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THE BILL ITSELF

SB 1712

Statewide Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Unit

VERSION S 1712 Filed · BACK TO THE SUMMARY · OFFICIAL RECORD

underlined language is being added; struck language is being deleted. Line numbers are the Legislature's own — the same ones amendments cite.

Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1712 By Senator Martin 33-00715-26 20261712__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Statewide Counterintelligence
3 and Counterterrorism Unit; creating s. 943.0316, F.S.;
4 providing legislative intent; defining the term
5 “adversary intelligence entity”; requiring the
6 Department of Law Enforcement to establish and
7 administer a Statewide Counterintelligence and
8 Counterterrorism Unit at a specified location;
9 requiring that a team from the unit be assigned to and
10 aligned with each regional domestic security task
11 force; specifying unit duties; requiring the
12 department to create a team by a specified date to
13 serve as the initial leadership and organizational
14 core of the full unit; requiring the department to
15 establish a statewide unit housed in a specified
16 location; requiring that the unit be composed of a
17 specified number of teams; requiring the department to
18 annually request a certain number of positions and
19 amount of funding for each position in order to
20 achieve full staffing by a specified date; specifying
21 team tasks, composition, and experience requirements;
22 providing an effective date.
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26 Section 1. Section 943.0316, Florida Statutes, is created
27 to read:
28 943.0316 Statewide Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism
29 Unit.—
30 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a
31 dedicated counterintelligence and counterterrorism unit whose
32 primary goal is to conduct statewide counterintelligence and
33 counterterrorism activities to detect, identify, neutralize, and
34 exploit adversary intelligence entities, international and
35 domestic terrorists, insider threats, corporate threats, and
36 other foreign adversaries to protect this state and the United
37 States of America.
38 (2) As used in this section, the term “adversary
39 intelligence entity” includes, but is not limited to, any
40 national, foreign, multinational, friendly, competitor,
41 opponent, adversary, or recognized enemy government or
42 nongovernmental organization, company, business, corporation,
43 consortium, group, agency, cell, terrorist, insurgent, guerrilla
44 entity, or person whose demonstrated actions, views, or opinions
45 are a threat or are inimical to the interests of this state and
46 the United States of America.
47 (3) The Department of Law Enforcement shall establish and
48 administer a Statewide Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism
49 Unit housed at the department’s regional operational center,
50 with a team from the unit assigned to and aligned with each
51 regional domestic security task force established under s.
52 943.0312. The unit shall identify threats by analyzing patterns
53 of life, gathering actionable intelligence, and formulating
54 effective plans of action, and by executing arrests or by
55 revealing its intent to compel a response using all
56 counterintelligence and counterterrorism tradecraft necessary to
57 protect the state from adversary intelligence entities. The unit
58 may conduct direct action missions on its own against a threat
59 or may incorporate with or into other units to counteract and
60 stop identifiable threats.
61 (4) The department shall:
62 (a) Create a 10-person team by July 1, 2027, whose main
63 purpose is to serve as the initial leadership and organizational
64 core of the full unit;
65 (b) Establish a statewide unit, housed at the department’s
66 regional operational center which must be composed of at least
67 seven teams, with a team being assigned to each regional
68 domestic security task force; and
69 (c) Each fiscal year, request the appropriate number of
70 positions and funding required for each position in order to be
71 fully staffed no later than December 30, 2033.
72 (5)(a) Each team shall perform tasks in support of the
73 state’s domestic security mission, including, but not limited
74 to, providing technical operations to insider threat
75 investigations and assigning team officers to safeguard the
76 state from adversary intelligence entities by using
77 counterintelligence to detect, identify, assess, and counteract
78 threats posed by such entities.
79 (b) Each team must, at a minimum, be composed of all of the
80 following:
81 1. A team leader who is an assistant special agent in
82 charge;
83 2. A facility security officer who is a special agent
84 supervisor with counterintelligence experience, to be assigned
85 four intelligence analysts; and
86 3. A deputy team leader who is a special agent supervisor,
87 to be assigned six counterintelligence agents, one of whom must
88 be a regional federal liaison officer, one of whom must be a
89 regional state liaison officer, and one of whom must be a local
90 liaison officer.
91 (c) Each team member must:
92 1. Have been a member of or have received formal training
93 in any United States government agency, have served as a United
94 States servicemember, or have experience with any law
95 enforcement agency as an officer, agent, analyst, or operative
96 serving in intelligence, counterintelligence, or
97 counterterrorism; or
98 2. Have at least 3 years of experience of actively working
99 in the fields of intelligence, counterintelligence, or
100 counterterrorism.
101 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.