Capitol Center and Complex

Florida Senate
-
2026

SB 1108

By
Senator Truenow

13-01243A-26 20261108__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Capitol Center and Complex;
3 amending ss. 272.09 and 943.60, F.S.; revising the
4 definition of the term “Capitol Complex”; amending s.
5 272.12, F.S.; providing that the Department of
6 Management Services is responsible for the aesthetics
7 of the Capitol Center for visitors; authorizing the
8 department to close certain streets if certain
9 conditions are met; amending s. 272.121, F.S.;
10 requiring the department to consider certain factors
11 when developing a specified plan; amending s. 272.16,
12 F.S.; requiring the department, in consultation with
13 the Capitol Police, to establish enhanced security
14 measures in certain parking areas; making a technical
15 change; amending s. 943.61, F.S.; requiring the
16 Capitol Police to ensure that the Capitol Complex is
17 safe for specified persons; providing a requirement
18 for certain operational plans; requiring the Capitol
19 Police to provide a certain report to the Legislature;
20 amending s. 943.64, F.S.; authorizing certain ex
21 officio agents to patrol the Capital Complex and
22 surrounding areas; authorizing specified positions for
23 a certain purpose; providing an effective date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 272.09, Florida
28 Statutes, is amended to read:
29 272.09 Management, maintenance, and upkeep of Capitol
30 Center.—
31 (1) For purposes of this section, the term “Capitol
32 Complex” means the portion of the Capitol Center commonly
33 referred to as the Capitol, the Historic Capitol, the Senate
34 Office Building, the House Office Building, the Knott Building,
35 the Pepper Building, the Holland Building, the Elliot Building,
36 the R.A. Gray Building, and the associated parking garages and
37 curtilage of each, including the state-owned lands and public
38 streets adjacent thereto within an area bounded by and including
39 Calhoun Street, East Pensacola Street, Monroe Street,
East Park

40
Avenue, West Park Avenue

Jefferson Street, West Pensacola

41
Street
, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and Gaines Street. The
42 term does not include the Supreme Court Building or the public
43 streets adjacent thereto. The portion of the Capitol Complex
44 existing between and including the Elliot Building and the
45 Holland Building within an area bounded by and including Monroe
46 Street, Gaines Street, Calhoun Street, and East Pensacola Street
47 shall be known as “Memorial Park.”
48 Section 2. Subsections (3) and (4) are added to section
49 272.12, Florida Statutes, to read:
50 272.12 Florida Capitol Center Planning District.—
51
(3)

The Department of Management Services is responsible

52
for the aesthetics of the Capitol Center for visitors.

53
(4)

The Department of Management Services may close any

54
street within or adjoining the Capitol Complex with the consent

55
of the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of

56
the House of Representatives.

57 Section 3. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (1) of
58 section 272.121, Florida Statutes, to read:
59 272.121 Capitol Center long-range planning.—
60 (1) The Department of Management Services shall develop a
61 comprehensive and long-range plan for the development of state
62 owned property within the Capitol Center. In developing this
63 plan, the department shall consider:
64
(e)

The security of the Capitol Center and surrounding

65
areas and the need to keep the Capitol Center and surrounding

66
areas safe for visitors.

67 Section 4. Present subsection (4) of section 272.16,
68 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (5) and amended,
69 and a new subsection (4) is added to that section, to read:
70 272.16 Parking areas within Capitol Center area.—
71
(4)

The Department of Management Services, in consultation

72
with the Capitol Police, shall establish enhanced security

73
measures to protect members of the Legislature, state officers,

74
employees, and visitors in such parking areas.

75
(5)
(4)
The Department of Management Services shall adopt
76
such
rules as
are
necessary to
implement this section

carry out

77
the purposes of subsections (1) and (3)
.
78 Section 5. Section 943.60, Florida Statutes, is amended to
79 read:
80 943.60 Definitions.—For the purposes of ss. 943.60-943.68,
81 the term “Capitol Complex” means that portion of Tallahassee,
82 Leon County, Florida, commonly referred to as the Capitol, the
83 Historic Capitol, the Senate Office Building, the House Office
84 Building, the Knott Building, the Pepper Building, the Holland
85 Building, the Elliot Building, the R.A. Gray Building, and the
86 associated parking garages and curtilage of each, including the
87 state-owned lands and public streets adjacent thereto within an
88 area bounded by and including Calhoun Street, East Pensacola
89 Street, Monroe Street,
East Park Avenue, West Park Avenue

90
Jefferson Street, West Pensacola Street
, Martin Luther King Jr.
91 Boulevard, and Gaines Street. The term includes the State
92 Capital Circle Office Complex located in Leon County, Florida.
93 The term does not include the Supreme Court Building or the
94 public streets adjacent thereto. The portion of the Capitol
95 Complex existing between and including the Elliot Building and
96 the Holland Building within an area bounded by and including
97 Monroe Street, Gaines Street, Calhoun Street, and East Pensacola
98 Street shall be known as “Memorial Park.”
99 Section 6. Section 943.61, Florida Statutes, is amended to
100 read:
101 943.61 Powers and duties of the Capitol Police.—
102 (1) There is created the Capitol Police within the
103 Department of Law Enforcement, to serve the safety and security
104 needs of both the legislative and executive branches of state
105 government. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Capitol
106 Police serve as a specially trained and highly effective
107 security and law enforcement agency serving the Capitol Complex
108 and the state. It shall be the primary responsibility of the
109 Capitol Police to protect the security of the Governor, the
110 Lieutenant Governor, the members of the Cabinet, and the members
111 of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, and those
112 employees assigned to assist such state officials in the
113 performance of their official duties, and to ensure their access
114 to buildings and premises within the Capitol Complex, thereby
115 providing for the continuous operation of the government of the
116 State of Florida.
It shall also be the responsibility of the

117
Capitol Police to ensure that the Capitol Complex and

118
surrounding areas are safe for members of the Senate and of the

119
House of Representatives and those employees assigned to assist

120
such state officials in the performance of their official

121
duties.

122 (2) The Capitol Police shall also provide security and
123 protection for other state officials, employees, and visitors to
124 the Capitol Complex and shall maintain a reasonable degree of
125 safety and security within the Capitol Complex
and surrounding

126
areas
while ensuring reasonable access to buildings and premises
127 within the Capitol Complex by state officials, employees, and
128 visitors. The Capitol Police shall also ensure that adequate
129 signs and personnel are in place to inform and assist the
130 occupants of and visitors to buildings within the Capitol
131 Complex.
132 (3) Nothing herein limits the ability of the Capitol Police
133 to provide mutual aid to other law enforcement agencies as
134 authorized by law unless such a limitation is expressly included
135 in the operational security plans provided for herein.
136 (4) The Capitol Police shall have the following
137 responsibilities, powers, and duties:
138 (a) To develop, in consultation with the Governor, Cabinet
139 officers, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
140 House of Representatives, written operational plans for basic
141 and enhanced security measures and actions related to the
142 Capitol Complex.
Such plans shall address crime and vagrancy in

143
the streets surrounding the Capitol Complex.
Such plans and any
144 changes or amendments thereto
may

shall
not be implemented
145 unless presented in writing in final form to the Governor, the
146 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
147 Representatives and all three grant their approval in writing.
148 The approval of any officer required herein shall expire 60 days
149 after such officer vacates his or her office, and the written
150 approval of the successor in office must be obtained
before

151
prior to
the continuation of operations under such plans. Upon
152 the request of the Governor, a Cabinet officer, the President of
153 the Senate, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the
154 Capitol Police shall activate previously approved enhanced
155 security measures and actions in accordance with the approved
156 operational plans specific to the requesting officer’s
157 responsibilities and to the facilities occupied by such officer
158 and employees responsible to such officer. Upon an emergency
159 threatening the immediate safety and security of occupants of
160 the Capitol Complex, so declared by the Governor, plans not
161 approved as required by this paragraph may be implemented for a
162 period not to exceed 15 days, provided such plans do not
163 substantially interfere with the ability of the Senate and the
164 House of Representatives to assemble for any constitutional
165 purpose.
166 (b) To provide and maintain the security of all property
167 located in the Capitol Complex in a manner consistent with the
168 security plans developed and approved under paragraph (a) and,
169 in consultation with the State Fire Marshal, to provide for
170 evacuations, information, and training required for firesafety
171 on such property in a manner consistent with s. 633.218.
172 (c) To develop plans for reporting incidents involving
173 buildings and property within the Capitol Complex, emergency
174 procedures and evacuation routes in the event of fire, security
175 threats, incidents prompting a need for evacuation, acts of
176 terrorism, or natural or manmade disaster and to make such
177 procedures and routes known to those persons occupying such
178 buildings.
179 (d) To employ officers who hold certification as law
180 enforcement officers in accordance with the minimum standards
181 and qualifications as set forth in s. 943.13 and
the provisions

182
of
chapter 110, and who have the authority to bear arms, make
183 arrests, except as may be limited in the security plans
184 established under paragraph (a), and apply for arrest warrants.
185 (e) To hire guards and administrative, clerical, technical,
186 and other personnel as may be required.
187 (f) To train all officers and other employees in fire
188 prevention, firesafety, emergency medical procedures, and
189 preventing and responding to acts of terrorism.
190 (g) To respond to all complaints relating to criminal
191 activity or security threats within the Capitol Complex, or
192 against the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a member of the
193 Cabinet, a member of the Senate or of the House of
194 Representatives, or an employee assisting such official.
195 (h) As provided by the security plans developed and
196 approved under paragraph (a), upon request of the presiding
197 officer of either house of the Legislature, the director may
198 assign one or more officers for the protection of a member of
199 the house served by such presiding officer. Per diem and
200 subsistence allowance for department employees traveling with a
201 member of the Legislature away from Tallahassee shall be
202 computed by payment of a sum up to the amounts permitted in s.
203 112.061 for meals, plus actual expenses for lodging to be
204 substantiated by paid bills therefor.
205 (i) To enforce rules of the Department of Management
206 Services governing the regulation of traffic and parking within
207 the Capitol Complex and to impound illegally or wrongfully
208 parked vehicles.
209 (j) To establish policies for the organizational structure,
210 principles of command, and internal operations of the Capitol
211 Police, provided that such policies are not inconsistent with
212
the provisions of
ss. 943.61-943.68 or the security plans
213 developed and approved under paragraph (a).
214 (k) To carry out the transportation and protective services
215 functions described in s. 943.68.
216
(l)

To provide to the Legislature a report with

217
recommendations to enhance the safety of areas surrounding the

218
Capitol Complex.

219 (5) Officers of the Capitol Police may make lawful arrests,
220 consistent with the purposes, responsibilities, and limitations
221 set forth in ss. 943.60-943.68. However, except with the prior
222 approval of the appropriate presiding officer, officers of the
223 Capitol Police shall have no power to prevent the convening or
224 continuation of any meeting of the Legislature, legislative
225 committees, or staff, nor shall they have the power to interfere
226 with the legislative duties or rights of a member of the
227 Legislature, or to interfere with the constitutional duties or
228 rights of the Governor or a member of the Cabinet, except as may
229 be necessary to protect the health and safety of any person from
230 a clear and present danger, or as may be otherwise provided in
231 the security plans developed and approved for fire prevention,
232 firesafety, and emergency medical procedures under paragraph
233 (4)(a). No employee of the Capitol Police shall be permitted in
234 either legislative chamber without the specific permission of
235 the presiding officer of that house of the Legislature, but may
236 enter in the case of an emergency when the presiding officer is
237 not able or available to consent.
238 Section 7. Section 943.64, Florida Statutes, is amended to
239 read:
240 943.64 Ex officio agents.—Law enforcement officers of the
241 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, special agents
242 or inspectors of the Department of Law Enforcement, and law
243 enforcement officers of other state agencies, counties, and
244 municipalities are ex officio agents of the Capitol Police, and
245 may, when authorized by the executive director of the department
246 or the executive director’s designee, enforce rules and laws
247 applicable to the powers and duties of the Capitol Police to
248 provide and maintain the security required by ss. 943.61-943.68
,

249
including patrolling the Capitol Complex and surrounding areas
.
250 Section 8.
Six full-time equivalent positions, for five

251
officers and one sergeant, are authorized to establish an

252
outreach policing community group within the Capitol Police.

253 Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.