Bill > H7131

This bill makes several changes to the Department of Corrections (DOC) operations and offender management, including requiring the DOC to administer certain operations through five geographical regions, each with a director, and exempting the Inspector General's office from the Career Service System, which governs state employee pay and benefits. It also mandates projections for prison admissions and populations specifically for elderly felony offenders and removes a prohibition on scoring certain victim injury sentence points for sexual misconduct by a DOC employee or private correctional facility staff with an inmate or offender, while expanding the functions of the DOC's security review committee to include the safe operation of institutions and facilities. The bill revises provisions for physical inspections of state and private buildings, prioritizing institutions for inspection, and clarifies staff duties concerning safety and security, while prohibiting inmates convicted of certain offenses on or after a specified date from receiving incentive gain-time credits for earning a high school equivalency diploma or vocational certificate. Additionally, it requires timely provision of a memorandum of understanding between the DOC and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for notification and investigation of certain events, mandates specialized training for inspectors in specific circumstances and for effectively managing mentally ill inmates non-forcefully, and establishes policies concerning chemical agents and a body camera pilot program. Finally, it authorizes courts to sentence certain offenders to county jail for up to 24 months under specific conditions, and requires that a copy of a written memorandum of understanding for notification and investigation of certain events between the DOC and FDLE be provided in a timely manner.