SESSION WATCH
THE BILL ITSELF

CS/HB 975

Capitol Center and Complex

VERSION H 975 c1 · 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.

1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Capitol Center and Complex;
3 amending s. 272.12, F.S.; providing that the
4 Department of Management Services is responsible for
5 the aesthetics of the Capitol Center for visitors;
6 amending s. 272.121, F.S.; requiring the department to
7 consider certain factors when developing a specified
8 plan; amending s. 272.16, F.S.; requiring the
9 department, in consultation with the Capitol Police,
10 to establish enhanced security measures in certain
11 parking areas; amending s. 943.61, F.S.; authorizing
12 the Capitol Police to patrol the area surrounding the
13 Capitol Complex to ensure the safety of certain
14 persons; defining the term "area surrounding the
15 Capitol Complex"; providing a requirement for a
16 certain operational plan; requiring the Capitol Police
17 to provide a certain report to the Legislature;
18 amending s. 943.64, F.S.; authorizing certain ex
19 officio agents to patrol the Capitol Complex and the
20 area surrounding the Capitol Complex; amending s.
21 943.601, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; providing
22 an effective date.
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26 Section 1. Subsection (3) is added to section 272.12,
27 Florida Statutes, to read:
28 272.12 Florida Capitol Center Planning District.—
29 (3) The Department of Management Services is responsible
30 for the aesthetics of the Capitol Center for visitors.
31 Section 2. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (1) of
32 section 272.121, Florida Statutes, to read:
33 272.121 Capitol Center long-range planning.—
34 (1) The Department of Management Services shall develop a
35 comprehensive and long-range plan for the development of state-
36 owned property within the Capitol Center. In developing this
37 plan, the department shall consider:
38 (e) The security of the Capitol Center and surrounding
39 areas and the need to keep those spaces safe. Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 272.16, Florida
41 Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (5) and amended, and a new
42 subsection (4) is added to that section, to read:
43 272.16 Parking areas within Capitol Center area.—
44 (4) The Department of Management Services, in consultation
45 with the Capitol Police, shall establish enhanced security
46 measures to protect members of the Legislature, state officers,
47 employees, and visitors in such parking areas.
48 (5)(4) The Department of Management Services shall adopt
49 such rules as are necessary to implement carry out the purposes
50 of subsections (1), and (3), and (4).
51 Section 4. Section 943.61, Florida Statutes, is amended to
52 read:
53 943.61 Powers and duties of the Capitol Police.—
54 (1)(a) There is created the Capitol Police within the
55 Department of Law Enforcement, to serve the safety and security
56 needs of both the legislative and executive branches of state
57 government. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Capitol
58 Police serve as a specially trained and highly effective
59 security and law enforcement agency serving the Capitol Complex
60 and the state. It shall be the primary responsibility of the
61 Capitol Police to protect the security of the Governor, the
62 Lieutenant Governor, the members of the Cabinet, and the members
63 of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, and those
64 employees assigned to assist such state officials in the
65 performance of their official duties, and to ensure their access
66 to buildings and premises within the Capitol Complex, thereby
67 providing for the continuous operation of the government of the
68 State of Florida.
69 (b)(2) The Capitol Police shall also provide security and
70 protection for other state officials, employees, and visitors to
71 the Capitol Complex and shall maintain a reasonable degree of
72 safety and security within the Capitol Complex while ensuring
73 reasonable access to buildings and premises within the Capitol
74 Complex by state officials, employees, and visitors. The Capitol
75 Police shall also ensure that adequate signs and personnel are
76 in place to inform and assist the occupants of and visitors to
77 buildings within the Capitol Complex.
78 (c) To enforce this subsection, the Capitol Police may
79 patrol and conduct law enforcement activities in the area
80 surrounding the Capitol Complex between the hours of 7:00 a.m.
81 and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
82 (d) For purposes of this section, the term "area
83 surrounding the Capitol Complex" means the area extending north
84 from the northern boundary of the Capitol Complex, up to and
85 including East Park Avenue and West Park Avenue, and bounded on
86 the east and west by the existing eastern and western boundaries
87 of the Capitol Complex.
88 (2)(3) Nothing herein limits the ability of the Capitol
89 Police to provide mutual aid to other law enforcement agencies
90 as authorized by law unless such a limitation is expressly
91 included in the operational security plans provided for herein.
92 (3)(4) The Capitol Police shall have the following
93 responsibilities, powers, and duties:
94 (a) To develop, in consultation with the Governor, Cabinet
95 officers, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
96 House of Representatives, written operational plans for basic
97 and enhanced security measures and actions related to the
98 Capitol Complex. Such plans must address crime and vagrancy in
99 the area surrounding the Capitol Complex. Such plans and any
100 changes or amendments thereto may shall not be implemented
101 unless presented in writing in final form to the Governor, the
102 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
103 Representatives and all three grant their approval in writing.
104 The approval of any officer required herein shall expire 60 days
105 after such officer vacates his or her office, and the written
106 approval of the successor in office must be obtained before
107 prior to the continuation of operations under such plans. Upon
108 the request of the Governor, a Cabinet officer, the President of
109 the Senate, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the
110 Capitol Police shall activate previously approved enhanced
111 security measures and actions in accordance with the approved
112 operational plans specific to the requesting officer's
113 responsibilities and to the facilities occupied by such officer
114 and employees responsible to such officer. Upon an emergency
115 threatening the immediate safety and security of occupants of
116 the Capitol Complex, so declared by the Governor, plans not
117 approved as required by this paragraph may be implemented for a
118 period not to exceed 15 days, provided such plans do not
119 substantially interfere with the ability of the Senate and the
120 House of Representatives to assemble for any constitutional
121 purpose.
122 (b) To provide and maintain the security of all property
123 located in the Capitol Complex in a manner consistent with the
124 security plans developed and approved under paragraph (a) and,
125 in consultation with the State Fire Marshal, to provide for
126 evacuations, information, and training required for firesafety
127 on such property in a manner consistent with s. 633.218.
128 (c) To develop plans for reporting incidents involving
129 buildings and property within the Capitol Complex, emergency
130 procedures and evacuation routes in the event of fire, security
131 threats, incidents prompting a need for evacuation, acts of
132 terrorism, or natural or manmade disaster and to make such
133 procedures and routes known to those persons occupying such
134 buildings.
135 (d) To employ officers who hold certification as law
136 enforcement officers in accordance with the minimum standards
137 and qualifications as set forth in s. 943.13 and the provisions
138 of chapter 110, and who have the authority to bear arms, make
139 arrests, except as may be limited in the security plans
140 established under paragraph (a), and apply for arrest warrants.
141 (e) To hire guards and administrative, clerical,
142 technical, and other personnel as may be required.
143 (f) To train all officers and other employees in fire
144 prevention, firesafety, emergency medical procedures, and
145 preventing and responding to acts of terrorism.
146 (g) To respond to all complaints relating to criminal
147 activity or security threats within the Capitol Complex, or
148 against the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a member of the
149 Cabinet, a member of the Senate or of the House of
150 Representatives, or an employee assisting such official.
151 (h) As provided by the security plans developed and
152 approved under paragraph (a), upon request of the presiding
153 officer of either house of the Legislature, the director may
154 assign one or more officers for the protection of a member of
155 the house served by such presiding officer. Per diem and
156 subsistence allowance for department employees traveling with a
157 member of the Legislature away from Tallahassee shall be
158 computed by payment of a sum up to the amounts permitted in s.
159 112.061 for meals, plus actual expenses for lodging to be
160 substantiated by paid bills therefor.
161 (i) To enforce rules of the Department of Management
162 Services governing the regulation of traffic and parking within
163 the Capitol Complex and to impound illegally or wrongfully
164 parked vehicles.
165 (j) To establish policies for the organizational
166 structure, principles of command, and internal operations of the
167 Capitol Police, provided that such policies are not inconsistent
168 with the provisions of ss. 943.61-943.68 or the security plans
169 developed and approved under paragraph (a).
170 (k) To carry out the transportation and protective
171 services functions described in s. 943.68.
172 (l) To provide to the Legislature a report with
173 recommendations to enhance the safety of the area surrounding
174 the Capitol Complex.
175 (4)(5) Officers of the Capitol Police may make lawful
176 arrests, consistent with the purposes, responsibilities, and
177 limitations set forth in ss. 943.60-943.68. However, except with
178 the prior approval of the appropriate presiding officer,
179 officers of the Capitol Police shall have no power to prevent
180 the convening or continuation of any meeting of the Legislature,
181 legislative committees, or staff, nor shall they have the power
182 to interfere with the legislative duties or rights of a member
183 of the Legislature, or to interfere with the constitutional
184 duties or rights of the Governor or a member of the Cabinet,
185 except as may be necessary to protect the health and safety of
186 any person from a clear and present danger, or as may be
187 otherwise provided in the security plans developed and approved
188 for fire prevention, firesafety, and emergency medical
189 procedures under paragraph (3)(a) (4)(a). No employee of the
190 Capitol Police shall be permitted in either legislative chamber
191 without the specific permission of the presiding officer of that
192 house of the Legislature, but may enter in the case of an
193 emergency when the presiding officer is not able or available to
194 consent.
195 Section 5. Section 943.64, Florida Statutes, is amended to
196 read:
197 943.64 Ex officio agents.—Law enforcement officers of the
198 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, special agents
199 or inspectors of the Department of Law Enforcement, and law
200 enforcement officers of other state agencies, counties, and
201 municipalities are ex officio agents of the Capitol Police, and
202 may, when authorized by the executive director of the department
203 or the executive director's designee, enforce rules and laws
204 applicable to the powers and duties of the Capitol Police to
205 provide and maintain the security required by ss. 943.61-943.68,
206 including patrolling the Capitol Complex and the area
207 surrounding the Capitol Complex, as defined in s. 943.61(1)(d).
208 Section 6. Section 943.601, Florida Statutes, is amended
209 to read:
210 943.601 Preservation of legislative powers.—Except as may
211 be agreed to by the presiding officers of both houses of the
212 Legislature, nothing in this chapter shall limit or otherwise
213 interfere with the rights and powers of the Senate or the House
214 of Representatives, or the officers of either, to direct or
215 command members or committees of the Legislature or legislative
216 employees to attend any meeting or enter any area of the Capitol
217 Complex for a legislative purpose, and the Capitol Police may,
218 as provided by the security plans developed and approved under
219 s. 943.61(3)(a) s. 943.61(4)(a), and upon request of the
220 presiding officer of either house of the Legislature, ensure the
221 ability of any member of the house presided over by such
222 presiding officer to attend to such legislative business without
223 wrongful interference from any person or government entity.
224 Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.