TAMPA, Fla — A newly passed bill is leaving some across Florida scratching their heads.
House Bill 601 looks to change how local boards that review law enforcement behavior can be formed.
It mandates that Florida sheriffs and police chiefs must appoint the members of these "oversight boards" and adds that at least one member must be a retired law enforcement officer.
Right now, the state's 21 oversight boards have different rules for how members are appointed.
Adding to the confusion is this excerpt from the bill:
A political subdivision may not adopt or attempt to enforce any ordinance relating to either of the following:
- The receipt, processing, or investigation by any political subdivision of this state of complaints of misconduct by law enforcement or correctional officers, except as expressly provided in this section;
- Civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies’ investigations of complaints of misconduct by law enforcement or correctional officers.
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This language raises questions for the Tampa Police Department's Citizen Review Board.
Related: Tampa City Council inches closer to approving new attorney for police review board
Its bylaws are written into the city code and one of their duties is to review "closed cases" and some closed internal investigations.
And it's work that one of the board's founding members, Dr. Carolyn Collins, tells me is invaluable to the community.
"Once we go through the cases we try to determine [if] all the information was there and was the decisions the right ones," she said.
Over in Lakeland, the police department has a Citizen Advisory Board and one of their jobs is to review "past police and citizen interactions."
"We are a board, a working board, to provide a service that's needed," said the board's president Dr. Shandale Terrell.
But due to the vagueness of this bill's language, neither board is completely sure what impact it will have on them.
Related: An inside look at how Tampa's Citizens Review Board works
So we asked Tampa attorney James Shaw to weigh in.
While he doesn't think the bill should have any major impact on most of Florida's "civilian oversight agencies," he agrees that the bill's vagueness could lead to issues.
"There could be litigation between a municipality and the state as to whether or not its CRB is violating the statute. And that could depend on the meaning of a vague word like 'oversight' and exactly what that means or doesn't mean," he said.
In the meantime, as these local groups seek guidance they're also encouraging the community to speak out.
"Don't sit back and accept this. We far too often allow other people to dictate the path of our lives," said Dr. Collins.
If the bill is signed by the governor the law will go into effect on July 1st.
Related: St. Pete police oversight committee clears officer in 2021 shooting of teen
