CS/HB 95 (Duggan) amends section 112.532, Florida Statutes, to prohibit a law enforcement or correctional officer’s employing agency from discharging, suspending, demoting or otherwise disciplining an officer solely as a result of a prosecuting agency determining the officer withheld exculpatory evidence or because their name was included in a Brady identification system. It does not prevent the employing agency from taking disciplinary action based on the underlying actions of the officer. The bill creates section 112.536, Florida Statutes, which requires a prosecuting agency that maintains a Brady identification system to adopt policies outlining protections for officers, which must include the right of an officer to receive written notice that a prosecuting agency has included the officer in a Brady identification system and the right of an officer to request reconsideration of the prosecuting agency’s decision to include the officer in a Brady identification system and their right to submit evidence in support of the request for reconsideration. If the prosecuting agency determines the officer should not be included in the Brady identification system, the agency must remove the officer’s name and send notice to the officer’s employing agency confirming the removal. If an officer’s name was previously included in a Brady identification system and their name was disclosed in a pending criminal case, the prosecuting agency must notify all parties to the pending case of the officer’s removal from the system. An officer may petition the court for a writ of mandamus to compel the prosecuting agency to comply with the bill’s requirements.  

Effective date:  July 1, 2023. (Cruz)