FL S1208

Creates the Florida Correctional Operations Oversight Council within the Office of Chief Inspector General to oversee the safe and effective operations of correctional and juvenile justice facilities.

Council composition: 9 members total (3 appointed by Governor, 3 by Senate President, 3 by Speaker of House), serving 4-year terms with staggered initial appointments by October 1, 2018, and must be state residents with preference for those with prison operations, jail management, or juvenile justice background.

Council duties include conducting announced and unannounced facility inspections, evaluating daily operations, identifying high-risk facilities, conducting confidential interviews, and submitting annual reports to the Governor and Legislature by November 1 each year beginning in 2019.

Members serve without compensation but receive per diem and travel reimbursement; prohibited from having immediate family employed by corrections or juvenile justice departments and cannot have financial interests in department contracts.

Appropriates $168,074 in recurring funds and $37,855 in nonrecurring funds from General Revenue Fund for fiscal year 2018-2019, with one full-time equivalent position authorized at $70,000 salary.