(1) The department shall designate an advisory council, known as the Private Investigation, Recovery, and Security Advisory Council, to be composed of 11 members. One member must be an active law enforcement officer, certified under the Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, representing a statewide law enforcement agency or statewide association of law enforcement agencies. One member must be the owner or operator of a business that regularly contracts with Class “A,” Class “B,” or Class “R” agencies. Nine members must be geographically distributed, insofar as possible, and must be licensed pursuant to this chapter. Two members must be from the security profession, one of whom represents an agency that employs 20 security guards or fewer; two members must be from the private investigative profession, one of whom represents an agency that employs five investigators or fewer; one member shall be from the repossession profession; and the remaining four members may be drawn from any of the professions regulated under this chapter.
(2) Council members shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture for a 4-year term. In the event of an appointment to fill an unexpired term, the appointment shall be for no longer than the remainder of the unexpired term. No member may serve more than two full consecutive terms. Members may be removed by the Commissioner of Agriculture for cause. Cause shall include, but is not limited to, absences from two consecutive meetings.
(3) Members shall elect a chairperson annually. No member may serve as chairperson more than twice.
(4) The council shall meet at least 4 times yearly upon the call of the chairperson, at the request of a majority of the membership, or at the request of the department. Notice of council meetings and the agenda shall be published in the Florida Administrative Register at least 14 days prior to such meeting.
(5) The council shall advise the department and make recommendations relative to the regulation of the security, investigative, and recovery industries.
(6) A quorum of six members shall be necessary for a meeting to convene or continue. All official action taken by the council shall be by simple majority of those members present. Members may not participate or vote by proxy. Meetings shall be recorded, and minutes of the meetings shall be maintained by the department.
(7) The director of the Division of Licensing or the director’s designee shall serve, in a nonvoting capacity, as secretary to the council. The Division of Licensing shall provide all administrative and legal support required by the council in the conduct of its official business.
