Powers and duties of department, highway patrol.

The director of the Division of Highway Patrol of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall also be the commander of the Florida Highway Patrol. The said department shall set up and promulgate rules and regulations by which the personnel of the Florida Highway Patrol officers shall be examined, employed, trained, located, suspended, reduced in rank, discharged, recruited, paid and pensioned, subject to civil service provisions hereafter set out. The department may enter into contracts or agreements, with or without competitive bidding or procurement, to make available, on a fair, reasonable, nonexclusive, and nondiscriminatory basis, property and other structures under division control for the placement of new facilities by any wireless provider of mobile service as defined in 47 U.S.C. s. 153(27) or s. 332(d), and any telecommunications company as defined in s. 364.02 when it is determined to be practical and feasible to make such property or other structures available. The department may, without adopting a rule, charge a just, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory fee for placement of the facilities, payable annually, based on the fair market value of space used by comparable communications facilities in the state. The department and a wireless provider or telecommunications company may negotiate the reduction or elimination of a fee in consideration of services provided to the division by the wireless provider or the telecommunications company. All such fees collected by the department shall be deposited directly into the State Agency Law Enforcement Radio System Trust Fund, and may be used to construct, maintain, or support the system. The department is further specifically authorized to purchase, sell, trade, rent, lease and maintain all necessary equipment, uniforms, motor vehicles, communication systems, housing facilities, office space, and perform any other acts necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of this chapter. However, all supplies and equipment consisting of single items or in lots shall be purchased under the requirements of s. 287.057. Purchases shall be made by accepting the bid of the lowest responsive bidder, the right being reserved to reject all bids. The department shall prescribe a distinctive uniform and distinctive emblem to be worn by all officers of the Florida Highway Patrol. It shall be unlawful for any other person or persons to wear a similar uniform or emblem, or any part or parts thereof. The department shall also prescribe distinctive colors for use on motor vehicles and motorcycles operated by the Florida Highway Patrol. The prescribed colors shall be referred to as “Florida Highway Patrol black and tan.”