House Bill 2043

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.







    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2043

        By Representative Bense






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to presentence investigation

  3         reports; amending s. 945.10, F.S.; authorizing

  4         the limited release of certain confidential

  5         investigative records of the Department of

  6         Corrections; amending s. 960.001, F.S.;

  7         requiring that the state attorney release a

  8         copy of the presentence investigation report to

  9         the victim, the victim's parent or guardian, or

10         the victim's next of kin; requiring that

11         confidential information be redacted from the

12         report; providing an effective date.

13

14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

15

16         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 945.10, Florida

17  Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:

18         945.10  Confidential information.--

19         (1)  Except as otherwise provided by law or in this

20  section, the following records and information of the

21  Department of Corrections are confidential and exempt from the

22  provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State

23  Constitution:

24         (a)  Mental health, medical, or substance abuse records

25  of an inmate or an offender.

26         (b)  Preplea, pretrial intervention, and presentence or

27  postsentence investigative records, except as provided in s.

28  960.001(1)(g).

29         (c)  Information regarding a person in the federal

30  witness protection program.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2043

    725-103-99






  1         (d)  Parole Commission records which are confidential

  2  or exempt from public disclosure by law.

  3         (e)  Information which if released would jeopardize a

  4  person's safety.

  5         (f)  Information concerning a victim's statement and

  6  identity.

  7         (g)  The identity of an executioner, or a person

  8  administering a lethal injection pursuant to s. 922.105.

  9         (h)  Records that are otherwise confidential or exempt

10  from public disclosure by law.

11         Section 2.  Paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of section

12  960.001, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to

13  read:

14         960.001  Guidelines for fair treatment of victims and

15  witnesses in the criminal justice and juvenile justice

16  systems.--

17         (1)  The Department of Legal Affairs, the state

18  attorneys, the Department of Corrections, the Department of

19  Juvenile Justice, the Parole Commission, the State Courts

20  Administrator and circuit court administrators, the Department

21  of Law Enforcement, and every sheriff's department, police

22  department, or other law enforcement agency as defined in s.

23  943.10(4) shall develop and implement guidelines for the use

24  of their respective agencies, which guidelines are consistent

25  with the purposes of this act and s. 16(b), Art. I of the

26  State Constitution and are designed to implement the

27  provisions of s. 16(b), Art. I of the State Constitution and

28  to achieve the following objectives:

29         (g)  Consultation with victim or guardian or family of

30  victim.--

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2043

    725-103-99






  1         1.  In addition to being notified of the provisions of

  2  s. 921.143, the victim of a felony involving physical or

  3  emotional injury or trauma or, in a case in which the victim

  4  is a minor child or in a homicide, the guardian or family of

  5  the victim shall be consulted by the state attorney in order

  6  to obtain the views of the victim or family about the

  7  disposition of any criminal or juvenile case brought as a

  8  result of such crime, including the views of the victim or

  9  family about:

10         a.1.  The release of the accused pending judicial

11  proceedings;

12         b.2.  Plea agreements;

13         c.3.  Participation in pretrial diversion programs; and

14         d.4.  Sentencing of the accused.

15         2.  Upon request, the state attorney shall also provide

16  the victim, the victim's parent or guardian if the victim is a

17  minor, or the victim's next of kin in the case of a homicide a

18  copy of the presentence investigation report if one was

19  completed. Any confidential information that pertains to

20  medical history, mental health, or substance abuse and any

21  information that pertains to any other victim shall be

22  redacted from the copy of the report.

23         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

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25            *****************************************

26                       LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY

27
      Requires that the state attorney release a copy of the
28    nonconfidential portions of the presentence investigation
      report, upon request, to the victim, the victim's parent
29    or guardian, or the victim's next of kin.

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