The bill establishes a new section, 539.004, in the Florida Statutes to create a statewide system for the collection of pawn data, which will be managed by the Department of Law Enforcement. The intent of the legislation is to support criminal investigations, enhance public safety, and eliminate fragmented data collection across law enforcement agencies. The bill mandates that all secondhand dealers and secondary metals recyclers participate in this system, prohibiting local law enforcement from maintaining separate contracts for pawn data collection. Additionally, law enforcement agencies will not be charged for accessing the data.

The bill outlines specific requirements for the statewide system, including real-time access to pawn data for law enforcement, compliance with security and privacy standards, and the establishment of a contract with a single vendor to provide data collection services. It emphasizes that all pawn data collected will be the exclusive property of the state, with vendors acting solely as service providers without ownership rights to the data. The legislation also includes provisions for enforcement and penalties for violations, such as civil penalties for vendors and criminal penalties for individuals who misuse the data. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2026.