HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 3 Law Enforcement Officer, Benefits, Recruitment, and Training
SPONSOR(S): Appropriations Committee, Leek and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS:
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee 13 Y, 1 N Padgett Hall
2) Appropriations Committee 25 Y, 0 N, As CS Saag Pridgeon
3) Judiciary Committee 20 Y, 0 N Padgett Kramer
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Law enforcement agencies across the United States, including Florida, have reported difficulty in attracting and
retaining qualified law enforcement officers. Understaffed law enforcement agencies endanger public safety by
increasing response times to emergency calls, hindering the ability to solve crimes, and negatively impacting
the morale of law enforcement officers who are currently employed.
CS/HB 3 provides law enforcement agencies with additional tools to bolster the recruitment and retention of
qualified officers by providing financial incentives, enhanced training, expanded educational opportunities, and
recognition that honors law enforcement officers’ service to the state of Florida. The bill:
Creates the Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program to provide one-time bonus
payments of up to $5,000 to newly employed law enforcement officers in Florida;
Creates the Florida Law Enforcement Academy Scholarship Program to cover tuition, fees, and up to
$1,000 of eligible education expenses for trainees enrolled in a law enforcement officer basic recruit
training program;
Creates a reimbursement program to pay for up to $1,000 of equivalency training costs for certified law
enforcement officers who relocate to Florida or members of the special operations forces who become
full-time law enforcement officers;
Provides law enforcement officers who adopt a child from within the state child welfare system with a
$25,000 benefit for adopting a child with special needs or a $10,000 benefit for adopting a child without
special needs;
Makes dependent children of law enforcement officers eligible to receive a Family Empowerment
Scholarship to attend a private school;
Increases the base salary for each county sheriff by $5,000;
Exempts veterans and applicants with an associate degree or higher from taking the basic skills test as
a prerequisite to entering a law enforcement officer basic recruit training program;
Requires that law enforcement officers receive training in health and wellness principles as part of their
initial certification training and continued employment training;
Allows law enforcement officers or former law enforcement officers to receive postsecondary credit at
Florida public postsecondary educational institutions for training and experience acquired while serving;
Encourages each district school board to establish public safety telecommunication training program s
and law enforcement explorer programs in public schools; and
Designates May 1 of each year as “Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.”
The bill will have an indeterminate fiscal impact on state and local governments. See Fiscal Analysis &
Economic Impact Statement.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2022.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Law enforcement agencies across the United States have reported difficulty in attracting and retaining
qualified law enforcement officers.1 According to a 2019 survey conducted by the International
Association of Chiefs of Police, 78 percent of law enforcement agencies experienced difficulty in
recruiting qualified candidates, 50 percent of agencies reported having to change employment policies
in order to expand the pool of eligible recruits, and 25 percent reported having to reduce or eliminate
certain law enforcement services or units due to staffing difficulties. 2
The emergence of COVID-19 in early 2020 only exacerbated the difficulty in recruiting law enforcement
officers. In a survey conducted in September 2020, the number of law enforcement agencies reporting
difficulty in recruiting qualified officers jumped to 86 percent. 3 Law enforcement agencies have reported
a variety of reasons for the difficulty in maintaining full staffing levels, including the negative public
perception of law enforcement officers, an increase in retirements, decreased interest in law
enforcement careers, the economy and availability of open positions in other occupations, and the
lengthy background check and hiring process.4 Although law enforcement agencies have attempted to
address the problem in a variety of ways, such as by offering hiring incentives, relaxing automatic
candidate disqualifiers, providing more flexible work schedules, increasing fringe benefits, and
expanding recruitment campaigns, many agencies are still unable to recruit enough qualified officers. 5
Financial Incentives
Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program
Background
In an effort to reduce staffing shortages, many law enforcement agencies offer financial incentives to
recruit new law enforcement officers.6 For example, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office is offering a
$2,500 signing bonus for candidates with two or more years of full-time law enforcement experience
and $1,500 for all other candidates.7 In an attempt to attract new officers, the City of Ft. Myers is
offering relocation assistance of up to $5,000 for out-of-state candidates and up to $3,000 for in-state
candidates, as well as a $1,000 signing bonus for newly hired officers. 8
Effect of Proposed Changes – Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program
CS/HB 3 creates s. 445.08, F.S., to establish the Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment
Program (Bonus Program) within the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO). The bill
provides the Bonus Program is created to administer one-time bonus payments of up to $5,000 to
newly employed officers in Florida, subject to legislative appropriation. The bill defines a “newly
1
International Association of Chiefs of Police, The State of Recruitment: A Crisis for Law Enforcement,
https://www.theiacp.org/sites/default/files/239416_IACP_RecruitmentBR_HR_0.pdf (last visited Feb. 8, 2022).
2 Id.
3 Eric Glasser, Study finds 86% of police departm ents experiencing staffing shortages, WTSP (Sept. 16, 2020),
https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/study-finds-86-of-police-departments-experiencing-shortages/67-cd4f8f7c-1d5e-4840-b0b4-
53614530249e (last visited Feb. 8, 2022).
4 Id.
5 International Association of Chiefs of Police, supra note 1.
6 Id.
7 Florida Sheriffs Association, Deputy Sheriff – Patrol (FL Certified Law Enforcement Officer), https://flsheriffsjobs.org/jobs/view/deputy-
sheriff-patrol-fl-certified-law-enforcement-officer/49900014/ (last visited Feb. 8, 2022).
8 Florida Police Chiefs Association, Certified (FL) Police Officer, https://fpca.com/certified-fl-police-officer-fort-myers-police/ (last visited
Feb. 8, 2022).
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employed officer” as a person who gains or is appointed to full-time employment as a certified law
enforcement officer with a Florida criminal justice employing agency on or after July 1, 2022, and who
has never before been employed as a law enforcement officer in this state.
The bill requires bonus payments to be prorated based on the funds appropriated by the Legislature for
the Bonus Program. The bill requires the DEO to develop an annual plan for administering the Bonus
Program and distributing bonus payments to eligible officers. At a minimum, DEO’s annual plan must
include:
The method for determining the estimated number of newly employed officers to gain or be
appointed to full-time employment during the applicable fiscal year.
The minimum eligibility requirements a newly employed officer must meet to receive and retain
a bonus payment, which must include:
o Obtaining certification as a law enforcement officer.
o Gaining full-time employment with a Florida criminal justice agency.
o Maintaining continuous full-time employment with one or more Florida criminal justice
agencies for at least two years from the date on which the officer obtained certification,
provided that an officer employed by more than one criminal justice agency may not have
a break in service longer than 15 days when transitioning between employers.
The method that will be used to determine the bonus payment amount to be distributed to each
newly employed officer.
The method that will be used to distribute bonus payments to employing law enforcement
agencies for distribution to eligible officers.
The estimated cost to DEO associated with developing and administering the program and
distributing bonus payment funds.
The method by which an officer must reimburse the state if he or she received a bonus payment
but failed to maintain continuous employment for the required two-year period. An officer is not
required to reimburse the state if he or she is discharged from employment with a law
enforcement agency for a reason other than misconduct.
The bill requires DEO to submit the annual plan to the Executive Office of the Governor’s Office of
Policy and Budget, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the chair of the House of
Representatives Appropriations Committee by October 1 of each year. The bill authorizes DEO to
submit budget amendments as necessary to release funds appropriated for the Bonus Program to
criminal justice employing agencies.
The Bonus Program expires on July 1, 2025.
Florida Law Enforcement Academy Scholarship Program
Background
Prior to being certified as a law enforcement officer in Florida, a person must complete a basic recruit
training program unless he or she can claim an exemption. 9 A trainee may either pay the costs of
tuition out-of-pocket, or, under s. 943.16, F.S., an employing agency10 may sponsor a trainee to pay the
costs of his or her tuition.11 A trainee who is sponsored by an employing agency is required to maintain
employment with that agency for at least two years after graduation from the basic recruit training
program.12 In most cases, if a trainee fails to maintain employment for the two-year period, he or she is
required to reimburse the employing agency for the full cost of tuition and other course expenses. 13
9 S. 943.13(9), F.S. See Equivalency Training Reimbursement, infra.
10 “Employing agency” means any agency or unit of government or any municipality or the state or any political subdivision thereof, or
any agent thereof, which has constitutional or statutory authority to employ or appoint persons as officers. The term also in cludes any
private entity which has contracted with the state or county for the operation an d maintenance of a nonjuvenile detention facility.
S. 943.10(4), F.S.
11 S. 943.16(1), F.S.
12 S. 943.16(2), F.S.
13 Id. A trainee is not required to reimburse the employing agency if he or she terminates employment with the employing agency and
resigns his or her law enforcement certification or if the trainee terminates employment due to hardship or extenuating circumstances.
Ss. 943.16(6) and (7), F.S.
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Effect of Proposed Changes – Florida Law Enforcement Academy Scholarship Program
The bill creates s. 1009.896, F.S., which, beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year, creates the
Florida Law Enforcement Academy Scholarship Program (Scholarship Program). The Scholarship
Program is required to be administered by the Department of Education (DOE), in consultation with the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), according to the rules and procedures established by
the State Board of Education. The bill requires scholarships to be awarded on a first-come, first-served
basis based on the date DOE receives each completed application. Scholarships are contingent upon
an appropriation by the Legislature. To be eligible for a scholarship, a trainee must:
Be enrolled at a basic recruit training program approved by the Criminal Justice Standards and
Training Commission (CJSTC) at a Florida College System institution or school district technical
center.
Not be sponsored by an employing agency to cover the costs of training.
The bill provides for a scholarship award in an amount equal to the costs and fees which are necessary
to complete the basic recruit training program, less any state financial aid received by a trainee. A
nonresident may apply for a scholarship, but the bill prohibits such an award from including the
additional out-of-state student fee. In addition to tuition and costs, a trainee is also eligible for up to
$1,000 for educational expenses, including the officer certification examination fee, textbooks, uniforms,
ammunition, required insurance, and any other costs or fees for consumable materials required to
complete the basic recruit training program.
Equivalency Training Reimbursement
Background
A person may be exempt from completing all or part of a law enforcement officer basic recruit training
program if he or she:
Has completed a comparable basic recruit training program in another state or with the Federal
Government and served as a full-time sworn officer in another state for at least one year,
provided there is no more than an eight-year break in employment;
Served in the special operations forces 14 for a minimum of five years, provided there is no more
than a four-year break from special operations service; or
Was previously certified as a law enforcement officer in Florida but is on inactive status with
more than a four-year break in service, but no more than an eight-year break in service.15
To claim an exemption, a person must document the reason he or she is requesting an exemption on
an FDLE-issued form and submit the form to his or her employing agency, training center, or criminal
justice selection center for initial verification.16 The form is then forwarded to the CJSTC for final
approval.17 If a person receives an exemption from basic recruit training, he or she has one year to
complete any additional training, if required; to demonstrate proficiency in high-liability training areas,18
and to pass the officer certification examination.19
Effect of Proposed Changes – Equivalency Training Reimbursement
14 “Special operations forces” means those active and reserve component forces of the military services de signated by the Secretary of
Defense and specifically organized, trained, and equipped to conduct and support special operations. The term includes, but i s not
limited to, servicemembers of the United States Army Special Forces and the United States Army 7 5th Ranger Regiment; the United
States Navy SEALs and Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen; the United States Air Force Combat Control, Pararescue, and
Tactical Air Control Party specialists; the United States Marine Corps Critical Skills Operators; and any other component of the United
States Special Operations Command approved by the commission. S. 943.10(22), F.S.
15 Ss. 943.13(8) and 943.131(2)(a), F.S.
16 S. 943.131(2), F.S.
17 Id.
18 High-liability training areas include firearms, defensive tactics, vehicle operations, and first aid. R. 11B-35.0021, F.A.C.
19 S. 943.131(4), F.S.
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The bill creates s. 1009.8961, F.S., which, beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year, requires the
Department of Education, in consultation with FDLE, to reimburse the costs of equivalency training for
certified law enforcement officers from other states who relocate to Florida and members of the special
operations forces who are transitioning into service as full-time law enforcement officers. To be eligible
for such reimbursement, an applicant’s employing agency must certify that he or she:
Qualifies for an exemption from the basic recruit training program.
Is not sponsored by the employing agency to cover the cost of equivalency training.
The bill provides that applicants may be reimbursed up to $1,000 for eligible expenses, contingent upon
appropriation by the Legislature. Rei