Bill Text: FL S1032 | 2013 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Inmate Reentry
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Failed) 2013-05-03 - Died in Appropriations [S1032 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S1032-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2013 CS for SB 1032
By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Altman
591-03344-13 20131032c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to inmate reentry; amending s.
3 322.051, F.S.; waiving the fee for identification
4 cards issued to certain inmates; amending s. 382.0255,
5 F.S.; requiring a waiver of fees for certain inmates
6 receiving a copy of a birth certificate; amending s.
7 944.605, F.S.; requiring the Department of Corrections
8 to work with other agencies in acquiring necessary
9 documents for certain inmates to acquire an
10 identification card before release; providing
11 exceptions; requiring the department to provide
12 specified assistance to inmates born outside this
13 state; requiring a report; amending s. 944.801, F.S.;
14 requiring skills assessment and training; amending s.
15 944.803, F.S.; authorizing the department to operate
16 male and female faith- and character-based
17 institutions; creating s. 948.0125, F.S.; directing
18 the department to establish a reentry program for
19 nonviolent offenders; providing eligibility and
20 participation requirements; providing guidelines where
21 the department shall terminate inmate’s participation
22 in program; providing for inmate to participate in
23 drug offender probation upon completion of in-prison
24 reentry program; authorizing use of postadjudicatory
25 drug court for program participant; authorizing the
26 department to contract for services; providing that no
27 rights are conferred upon inmates to participate in
28 reentry program; providing for reports and rulemaking
29 authority; providing an effective date.
30
31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
32
33 Section 1. Subsection (9) of section 322.051, Florida
34 Statutes, is amended to read:
35 322.051 Identification cards.—
36 (9) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or
37 s. 322.21 to the contrary, the department shall issue or renew a
38 card at no charge to a person who presents evidence satisfactory
39 to the department that he or she is homeless as defined in s.
40 414.0252(7) or to an inmate receiving a card issued pursuant to
41 s. 944.605(7).
42 Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 382.0255, Florida
43 Statutes, is amended to read:
44 382.0255 Fees.—
45 (3) Fees shall be established by rule. However, until rules
46 are adopted, the fees assessed pursuant to this section shall be
47 the minimum fees cited. The fees established by rule must be
48 sufficient to meet the cost of providing the service. All fees
49 shall be paid by the person requesting the record, are due and
50 payable at the time services are requested, and are
51 nonrefundable, except that, when a search is conducted and no
52 vital record is found, any fees paid for additional certified
53 copies shall be refunded. The department may waive all or part
54 of the fees required under this section for any government
55 entity. The department shall waive all fees required under this
56 section for a certified copy of a birth certificate issued for
57 purposes of an inmate acquiring a state identification card
58 before release pursuant to s. 944.605(7).
59 Section 3. Subsection (7) is added to section 944.605,
60 Florida Statutes, to read:
61 944.605 Inmate release; notification; identification card.—
62 (7)(a) The department, working in conjunction with the
63 Department of Health and the Department of Highway Safety and
64 Motor Vehicles, shall provide every Florida-born inmate with a
65 certified copy of their birth certificate and a state
66 identification card before his or her release upon expiration of
67 the inmate’s sentence.
68 (b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to inmates who:
69 1. The department determines have a valid driver license or
70 state identification card.
71 2. Have an active detainer, unless the department
72 determines that cancellation of the detainer is likely or that
73 the incarceration for which the detainer was issued will be less
74 than 12 months in duration.
75 3. Are released due to an emergency release or a
76 conditional medical release under s. 947.149.
77 4. Are not in the physical custody of the department at or
78 within 180 days before release.
79 5. Are subject to sex offender residency restrictions, and
80 who, upon release under such restrictions, do not have a
81 qualifying address.
82 (c) The department shall assist each inmate in applying for
83 and obtaining a social security card before release if the
84 inmate needs a social security card.
85 (d) The department, for purposes of assisting the inmate in
86 obtaining a birth certificate, shall submit to the Department of
87 Health on all Florida-born inmates in its custody, the
88 department’s inmate photo or digitized photo, and as provided by
89 the inmate his or her date of birth, full name at birth and any
90 subsequent legal name changes, city or county of birth, mother’s
91 full name including her maiden surname, and father’s full name.
92 Failure of the inmate to cooperate with the department in
93 providing this information may subject the inmate to
94 disciplinary action.
95 (e) For inmates born outside of this state, the department
96 shall assist the inmate in completing the necessary forms or
97 applications to obtain a social security card, driver license,
98 or state identification card. The department shall also provide
99 the inmate with the location and address of the appropriate
100 licensing authority the inmate will need to obtain a valid
101 identification card in proximity to the inmate’s release
102 address.
103 (f) By February 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the
104 department, in consultation with the Department of Highway
105 Safety and Motor Vehicle and the Department of Health, shall
106 provide a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
107 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives that identifies
108 the number of inmates released with and without identification
109 cards, identifies any impediments in the implementation of this
110 subsection, and provides recommendations to improve obtaining
111 release documents and identification cards for all inmates.
112 Section 4. Section 944.801, Florida Statutes is amended to
113 create a new paragraph (j):
114 (j) Ensure that every inmate within two years of his or her
115 projected release date has access to skills assessment and
116 training as defined by s. 445.06 and is offered the opportunity
117 to complete the certificate program. The requirements of this
118 paragraph are contingent upon and limited to the extent that
119 funding is available and determination by the department that
120 such access will not present a security, safety, or management
121 risk.
122 Section 5. Subsections (2) and (6) of section 944.803,
123 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
124 944.803 Faith- and character-based programs.—
125 (2) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department
126 expand the faith- and character-based initiative through the use
127 of faith- and character-based institutions. The department is
128 encouraged to phase out the faith-based and self improvement
129 dormitory programs and move toward the goal of only implementing
130 faith- and character-based institutions. The department is also
131 encouraged to dedicate and maintain faith- and character-based
132 institutions that serve both male and female inmates at their
133 respective institutions.
134 (6) Within faith- and character-based institutions of the
135 state correctional system, peer-to-peer programming shall be
136 offered allowed, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, literacy
137 instruction, and other activities, when appropriate.
138 Section 6. Section 948.0125, Florida Statutes, is created
139 to read:
140 948.0125 Reentry program sentence.—
141 (1) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.—The department shall develop and
142 implement a reentry program for nonviolent drug offenders. The
143 program shall provide a mechanism by which an eligible,
144 nonviolent offender for whom the reentry program has been
145 ordered as part of his or her conditional split sentence by the
146 court may be transitioned into the community during the last
147 year of the sentence. The reentry program shall consist of a
148 prison-based substance abuse treatment program for a minimum of
149 180 days and a community-based aftercare treatment program. The
150 reentry program may include a work-release component.
151 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—For an offender to participate in the
152 reentry program, the court at the time of ordering a state
153 prison sentence must have imposed a conditional split sentence
154 whereby the offender is ordered into the department’s reentry
155 program that consists of an in-prison treatment component, and
156 upon successful completion of the in-prison treatment, drug
157 offender probation. Entry into the department’s reentry program
158 is subject to available funding and resources of the department.
159 (a) The sentencing court may order the offender into the
160 department’s reentry program if the offender meets the following
161 criteria:
162 1. The offender’s primary offense is a felony of the third
163 degree.
164 2. The sentencing court, after requesting and reviewing a
165 presentence investigation report prepared pursuant to s.
166 921.231, has found that the offender has a substance abuse
167 problem.
168 3. The offender has never been convicted of:
169 a. A forcible felony as defined in s. 776.08.
170 b. An offense listed in s. 775.082(9)(a)1.r. without regard
171 to prior incarceration or release.
172 c. An offense described in chapter 847 involving a minor or
173 a depiction of a minor.
174 d. An offense described in chapter 827.
175 e. Any offense described in s. 784.07, s. 784.074, s.
176 784.075, s. 784.076, s. 784.08, s. 784.083, or s. 784.085.
177 f. An offense involving the possession or use of a firearm.
178 g. A capital felony or a felony of the first or second
179 degree.
180 h. An offense that requires a person to register as a
181 sexual offender pursuant to s. 943.0435.
182 i. An offense that includes as an element of that offense
183 the sale of a controlled substance.
184 j. An offense in another jurisdiction that would be an
185 offense described in this subparagraph if that offense had been
186 committed in this state.
187 (b) Placement on drug offender probation shall be
188 conditioned upon the offender’s successful completion of the in
189 prison treatment component of the program.
190 (3) ADMISSION AND PARTICIPATION IN THE REENTRY PROGRAM.—If
191 an offender meets the eligibility criteria under subsection (2),
192 the sentencing court may order the reentry program at the time
193 of sentencing. Admission into the reentry program, and an
194 offender’s continued participation in the program, is not a
195 right. Accordingly, a sentencing court is not required to
196 sentence an offender to the reentry program and an offender,
197 based upon conduct in prison, may lose eligibility to continue
198 participating in the reentry program.
199 (4) PROCEDURE UPON ADMISSION TO PROGRAM; IN-PRISON
200 TREATMENT.—If the sentencing court orders the offender into the
201 reentry program, the department shall, subject to available
202 funding and resources, place the offender into the in-prison
203 treatment component not more than 9 months before the end of the
204 offender’s incarceration portion of the split sentence,
205 including any gain time accrued.
206 (a) Before the offender completes the in-prison treatment
207 component, the department shall evaluate the offender’s needs
208 for community placement and develop a postrelease treatment plan
209 that includes substance abuse aftercare services.
210 (b) An offender in the in-prison component of the reentry
211 program is subject to the rules of conduct established by the
212 department and may have sanctions imposed, including loss of
213 privileges, restrictions, disciplinary confinement, forfeiture
214 of gain-time or the right to earn gain-time in the future,
215 alteration of release plans, termination from the reentry
216 program, or other program modifications in keeping with the
217 nature and gravity of the program violation. The department may
218 place an offender in the reentry program in an administrative or
219 protective confinement, as necessary. Except as provided in
220 paragraph (c), the offender shall be readmitted to the reentry
221 program after completing the ordered discipline.
222 (c) The department shall terminate an offender from the
223 reentry program if:
224 1. The offender commits a violent act;
225 2. The department determines that the offender is unable to
226 participate in the reentry program due to the offender’s medical
227 condition;
228 3. The offender’s sentence is modified or expires;
229 4. The department reassigns the offender’s classification
230 status; or
231 5. The department determines that removing the offender
232 from the reentry program is in the best interest of the offender
233 or the security of the institution.
234 (d) An offender must serve at least 85 percent of the
235 incarceration portion of the conditional split sentence before
236 being released to drug offender probation. If the offender does
237 not successfully complete the in-prison treatment component of
238 the reentry program, the drug offender probation portion of the
239 conditional split sentence becomes a term of imprisonment to be
240 served while incarcerated. The offender must then serve at least
241 85 percent of the total term of imprisonment.
242 (5) PROCEDURE UPON COMPLETION OF IN-PRISON TREATMENT.
243 Following successful completion of the in-prison treatment
244 component, the offender shall be transitioned into the community
245 to serve the drug offender probation portion of the offender’s
246 conditional split sentence.
247 (a) While in the community, the offender shall be subject
248 to all standard terms of probation under s. 948.03, and of drug
249 offender probation under s. 948.20, a special condition of
250 supervision ordered by the sentencing court, including
251 participation in an aftercare substance abuse program, residence
252 in a postrelease transitional residential halfway house, or
253 other appropriate form of supervision or treatment.
254 (b) Violation of a condition or order may result in
255 revocation of supervision by the court and imposition of a
256 sentence that is authorized by law, subject to time served in
257 prison.
258 (c) If there is a postadjudicatory drug court program as
259 described in s. 397.334 in the county of the sentencing court,
260 or the county to which the offender returns, and the drug court
261 is willing to accept the case, the offender’s case shall be
262 transferred to the drug court for supervision for the probation
263 portion of the offender’s split sentence. The drug court judge
264 shall be deemed the sentencing judge for purposes of ensuring
265 compliance with this section.
266 (d) While on drug offender probation, the department shall
267 collect from the offender the cost of supervision as provided
268 for in s. 948.09. An offender who is financially able shall also
269 pay all costs of his or her drug rehabilitation, including drug
270 testing fees. The sentencing judge may impose on the offender
271 additional conditions requiring payment of court costs and
272 fines, public service, and compliance with other court-ordered
273 special conditions.
274 (6) CONTRACTORS.—The department may develop and enter into
275 performance-based contracts with qualified individuals,
276 agencies, or corporations to supply any or all services provided
277 in the reentry program. The department may establish incentives
278 within the reentry program to promote participation by private
279 sector employers in the rehabilitative reentry programs and the
280 orderly operation of institutions and facilities.
281 (7) NO RIGHTS CONFERRED UPON OFFENDERS.—This section does
282 not create or confer a right to an offender to placement in the
283 reentry program or a right to placement or early-release under
284 supervision of any type. An offender does not have a cause of
285 action against the department, a court, the state attorney, or a
286 victim related to placement in or continued participation in the
287 reentry program.
288 (8) REPORTING.—The department shall, as part of its annual
289 report, provide a detailed account of the department’s
290 implementation of the reentry program, the number of offenders
291 sentenced to the program, the number of inmates who successfully
292 complete the in-prison portion of the program, the number of
293 inmates who successfully complete the drug offender probation,
294 and recidivism numbers for inmates who have participated in the
295 reentry program.
296 (9) RULEMAKING.—The department may adopt rules to implement
297 this section.
298 Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.
