Florida Senate - 2011                                     SB 372
       
       
       
       By Senator Bogdanoff
       
       
       
       
       25-00440A-11                                           2011372__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to pretrial programs; providing state
    3         policy and legislative intent; requiring each pretrial
    4         release program established by ordinance of a county
    5         commission, by administrative order of a court, or by
    6         any other means in order to assist in the release of a
    7         defendant from pretrial custody to conform to the
    8         eligibility criteria set forth by the act; preempting
    9         any conflicting local ordinances, orders, or
   10         practices; requiring that the defendant satisfy
   11         certain eligibility criteria in order to be assigned
   12         to a pretrial release program; providing that the act
   13         does not prohibit a court from releasing a defendant
   14         on the defendant’s own recognizance or imposing any
   15         other reasonable condition of release on the
   16         defendant; authorizing a county to reimburse a
   17         licensed surety agent for the premium costs of a bail
   18         bond for the pretrial release of an indigent defendant
   19         under certain circumstances; providing an effective
   20         date.
   21  
   22  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   23  
   24         Section 1. Eligibility criteria for the enrollment of a
   25  defendant in a pretrial release program.—
   26         (1) It is the policy of this state that only defendants who
   27  are indigent and who qualify for the services of the public
   28  defender are eligible to participate in a pretrial release
   29  program. Further, it is the policy of this state that, to the
   30  greatest extent possible, the resources of the private sector be
   31  used to assist in the pretrial release of defendants. It is the
   32  intent of the Legislature that this section not be interpreted
   33  to limit the discretion of courts with respect to imposing on a
   34  defendant reasonable conditions for pretrial release.
   35         (2) A pretrial release program established by an ordinance
   36  of the county commission, an administrative order of the court,
   37  or by any other means in order to assist in the release of
   38  defendants from pretrial custody is subject to the eligibility
   39  criteria set forth in this section. These eligibility criteria
   40  supersede and preempt all conflicting local ordinances, orders,
   41  or practices. Each pretrial release program shall certify
   42  annually, in writing to the chief circuit court judge, that it
   43  has complied with the reporting requirements of s. 907.043(4).
   44         (3) A defendant is eligible to participate in a pretrial
   45  release program only by order of the court after the court finds
   46  in writing that the defendant is indigent as set forth in Rule
   47  3.111, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.
   48         (4) If a defendant seeks to post a surety bond pursuant to
   49  a predetermined bond schedule, the defendant shall be permitted
   50  to do so without any interference or restriction by a pretrial
   51  release program.
   52         (5) This section does not prohibit the court from:
   53         (a) Releasing a defendant on the defendant’s own
   54  recognizance.
   55         (b) Imposing upon the defendant any reasonable condition of
   56  release, including, but not limited to, electronic monitoring,
   57  drug testing, substance abuse treatment, and domestic violence
   58  counseling.
   59         (6) In lieu of using a governmental program to ensure the
   60  court appearance of a defendant, a county may reimburse a
   61  licensed surety agent for the premium costs of a surety bail
   62  bond that secures the appearance of an indigent defendant at all
   63  court proceedings if the court establishes a bail bond amount
   64  for the indigent defendant.
   65         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2011.