Florida Senate - 2013 SB 676 By Senator Evers 2-00752-13 2013676__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to juvenile justice circuit advisory 3 boards; amending s. 985.664, F.S.; revising the 4 juvenile justice circuit advisory boards; providing 5 that a juvenile justice circuit advisory board be 6 established in each of the 20 judicial circuits; 7 providing that the purpose of each juvenile justice 8 circuit advisory board is to render advice and 9 direction to the Department of Juvenile Justice when 10 developing and implementing juvenile justice programs; 11 requiring each advisory board to work collaboratively 12 with the department in seeking program improvements 13 for juveniles in this state; requiring each advisory 14 board to develop a comprehensive plan for the circuit 15 by a specified date to facilitate interagency 16 cooperation and to prepare recommendations for public 17 and private grants; requiring an advisory board to 18 prepare an annual report; providing for membership on 19 the board; requiring the secretary of the department 20 to appoint a chair for the board; requiring the chair 21 to appoint the remaining members to the advisory board 22 and to submit the appointments within a specified 23 period of time to the department for approval; 24 providing quorum; requiring the advisory board to 25 establish an executive committee; requiring each 26 advisory board to develop bylaws; requiring each 27 member of the board to comply with the Code of Ethics 28 for Public Officers and Employees; providing an 29 effective date. 30 31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 32 33 Section 1. Section 985.664, Florida Statutes, is amended to 34 read: 35 (Substantial rewording of section. See 36 s. 985.664, F.S., for present text.) 37 985.664 Juvenile justice circuit advisory boards.— 38 (1)(a) A juvenile justice circuit advisory board shall be 39 established in each of the 20 judicial circuits. Except for 40 those single-county circuits, each circuit advisory board shall 41 have a county organization representing each county in the 42 circuit. The county organizations shall report directly to the 43 circuit advisory boards on the juvenile justice needs of the 44 county. 45 (b) The purpose of each juvenile justice circuit advisory 46 board is to provide advice and direction to the department to 47 develop and implement juvenile justice programs and to work 48 collaboratively with the department in seeking program 49 improvements and policy changes to address the emerging and 50 changing needs of this state’s youth who are at risk of 51 delinquency. 52 (2) Each juvenile justice circuit advisory board shall: 53 (a) Develop a comprehensive plan for the circuit. The 54 initial circuit plan shall be submitted to the department by 55 December 31, 2014, and by June 30 every 3 years thereafter. The 56 department shall prescribe the format and content requirements 57 for the comprehensive circuit plan. 58 (b) Participate in facilitating interagency cooperation and 59 information sharing. 60 (c) Provide recommendations for public or private grants to 61 be administered by one of the community partners that support 62 one or more components of the comprehensive circuit plan. 63 (d) Prepare an annual report to the department describing 64 the activities of the board, including the activities of the 65 counties within the geographic boundaries of the circuit. The 66 annual report shall be submitted to the department by August 1 67 of each year. The department shall prescribe the format and 68 content requirements for the annual report. 69 (3) Each juvenile justice circuit advisory board must have 70 at least 16 members. In appointing members to the board, the 71 membership must reflect: 72 (a) The circuit’s population distribution and geography. 73 (b) The diversity in the judicial circuit. 74 (4) Each juvenile justice circuit advisory board must 75 include as a member the following individuals or his or her 76 designee: 77 (a) The state attorney. 78 (b) The public defender. 79 (c) The chief judge. 80 (d) A representative of the corresponding circuit or 81 regional entity of the Department of Children and Families. 82 (e) The sheriff from each county in the circuit. 83 (f) A police chief from each county in the circuit. 84 (g) A county commissioner from each county in the circuit. 85 (h) The superintendent of each school district in the 86 circuit. 87 (i) A representative from the workforce organization of 88 each county in the circuit. 89 (j) A representative of the business community. 90 (k) A youth representative who has experience with the 91 juvenile justice system and is younger than 21 years of age. 92 (l) A representative of the faith community. 93 (m) A health services representative who specializes in 94 mental health or victim-service programs. 95 (n) A parent or family member of a youth who has been 96 involved with the juvenile justice system. 97 (o) Up to five members of any of the following groups who 98 are not otherwise represented: 99 1. Community leaders. 100 2. Representatives of a youth-serving coalition. 101 102 Except for individuals listed in paragraphs (a)-(h), the 103 appointment of each member to the juvenile justice circuit 104 advisory board must be approved by the secretary of the 105 department. 106 (5) The secretary of the department, in consultation with 107 the juvenile justice circuit advisory board, shall appoint the 108 chair of the board. Thereafter, the chair shall appoint members 109 to the board and submit the appointments to the department for 110 approval within 45 days after each appointment. 111 (6) A member may not serve more than two consecutive 2-year 112 terms, except those members listed in paragraphs (3)(a)-(h). A 113 former member who has not served on the juvenile justice circuit 114 advisory board for 2 years is eligible to serve another term. 115 (7) Half of the membership of the juvenile justice circuit 116 advisory board constitutes a quorum. 117 (8) Each juvenile justice circuit advisory board shall 118 establish an executive committee of up to 10 members. The duties 119 and authority of the executive committee must be enacted in the 120 bylaws. 121 (9)(a) Each juvenile justice circuit advisory board shall 122 create bylaws. The department shall prescribe the format and 123 content requirements for the bylaws. All bylaws must be approved 124 by the department. 125 (b) The bylaws must address, at a minimum, the following 126 issues: 127 1. Election or appointment of officers. 128 2. Filling of vacant positions. 129 3. Meeting attendance requirements. 130 4. The establishment and duties of an executive committee. 131 (10) Members of a juvenile justice circuit advisory board 132 are subject to the provisions of part III of chapter 112. 133 Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2013.