Senate Bill 1742c1
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Florida Senate - 1999 CS for SB 1742
By the Committee on Criminal Justice and Senator Brown-Waite
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to corrections; amending s.
3 20.315, F.S.; revising department goals;
4 revising the organization of the state
5 correctional system; authorizing the Secretary
6 of Corrections to appoint assistant
7 secretaries, directors, and other persons in
8 specified areas of program responsibility;
9 providing for the administration of department
10 operations through regions; deleting
11 requirements that the regions follow judicial
12 circuits; deleting provisions authorizing the
13 appointment of regional directors; revising
14 requirements for the annual department budget;
15 amending ss. 944.31, 944.331, F.S.; providing
16 for the department's office of general counsel
17 rather than the inspector general to oversee
18 inmate grievances; amending s. 944.10, F.S.;
19 limiting the services that may be provided by
20 the department when contracting with
21 governmental entities for planning and
22 designing buildings, parks, roads, and other
23 projects; amending s. 944.40, F.S.; providing
24 that it is a second-degree felony to escape or
25 attempt to escape from a private correctional
26 facility or other correctional facility
27 operated by a governmental entity or under
28 contract with a governmental entity; providing
29 an effective date.
30
31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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1 Section 1. Section 20.315, Florida Statutes, 1998
2 Supplement, is amended to read:
3 20.315 Department of Corrections.--There is created a
4 Department of Corrections.
5 (1) PURPOSE.--The purpose of the Department of
6 Corrections is to protect the public through the incarceration
7 and supervision of offenders and to rehabilitate offenders
8 through the application of work, programs, and services. The
9 goals of the department shall be:
10 (a) To protect society by providing incarceration that
11 will support the intentions of established criminal law.
12 (b) To ensure that inmates work while they are
13 incarcerated and that the department makes every effort to
14 collect restitution and other monetary assessments from
15 inmates while they are incarcerated or under supervision.
16 (c) To work in partnerships with local communities to
17 further efforts toward crime prevention.
18 (d) To provide a safe and humane environment for
19 offenders and staff in which rehabilitation is possible. This
20 should include the protection of the offender from
21 victimization within the institution and the development of a
22 system of due process, where applicable.
23 (e) To provide appropriate supervision for offenders
24 released on community supervision, based on public safety
25 risks and offender needs, and, in conjunction with the
26 judiciary, public safety agencies, and local communities,
27 develop safe, community-based alternatives to traditional
28 incarceration.
29 (f) To provide programs, which may include academic,
30 vocational, and career education and treatment, to
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1 incarcerated offenders and supervised offenders which will
2 prepare them for occupations available in the community.
3 (g) To provide library services at correctional
4 institutions, which includes general and law library services.
5 (h) To provide judges with effective evaluative tools
6 and information for use in sentencing decisions.
7 (i) To provide the level of security in institutions
8 commensurate with the custody requirements and management
9 needs of inmates.
10 (j) To ensure that the rights and needs of crime
11 victims are recognized and met, including the need for the
12 victim to be timely notified of the release or escape of an
13 inmate utilize advanced technology to accomplish the
14 responsibilities of the department.
15 (2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--It is the intent of the
16 Legislature that:
17 (a) The department focus its attention on the removal
18 of barriers that could prevent the inmate's successful return
19 to society while supervising and incarcerating offenders at a
20 level of security commensurate with the danger they present to
21 the public.
22 (b) The department work in partnership with
23 communities in the construction of facilities and the
24 development of programs to offenders.
25 (c) The department develop a comprehensive program for
26 the treatment of youthful offenders and other special needs
27 offenders committed to the department, including female,
28 elderly, and disabled offenders.
29 (d) The department pursue partnerships with other
30 governmental entities and private industry for the purpose of
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1 furthering mutual goals and expanding work and educational
2 opportunities for offenders.
3 (3) SECRETARY OF CORRECTIONS.--The head of the
4 Department of Corrections is the Secretary of Corrections.
5 The secretary is appointed by the Governor, subject to
6 confirmation by the Senate, and shall serve at the pleasure of
7 the Governor. The secretary is responsible for planning,
8 coordinating, and managing the corrections system of the
9 state. The secretary shall ensure that the programs and
10 services of the department are administered in accordance with
11 state and federal laws, rules, and regulations, with
12 established program standards, and consistent with legislative
13 intent. The secretary shall identify the need for and
14 recommend funding for the secure and efficient operation of
15 the state correctional system.
16 (a) The secretary shall appoint a deputy secretary.
17 The deputy secretary shall be directly responsible to the
18 secretary and shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary.
19 (b) The secretary shall appoint a general counsel and
20 an inspector general, who are exempt from part II of chapter
21 110 and are included in the Senior Management Service.
22 (c) The secretary may shall appoint assistant
23 secretaries, directors, or other such persons that he or she
24 deems are necessary to accomplish the mission and goals of the
25 department, including, but not limited to, the following areas
26 of program responsibility: an Assistant Secretary for
27 1. Security and institutional operations, which shall
28 provide Management responsible for providing inmate work
29 programs, offender programs, security administration,
30 emergency operations response, and operational oversight of
31 technical assistance to the regions.
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1 2.(d) The secretary shall appoint an Assistant
2 Secretary of Health services, which who shall be headed by a
3 physician licensed under chapter 458 or an osteopathic
4 physician licensed under chapter 459, or a professionally
5 trained health care administrator with progressively
6 responsible experience in health care administration. This
7 individual shall be responsible for the delivery of health
8 services to offenders within the system and shall have direct
9 professional authority over such services.
10 (e) The secretary shall appoint an Assistant Secretary
11 for Executive Services responsible for the provision of
12 support to the agency through the management of human
13 resources, research, planning and evaluation, and technology.
14 3.(f) The secretary shall appoint an Assistant
15 Secretary for Community corrections, which shall provide
16 responsible for coordination of community alternatives to
17 incarceration and operational oversight of community
18 corrections regions.
19 4.(g) Administrative services, which shall provide The
20 secretary shall appoint an Assistant Secretary for
21 Administration, responsible for the budget and accounting
22 services activities within the department, including the
23 construction and maintenance of correctional institutions,
24 human-resource management, research, planning and evaluation,
25 and technology.
26 5.(h) Program services, which shall provide for the
27 direct management and supervision of all departmental
28 programs, including The secretary shall appoint an Assistant
29 Secretary for Education and Job Training, responsible for the
30 coordination and delivery of education and job training to the
31 offenders in the custody of the department.
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1 (4) REGIONS.--The department shall plan and administer
2 its program of services for community corrections, security,
3 and institutional operations through regions through a maximum
4 of five regional offices. The secretary shall establish the
5 geographical boundaries of each region. In establishing each
6 region, the secretary shall, to the extent possible, follow
7 the boundaries of the judicial circuits and balance the
8 regions by geographical size or workload of the department.
9 (a) The secretary shall appoint regional directors who
10 shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary. Though
11 organizationally located within the office of the Assistant
12 Secretary for Security and Institutional Management for
13 administrative purposes, the regional directors are
14 accountable to the secretary for administration of all affairs
15 under their jurisdiction. The secretary shall develop
16 performance agreements with each assistant secretary and
17 regional director each biennium. Such agreements shall
18 evaluate the execution of the agency mission, strategic plan,
19 and performance budget measures and outcomes.
20 (b) Each regional director shall appoint, with the
21 advice and consent of the secretary, the following offices
22 within the region. Each shall be headed by a director and
23 shall be classified at a level of division director:
24 1. Administration.
25 2. Community Corrections.
26 3. Executive Services.
27 4. Security and Institutional Management.
28 5. Health Care Administration.
29 6. Education and Job Training.
30 (5) ANNUAL REPORTING.--The department shall report
31 annually to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
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1 Speaker of the House of Representatives recounting its
2 activities and making recommendations for improvements to the
3 performance of the department.
4 (6) FLORIDA CORRECTIONS COMMISSION.--
5 (a)1. The Florida Corrections Commission is hereby
6 created. The primary focus of the commission shall be on
7 corrections; however, in those instances in which the policies
8 of other components of the criminal justice system affect
9 corrections, the commission shall advise and make
10 recommendations.
11 2. The commission shall consist of nine members
12 appointed by the Governor subject to confirmation by the
13 Senate. The initial members of the commission shall be
14 appointed by October 1, 1994. Members of the commission shall
15 serve terms of 4 years each, except that four of the initial
16 members shall be appointed for terms of 2 years each. Members
17 must be appointed in such a manner as to equitably represent
18 all geographic areas of the state. Each member of the
19 commission must be a citizen and registered voter of the
20 state. A member of the commission shall represent the public
21 safety needs of the state as a whole and may not subordinate
22 the needs of the state to those of any particular area of the
23 state. The commission's membership should, to the extent
24 possible, contain persons who are knowledgeable about
25 construction, health care, information technology, education,
26 business, food services, law, and inmate and youthful offender
27 rehabilitation and services.
28 3. The commission is assigned to the office of the
29 Secretary of Corrections for administrative and fiscal
30 accountability purposes, but it shall otherwise function
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1 independently of the control and direction of the Department
2 of Corrections.
3 (b) The primary functions of the commission are to:
4 1. Recommend major correctional policies for the
5 Governor's approval, and assure that approved policies and any
6 revisions thereto are properly executed.
7 2. Periodically review the status of the state
8 correctional system and recommend improvements therein to the
9 Governor and the Legislature.
10 3. Annually perform an in-depth review of
11 community-based intermediate sanctions and recommend to the
12 Governor and the Legislature intergovernmental approaches
13 through the Community Corrections Partnership Act for planning
14 and implementing such sanctions and programs.
15 4. Perform an in-depth evaluation of the annual budget
16 request of the Department of Corrections, the comprehensive
17 correctional master plan, and the tentative construction
18 program for compliance with all applicable laws and
19 established departmental policies. The commission may not
20 consider individual construction projects, but shall consider
21 methods of accomplishing the department's goals in the most
22 effective, efficient, and businesslike manner.
23 5. Routinely monitor the financial status of the
24 Department of Corrections to assure that the department is
25 managing revenue and any applicable bond proceeds responsibly
26 and in accordance with law and established policy.
27 6. Evaluate, at least quarterly, the efficiency,
28 productivity, and management of the Department of Corrections,
29 using performance and production standards developed by the
30 department under subsection (18).
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1 7. Provide public education on corrections and
2 criminal justice issues.
3 8. Report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker
4 of the House of Representatives, and the Governor by November
5 1 of each year.
6 (c) The commission or a member thereof may not enter
7 into the day-to-day operation of the Department of Corrections
8 and is specifically prohibited from taking part in:
9 1. The awarding of contracts by the department.
10 2. The selection by the department of a consultant or
11 contractor or the prequalification by the department of any
12 individual consultant or contractor. However, the commission
13 may recommend to the Secretary of Corrections standards and
14 policies governing the procedure for selection and
15 prequalification of consultants and contractors.
16 3. The selection by the department of a county for a
17 specific project.
18 4. The selection by the department of a specific
19 location for a correctional facility.
20 5. The employment, promotion, demotion, suspension,
21 transfer, or discharge of any departmental personnel.
22 6. The enforcement of minimum standards for any county
23 or municipal detention facility.
24 (d)1. The chair of the commission shall be selected by
25 the members for a term of 1 year.
26 2. The commission shall hold a minimum of four regular
27 meetings annually, and other meetings may be called by the
28 chair upon giving at least 7 days' notice to all members and
29 the public pursuant to chapter 120. Meetings may also be held
30 upon the written request of at least four members, upon at
31 least 7 days' notice of such meeting being given to all
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1 members and the public by the chair pursuant to chapter 120.
2 Emergency meetings may be held without notice upon the request
3 of all members. The meetings of the commission shall be held
4 in the central office of the Department of Corrections in
5 Tallahassee unless the chair determines that special
6 circumstances warrant meeting at another location.
7 3. A majority of the membership of the commission
8 constitutes a quorum at any meeting of the commission. An
9 action of the commission is not binding unless the action is
10 taken pursuant to an affirmative vote of a majority of the
11 members present, but not fewer than four members of the
12 commission must be present, and the vote must be recorded in
13 the minutes of the meeting.
14 4. The chair shall cause to be made a complete record
15 of the proceedings of the commission, which record shall be
16 open for public inspection.
17 (e) The commission shall appoint an executive director
18 and an assistant executive director, who shall serve under the
19 direction, supervision, and control of the commission. The
20 executive director, with the consent of the commission, shall
21 employ such staff as are necessary to perform adequately the
22 functions of the commission, within budgetary limitations. All
23 employees of the commission are exempt from part II of chapter
24 110 and serve at the pleasure of the commission. The salaries
25 and benefits of all employees of the commission shall be set
26 in accordance with the Selected Exempt Service rules; however,
27 the commission shall have complete authority for fixing the
28 salaries of the executive director and the assistant executive
29 director. The executive director and staff of the Task Force
30 for Review of the Criminal Justice and Corrections System,
31 created under chapter 93-404, Laws of Florida, shall serve as
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1 the staff for the commission until the commission hires an
2 executive director.
3 (f) Members of the commission are entitled to per diem
4 and travel expenses pursuant to s. 112.061.
5 (g) A member of the commission may not have any
6 interest, direct or indirect, in any contract, franchise,
7 privilege, or other benefit granted or awarded by the
8 department during the term of his or her appointment and for 2
9 years after the termination of that appointment.
10 (h) The commission shall develop a budget pursuant to
11 chapter 216. The budget is not subject to change by the
12 department, but such budget shall be submitted to the Governor
13 along with the budget of the department.
14 (7) DEPARTMENTAL BUDGETS.--
15 (a) The secretary shall develop and submit annually to
16 the Legislature a comprehensive departmental budget request
17 document. This summary document shall, for the purpose of
18 legislative appropriation, consist of four distinct budget
19 entities:
20 1. Department Administration.
21 2. Department Operations.
22 3. Health Services.
23 4. Education and Job Training.
24 (b) The department shall revise its budget entity
25 designations to conform with the four distinct budget
26 entities, or to the such other budget entities as are
27 designated by the Executive Office of the Governor under
28 pursuant to s. 216.0235. The department, consistent in
29 accordance with chapter 216, may shall transfer, as necessary,
30 funds and positions among budget entities to realign
31 appropriations with the revised budget entity designations.
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1 Such authorized revisions must be consistent with the intent
2 of the approved operating budget. The various regional budget
3 requests developed shall be included in the comprehensive
4 department budget document. The department shall periodically
5 review the appropriateness of the budget entity designations
6 and the adequacy of its delegated authority to transfer funds
7 between entities and submit the reviews to the Governor's
8 office of Planning and Budget. To fulfill this
9 responsibility, the secretary shall have the authority to
10 review, amend, and approve the annual budget requests of all
11 departmental activities. Recommendations on departmental
12 budget priorities shall be furnished to the secretary by the
13 deputy secretary, assistant secretaries, and regional
14 directors.
15 (c) It is the responsibility of the Assistant
16 Secretary for Administration to promulgate the necessary
17 budget timetables, formats, and data requirements for all
18 departmental budget requests. This shall be done in
19 accordance with statewide budget requirements of the Executive
20 Office of the Governor.
21 (d) It is the responsibility of the regional directors
22 to develop an annual budget request to be reviewed, amended,
23 and approved by the secretary and incorporated into the agency
24 budget request.
25 (8) PLACEMENT OF OFFENDERS.--The department shall
26 classify its programs according to the character and range of
27 services available for its clients. The department shall place
28 each offender in the program or facility most appropriate to
29 the offender's needs, subject to budgetary limitations and the
30 availability of space.
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1 (9) DISCHARGE FROM COMMITMENT.--When the law grants to
2 an agent, officer, or administrator of the Department of
3 Corrections the authority to make a discharge from commitment,
4 such authority shall be vested in the Secretary of Corrections
5 or in any agent who, in his or her discretion, the secretary
6 may authorize.
7 (10) FORM OF COMMITMENT; NOTICE OF PAROLE
8 VIOLATION.--All commitments shall state the statutory
9 authority therefor. The Secretary of Corrections shall have
10 the authority to prescribe the form to be used for
11 commitments. Nothing in this act shall be construed to
12 abridge the authority and responsibility of the Parole
13 Commission with respect to the granting and revocation of
14 parole. The Department of Corrections shall notify the Parole
15 Commission of all violations of parole conditions and provide
16 reports connected thereto as may be requested by the
17 commission. The commission shall have the authority to issue
18 orders dealing with supervision of specific parolees, and such
19 orders shall be binding on all parties.
20 (11) SINGLE INFORMATION AND RECORDS SYSTEM.--There
21 shall be only one offender-based information and records
22 system maintained by the Department of Corrections for the
23 joint use of the department and the Parole Commission. This
24 data system is managed through the Justice Data Center, which
25 is hereby transferred to the department under this act
26 pursuant to a type two transfer authorized under s. 20.06(2).
27 The department shall develop and maintain, in consultation
28 with the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Information Systems
29 Council under s. 943.08, such offender-based information
30 system designed to serve the needs of both the department and
31 the Parole Commission. The department shall notify the
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1 commission of all violations of parole and the circumstances
2 thereof.
3 (12) TRANSFER OF AUTHORITY.--All statutory functions
4 of the department not otherwise herein assigned to a specific
5 unit of the department are assigned generally to the
6 department and may be allocated and reallocated by the
7 secretary to an authorized unit of the department.
8 (13) PURCHASE OF SERVICES.--Whenever possible, the
9 department, in accordance with the established program
10 objectives and performance criteria, may contract for the
11 provision of services by counties, municipalities, nonprofit
12 corporations, and other entities capable of providing needed
13 services, if services so provided are more cost-efficient,
14 cost-effective, or timely than those provided by the
15 department or available to it under existing law.
16 Section 2. Section 944.31, Florida Statutes, is
17 amended to read:
18 944.31 Inspector general; inspectors; power and
19 duties.--The inspector general shall be responsible for prison
20 inspection and investigation, internal affairs investigations,
21 inmate grievances, and management reviews. The office of the
22 inspector general shall be charged with the duty of inspecting
23 the penal and correctional systems of the state. The office of
24 the inspector general shall inspect each correctional
25 institution or any place in which state prisoners are housed,
26 worked, or kept within the state, with reference to its
27 physical conditions, cleanliness, sanitation, safety, and
28 comfort; the quality and supply of all bedding; the quality,
29 quantity, and diversity of food served and the manner in which
30 it is served; the number and condition of the prisoners
31 confined therein; and the general conditions of each
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1 institution. The office of inspector general shall see that
2 all the rules and regulations issued by the department are
3 strictly observed and followed by all persons connected with
4 the correctional systems of the state. The office of the
5 inspector general shall coordinate and supervise the work of
6 inspectors throughout the state. The inspector general and
7 inspectors may enter any place where prisoners in this state
8 are kept and shall be immediately admitted to such place as
9 they desire and may consult and confer with any prisoner
10 privately and without molestation. The inspector general and
11 inspectors shall be responsible for criminal and
12 administrative investigation of matters relating to the
13 Department of Corrections. In such investigations, the
14 inspector general and inspectors may consult and confer with
15 any prisoner or staff member privately and without molestation
16 and shall have the authority to detain any person for
17 violations of the criminal laws of the state. Such detention
18 shall be made only on properties owned or leased by the
19 department, and the detained person shall be surrendered
20 without delay to the sheriff of the county in which the
21 detention is made, with a formal complaint subsequently made
22 against her or him in accordance with law.
23 Section 3. Section 944.331, Florida Statutes, is
24 amended to read:
25 944.331 Inmate grievance procedure.--The department
26 shall establish by rule an inmate grievance procedure that
27 must which shall conform to the Minimum Standards for Inmate
28 Grievance Procedures as promulgated by the United States
29 Department of Justice pursuant to 42 U.S.C. s. 1997e. The
30 department's office of general counsel shall oversee the
31 grievance procedures established by the department.
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1 Section 4. Subsection (7) of section 944.10, Florida
2 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
3 944.10 Department of Corrections to provide buildings;
4 sale and purchase of land; contracts to provide services and
5 inmate labor.--
6 (7) The department may enter into contracts with
7 federal, state, or local governmental entities or subdivisions
8 to provide services and inmate labor for the construction of
9 buildings, parks, roads, any detention or commitment
10 facilities, or any other project deemed to be appropriate by
11 the Department of Corrections, which includes may include, but
12 is not limited to, the planning, design, site acquisition or
13 preparation, management, or construction of such projects. The
14 department may charge fees for providing such services. All
15 fees collected must be placed in the Correctional Work Program
16 Trust Fund.
17 Section 5. Section 944.40, Florida Statutes, is
18 amended to read:
19 944.40 Escapes; penalty.--Any prisoner confined in any
20 prison, jail, private correctional facility, road camp, or
21 other penal institution, whether operated by the state, a
22 county, or a municipality, or operated under a contract with
23 the state, a county, or a municipality municipal, working upon
24 the public roads, or being transported to or from a place of
25 confinement who escapes or attempts to escape from such
26 confinement commits shall be guilty of a felony of the second
27 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or
28 s. 775.084. The punishment of imprisonment imposed under this
29 section shall run consecutive to any former sentence imposed
30 upon any prisoner.
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1 Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
2 law.
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4 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
5 Senate Bill 1742
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7 - Clarifies that when an inmate escapes from a privatized
correctional facility, it is a second-degree felony.
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- Deletes reference to "planning" and "design" as
9 authorized activities for the Department of Corrections
in providing services and inmate labor for various
10 projects to governmental entities.
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