A member, to be designated as a special risk
23
member, must meet the following criteria:
24
(a) Effective October 1, 1978, the member must be employed
25
as a law enforcement officer and be certified, or required to be
26
certified, in compliance with s. 943.1395 , except that ; however,
27
sheriffs and elected police chiefs are not required to be
28
certified excluded from meeting the certification requirements
29
of this paragraph . In addition, the member’s duties and
30
responsibilities must include the pursuit, apprehension, and
31
arrest of law violators or suspected law violators; or as of
32
July 1, 1982, the member must be an active member of a bomb
33
disposal unit whose primary responsibility is the location,
34
handling, and disposal of explosive devices; or the member must
35
be the supervisor or command officer of a member or members who
36
have such responsibilities. Administrative support personnel,
37
including, but not limited to, those whose primary duties and
38
responsibilities are in accounting, purchasing, legal, and
39
personnel, are not included;
40
(b) Effective October 1, 1978, the member must be employed
41
as a firefighter and be certified, or required to be certified,
42
in compliance with s. 633.408 and be employed solely within the
43
fire department of a local government employer or an agency of
44
state government with firefighting responsibilities. In
45
addition, the member’s duties and responsibilities must include
46
on-the-scene fighting of fires; as of October 1, 2001, fire
47
prevention or firefighter training; as of October 1, 2001,
48
direct supervision of firefighting units, fire prevention, or
49
firefighter training; or as of July 1, 2001, aerial firefighting
50
surveillance performed by fixed-wing aircraft pilots employed by
51
the Florida Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture and
52
Consumer Services; or the member must be the supervisor or
53
command officer of a member or members who have such
54
responsibilities. Administrative support personnel, including,
55
but not limited to, those whose primary duties and
56
responsibilities are in accounting, purchasing, legal, and
57
personnel, are not included. All periods of creditable service
58
in fire prevention or firefighter training, or as the supervisor
59
or command officer of a member or members who have such
60
responsibilities, and for which the employer paid the special
61
risk contribution rate, are included;
62
(c) Effective October 1, 1978, the member must be employed
63
as a correctional officer and be certified, or required to be
64
certified, in compliance with s. 943.1395. In addition, the
65
member’s primary duties and responsibilities must be the
66
custody, and physical restraint if when necessary, of prisoners
67
or inmates within a prison, jail, or other criminal detention
68
facility, or while on work detail outside the facility, or while
69
being transported; or as of July 1, 1984, the member must be the
70
supervisor or command officer of a member or members who have
71
such responsibilities. Administrative support personnel,
72
including, but not limited to, those whose primary duties and
73
responsibilities are in accounting, purchasing, legal, and
74
personnel, are not included; however, wardens and assistant
75
wardens, as defined by rule, are included;
76
(d) Effective October 1, 1999, the member must be employed
77
by a licensed Advance Life Support (ALS) or Basic Life Support
78
(BLS) employer as an emergency medical technician or a paramedic
79
and be certified in compliance with s. 401.27. In addition, the
80
member’s primary duties and responsibilities must include on
81
the-scene emergency medical care or as of October 1, 2001,
82
direct supervision of emergency medical technicians or
83
paramedics, or the member must be the supervisor or command
84
officer of one or more members who have such responsibility.
85
Administrative support personnel, including, but not limited to,
86
those whose primary responsibilities are in accounting,
87
purchasing, legal, and personnel, are not included;
88
(e) Effective January 1, 2001, the member must be employed
89
as a community-based correctional probation officer and be
90
certified, or required to be certified, in compliance with s.
91
943.1395. In addition, the member’s primary duties and
92
responsibilities must be the supervised custody, surveillance,
93
control, investigation, and counseling of assigned inmates,
94
probationers, parolees, or community controllees within the
95
community; or the member must be the supervisor of a member or
96
members who have such responsibilities. Administrative support
97
personnel, including, but not limited to, those whose primary
98
duties and responsibilities are in accounting, purchasing, legal
99
services, and personnel management, are not included; however,
100
probation and parole circuit and deputy circuit administrators
101
are included;
102
(f) Effective January 1, 2001, the member must be employed
103
in one of the following classes and must spend at least 75
104
percent of his or her time performing duties that which involve
105
contact with patients or inmates in a correctional or forensic
106
facility or institution:
107
1. Dietitian (class codes 5203 and 5204);
108
2. Public health nutrition consultant (class code 5224);
109
3. Psychological specialist (class codes 5230 and 5231);
110
4. Psychologist (class code 5234);
111
5. Senior psychologist (class codes 5237 and 5238);
112
6. Regional mental health consultant (class code 5240);
113
7. Psychological Services Director—DCF (class code 5242);
114
8. Pharmacist (class codes 5245 and 5246);
115
9. Senior pharmacist (class codes 5248 and 5249);
116
10. Dentist (class code 5266);
117
11. Senior dentist (class code 5269);
118
12. Registered nurse (class codes 5290 and 5291);
119
13. Senior registered nurse (class codes 5292 and 5293);
120
14. Registered nurse specialist (class codes 5294 and
121
5295);
122
15. Clinical associate (class codes 5298 and 5299);
123
16. Advanced practice registered nurse (class codes 5297
124
and 5300);
125
17. Advanced practice registered nurse specialist (class
126
codes 5304 and 5305);
127
18. Registered nurse supervisor (class codes 5306 and
128
5307);
129
19. Senior registered nurse supervisor (class codes 5308
130
and 5309);
131
20. Registered nursing consultant (class codes 5312 and
132
5313);
133
21. Quality management program supervisor (class code
134
5314);
135
22. Executive nursing director (class codes 5320 and 5321);
136
23. Speech and hearing therapist (class code 5406); or
137
24. Pharmacy manager (class code 5251);
138
(g) Effective October 1, 2005, through June 30, 2008, the
139
member must be employed by a law enforcement agency or medical
140
examiner’s office in a forensic discipline recognized by the
141
International Association for Identification and must qualify
142
for active membership in the International Association for
143
Identification. The member’s primary duties and responsibilities
144
must include the collection, examination, preservation,
145
documentation, preparation, or analysis of physical evidence or
146
testimony, or both, or the member must be the direct supervisor,
147
quality management supervisor, or command officer of one or more
148
individuals with such responsibility. Administrative support
149
personnel, including, but not limited to, those whose primary
150
responsibilities are clerical or in accounting, purchasing,
151
legal, and personnel, are not included;
152
(h) Effective July 1, 2008, the member must be employed by
153
the Department of Law Enforcement in the crime laboratory or by
154
the Department of Financial Services in the forensic laboratory
155
in one of the following classes:
156
1. Forensic technologist (class code 8459);
157
2. Crime laboratory technician (class code 8461);
158
3. Crime laboratory analyst (class code 8463);
159
4. Senior crime laboratory analyst (class code 8464);
160
5. Crime laboratory analyst supervisor (class code 8466);
161
6. Forensic chief (class code 9602); or
162
7. Forensic services quality manager (class code 9603);
163
(i) Effective July 1, 2008, the member must be employed by
164
a local government law enforcement agency or medical examiner’s
165
office and must spend at least 65 percent of his or her time
166
performing duties that involve the collection, examination,
167
preservation, documentation, preparation, or analysis of human
168
tissues or fluids or physical evidence having potential
169
biological, chemical, or radiological hazard or contamination,
170
or use chemicals, processes, or materials that may have
171
carcinogenic or health-damaging properties in the analysis of
172
such evidence, or the member must be the direct supervisor of
173
one or more individuals having such responsibility. If a special
174
risk member changes to another position within the same agency,
175
he or she must submit a complete application as provided in
176
paragraph (4)(a); or
177
(j) Effective July 1, 2026, the member must be employed as
178
a state attorney as defined in s. 542.17(7), the statewide
179
prosecutor as described in s. 16.56, an assistant statewide
180
prosecutor as designated under s. 16.56(3), or a special
181
investigator as defined in s. 27.251. The number of creditable
182
years for full retirement eligibility for such member shall be
183
25 years without penalty; or
184
(k) The member must have already qualified for and be
185
actively participating in special risk membership under
186
paragraph (a), paragraph (b), or paragraph (c), must have
187
suffered a qualifying injury as defined in this paragraph, must
188
not be receiving disability retirement benefits as provided in
189
s. 121.091(4), and must satisfy the requirements of this
190
paragraph.
191
1. The ability to qualify for the class of membership
192
defined in paragraph (2)(h) occurs when two licensed medical
193
physicians, one of whom is a primary treating physician of the
194
member, certify the existence of the physical injury and medical
195
condition that constitute a qualifying injury as defined in this
196
paragraph and that the member has reached maximum medical
197
improvement after August 1, 2008. The certifications from the
198
licensed medical physicians must include, at a minimum, that the
199
injury to the special risk member has resulted in a physical
200
loss, or loss of use, of at least two of the following: left
201
arm, right arm, left leg, or right leg; and that :
202
a. The That this physical loss or loss of use is total and
203
permanent, except if the loss of use is due to a physical injury
204
to the member’s brain, in which event the loss of use is
205
permanent with at least 75 percent loss of motor function with
206
respect to each arm or leg affected.
207
b. The That this physical loss or loss of use renders the
208
member physically unable to perform the essential job functions
209
of his or her special risk position.
210
c. That, Notwithstanding the this physical loss or loss of
211
use, the individual can perform the essential job functions
212
required by the member’s new position, as provided in
213
subparagraph 3.
214
d. That Use of artificial limbs is not possible or does not
215
alter the member’s ability to perform the essential job
216
functions of the member’s position.
217
e. That The physical loss or loss of use is a direct result
218
of a physical injury and not a result of any mental,
219
psychological, or emotional injury.
220
2. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “qualifying
221
injury” means an injury sustained in the line of duty, as
222
certified by the member’s employing agency, by a special risk
223
member that does not result in total and permanent disability as
224
defined in s. 121.091(4)(b). An injury is a qualifying injury if
225
the injury is a physical injury to the member’s physical body
226
resulting in a physical loss, or loss of use, of at least two of
227
the following: left arm, right arm, left leg, or right leg.
228
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an injury
229
that would otherwise qualify as a qualifying injury is not
230
considered a qualifying injury if and when the member ceases
231
employment with the employer for whom he or she was providing
232
special risk services on the date the injury occurred.
233
3. The new position, as described in sub-subparagraph 1.c.,
234
which that is required for qualification as a special risk
235
member under this paragraph is not required to be a position
236
with essential job functions that entitle an individual to
237
special risk membership. Whether a new position as described in
238
sub-subparagraph 1.c. exists and is available to the special
239
risk member is a decision to be made solely by the employer in
240
accordance with its hiring practices and applicable law.
241
4. This paragraph does not grant or create additional
242
rights for any individual to continued employment or to be hired
243
or rehired by his or her employer which that are not already
244
provided within the Florida Statutes, the State Constitution,
245
the Americans with Disabilities Act, if applicable, or any other
246
applicable state or federal law.
247
(8) SPECIAL RISK ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT CLASS.—
248
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection,
249
this subsection does not apply to any special risk member who
250
qualifies for continued membership pursuant to paragraph (3)(k)
251
(3)(j) .
252
Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
253
121.052, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
254
121.052 Membership class of elected officers.—
255
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The following holders of elective office,
256
hereinafter referred to as “elected officers,” whether assuming
257
elective office by election, reelection, or appointment, are
258
members of the Elected Officers’ Class, except as provided in
259
subsection (3):
260
(a) Any Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Cabinet officer,
261
legislator, Supreme Court justice, district court of appeal
262
judge, or circuit judge , or state attorney assuming office on or
263
after July 1, 1972.
264
Section 3. Paragraphs (h) and (k) of subsection (1) of
265
section 121.055, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
266
121.055 Senior Management Service Class.—There is hereby
267
established a separate class of membership within the Florida
268
Retirement System to be known as the “Senior Management Service
269
Class,” which shall become effective February 1, 1987.
270
(1)
271
(h)1. Except as provided in subparagraph 3., effective
272
January 1, 1994, participation in the Senior Management Service
273
Class shall be compulsory for the State Courts Administrator and
274
the Deputy State Courts Administrators, the Clerk of the Supreme
275
Court, the Marshal of the Supreme Court, the Executive Director
276
of the Justice Administrative Commission, the capital collateral
277
regional counsel, the clerks of the district courts of appeals,
278
the marshals of the district courts of appeals, and the trial
279
court administrator and the Chief Deputy Court Administrator in
280
each judicial circuit. Effective January 1, 1994, additional
281
positions in the office offices of the state attorney and public
282
defender in each judicial circuit may be designated for
283
inclusion in the Senior Management Service Class of the Florida
284
Retirement System, provided that:
285
a. Positions to be included in the class shall be
286
designated by the state attorney or public defender, as
287
appropriate. Notice of intent to designate positions for
288
inclusion in the class shall be published for at least 2
289
consecutive weeks on a publicly accessible website as provided
290
in s. 50.0311 or, if published in print, once a week for 2
291
consecutive weeks in a newspaper qualified under chapter 50 in
292
the county or counties affected.
293
b. One nonelective full-time position may be designated for
294
each state attorney and public defender reporting to the
295
Department of Management Services; for agencies with 200 or more
296
regularly established positions under the state attorney or
297
public defender, additional nonelective full-time positions may
298
be designated, not to exceed 0.5 percent of the regularly
299
established positions within the agency.
300
c. Each position added to the class must be a managerial or
301
policymaking position filled by an employee who serves at the
302
pleasure of the state attorney or public defender without civil
303
service protection, and who:
304
(I) Heads an organizational unit; or
305
(II) Has responsibility to effect or recommend personnel,
306
budget, expenditure, or policy decisions in his or her areas of
307
responsibility.
308
2. Participation in this class shall be compulsory, except
309
as provided in subparagraph 3., for any judicial employee who
310
holds a position designated for coverage in the Senior
311
Management Service Class, and such participation shall continue
312
until the employee terminates employment in a covered position.
313
Effective January 1, 2001, participation in this class is
314
compulsory for assistant state attorneys, assistant statewide
315
prosecutors, assistant public defenders , and assistant capital
316
collateral regional counsel. Effective January 1, 2002,
317
participation in this class is compulsory for assistant
318
attorneys general.
319
3. In lieu of participation in the Senior Management
320
Service Class, such members, excluding assistant state
321
attorneys, assistant public defenders, assistant statewide
322
prosecutors, assistant attorneys general, and assistant capital
323
collateral regional counsel, may participate in the Senior
324
Management Service Optional Annuity Program as established in
325
subsection (6).
326
(k) Any state attorney or public defender in the Elected
327
Officers’ Class who has creditable service as an assistant state
328
attorney or assistant public defender may upgrade retirement
329
credit for such service in accordance with the provisions of
330
paragraph (j).
331
Section 4. The Legislature finds that a proper and
332
legitimate state purpose is served when employees, officers, and
333
retirees of the state and its political subdivisions, and the
334
dependents, survivors, and beneficiaries of such employees,
335
officers, and retirees, are extended the basic protections
336
afforded by governmental retirement systems. These persons must
337
be provided benefits that are fair and adequate and that are
338
managed, administered, and funded in an actuarially sound manner
339
as required by s. 14, Article X of the State Constitution and
340
part VII of chapter 112, Florida Statutes. Therefore, the
341
Legislature determines and declares that this act fulfills an
342
important state interest.
343
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.