F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 877 2021
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to concealed carry of firearms by
3 first responders; creating s. 401.436, F.S.; defining
4 the term "first responder"; authorizing a first
5 responder to carry a firearm while performing his or
6 her duties if the first responder meets specified
7 requirements; specifying who may conduct the required
8 training; requiring the first responder's employer to
9 pay the costs of the required training and testing;
10 providing an effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. Section 401.436, Florida Statutes, is created
15 to read:
16 401.436 Concealed carry of firearms by first responders.—
17 (1) As used in this section, the term "first responder"
18 means an emergency medical technician or paramedic employed by
19 state or local government.
20 (2) Notwithstanding s. 790.06(12), a first responder may
21 carry a concealed firearm, as defined in s. 790.001, while
22 performing his or her duties if the first responder:
23 (a) Holds a valid license issued under s. 790.06.
24 (b) Successfully completes a 144-hour training program,
25 consisting of 12 hours of certified nationally recognized
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26 diversity training and 132 total hours of comprehensive firearm
27 safety and proficiency training conducted by trainers from
28 organizations in subsection (3) who have been approved by the
29 Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission. Such
30 training must include:
31 1. Eighty hours of firearms instruction based on the
32 Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission's Law
33 Enforcement Academy training model, which must include at least
34 10 percent but not more than 20 percent more rounds fired than
35 associated with academy training. Program participants must
36 achieve an 85 percent pass rate on the firearms instruction.
37 2. Sixteen hours of instruction in precision pistol.
38 3. Eight hours of discretionary shooting instruction using
39 state-of-the-art simulator exercises.
40 4. Eight hours of instruction in active shooter or
41 assailant scenarios.
42 5. Eight hours of instruction in defensive tactics.
43 6. Twelve hours of instruction in legal issues.
44 (c) Passes a psychological evaluation administered by a
45 psychologist licensed under chapter 490 and designated by the
46 Department of Law Enforcement who submits the results of the
47 evaluation to the training provider. The Department of Law
48 Enforcement is authorized to provide the training provider with
49 mental health and substance abuse data for compliance with this
50 paragraph.
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51 (d) Submits to and passes an initial drug test and
52 subsequent random drug tests in accordance with the requirements
53 of s. 112.0455 and the training provider.
54 (e) Successfully completes ongoing training, weapon
55 inspection, and firearm qualification on at least an annual
56 basis.
57 (3) The training required in subsection (2) may be
58 conducted by a sheriff's office providing training to
59 participants in the school guardian program under s. 30.15, a
60 municipal law enforcement agency, or a provider approved by the
61 Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission.
62 (4) The costs of the training and testing under this
63 section shall be paid by the first responder's employer.
64 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.
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