CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2054
Amendment No. 1
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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11 The Committee on Fiscal Policy recommended the following
12 amendment:
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14 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
15 On page 2, line 1, through page 3, line 18, delete
16 those lines
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18 and insert:
19 Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 27.702, Florida
20 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
21 27.702 Duties of the capital collateral regional
22 counsel; reports.--
23 (4)(a) The capital collateral regional counsel or
24 private counsel shall give written notification of each
25 pleading filed by that office and the name of the person
26 filing the pleading to the Commission on the Administration of
27 Justice in Capital Cases and to the trial court assigned to
28 the case.
29 (b) Each capital collateral regional counsel shall
30 provide a quarterly report to the President of the Senate, the
31 Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Commission on
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2054
Amendment No. 1
1 the Administration of Justice in Capital Cases which details
2 the number of hours worked by investigators and legal counsel
3 per case and the amounts per case expended during the
4 preceding quarter in investigating and litigating capital
5 collateral cases.
6 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 27.703, Florida
7 Statutes, is amended to read:
8 27.703 Conflict of interest and substitute counsel.--
9 (2) Appointed counsel shall be paid from funds
10 appropriated to the Justice Administrative Commission. The
11 hourly rate may not exceed $100. However, effective July 1,
12 1999, all appointments of private counsel under this section
13 shall be in accordance with ss. 27.710 and 27.711.
14 Section 3. Section 27.709, Florida Statutes, 1998
15 Supplement, is amended to read:
16 27.709 Commission on the Administration of Justice in
17 Capital Cases.--
18 (1)(a) There is created the Commission on the
19 Administration of Justice in Capital Cases, which shall
20 consist of the six following members:
21 1. Two members appointed by the Governor.
22 2. Two members appointed by the President of the
23 Senate from the membership of the Senate. One member shall be
24 a member of the majority party, and one member shall be a
25 member of the minority party.
26 3. Two members appointed by the Speaker of the House
27 of Representatives from the membership of the House of
28 Representatives. One member shall be a member of the majority
29 party, and one member shall be a member of the minority party.
30 (b) The chair of the commission shall be selected by
31 the members for a term of 1 year.
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2054
Amendment No. 1
1 (c) The commission shall meet quarterly, and other
2 meetings may be called by the chair upon giving at least 7
3 days' notice to all members and the public.
4 (d) Members of the commission are entitled to per diem
5 and travel expenses to be paid by the appointing entity.
6 (e) The initial members of the commission must be
7 appointed on or before October 1, 1997. Members of the
8 commission shall be appointed to serve terms of 4 years each,
9 except that a member's term shall expire upon leaving office
10 as a member of the Senate or the House of Representatives. Two
11 of the initial members, one from the Senate and one from the
12 House of Representatives, shall be appointed for terms of 2
13 years each. Two of the initial members, one from the Senate
14 and one from the House of Representatives, shall be appointed
15 for terms of 3 years each.
16 (f) The Office of Legislative Services shall provide
17 staff support for the commission.
18 (2) The commission shall review the administration of
19 justice in capital collateral cases, receive relevant public
20 input, review the operation of the capital collateral regional
21 counsel, and advise and make recommendations to the Governor,
22 Legislature, and Supreme Court. In addition, the commission
23 shall receive complaints regarding the practice of any office
24 of regional counsel and shall refer any complaint to The
25 Florida Bar, the State Supreme Court, or the Commission on
26 Ethics, as appropriate.
27 (3) The Commission on the Administration of Justice in
28 Capital Cases shall conduct a study to evaluate whether the
29 elimination of state postconviction proceedings in death
30 penalty cases will reduce delays in carrying out a sentence of
31 death in capital cases. In conducting the study, the
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2054
Amendment No. 1
1 commission shall take public testimony from any interested
2 party. The commission shall review the average number of
3 postconviction motions and writs filed in capital cases, prior
4 legislative and judicial attempts to reduce delays in capital
5 cases, and the length of time required for capital
6 postconviction claims in state and federal court. The
7 commission shall consider average delays in capital cases,
8 whether those delays have increased in the last 10 years, and
9 the reasons for any increase in delays. The study shall
10 include a report which addresses the legal, fiscal, and
11 practical considerations concerning the elimination of state
12 postconviction proceedings, and the recommendation of the
13 commission. Public notice shall be provided, in a manner
14 agreed to by the commission, for all hearings where the
15 commission intends to hear public testimony concerning the
16 elimination of state postconviction proceedings in death
17 penalty cases for purposes of this study. The report shall be
18 submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the
19 President of the Senate, and the minority leaders in the House
20 and the Senate by December 1, 1998.
21 Section 4. Subsections (1), (4), and (6) of section
22 27.710, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are amended to
23 read:
24 27.710 Registry of attorneys applying to represent
25 persons in postconviction capital collateral proceedings;
26 certification of minimum requirements; appointment by trial
27 court.--
28 (1) The executive director of the Commission on the
29 Administration of Justice in Capital Cases shall compile and
30 maintain a statewide registry of attorneys in private practice
31 who have certified that they meet the minimum requirements of
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2054
Amendment No. 1
1 s. 27.704(2) and who are available for appointment by the
2 court under this section to represent persons convicted and
3 sentenced to death in this state in postconviction capital
4 collateral proceedings. To ensure that sufficient attorneys
5 are available for appointment by the court, when the number of
6 attorneys on the registry falls below 50, the executive
7 director shall notify the chief judge of each circuit by
8 letter and request the chief judge to promptly submit the
9 names of at least three private attorneys who regularly
10 practice criminal law in that circuit and who appear to meet
11 the minimum requirements to represent persons in
12 postconviction capital collateral proceedings. The executive
13 director shall send an application to each attorney identified
14 by the chief judge so that the attorney may register for
15 appointment as counsel in postconviction capital collateral
16 proceedings. As necessary, the executive director may also
17 advertise in legal publications and other appropriate media
18 for qualified attorneys interested in registering for
19 appointment as counsel in postconviction capital collateral
20 proceedings. Not later than September 1 of each year, and as
21 necessary thereafter, the executive director shall provide to
22 the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the chief judge and
23 state attorney in each judicial circuit, and the Attorney
24 General a current copy of its registry of attorneys who are
25 available for appointment as counsel in postconviction capital
26 collateral proceedings. The registry must be indexed by
27 judicial circuit and must contain the requisite information
28 submitted by the applicants in accordance with this section.
29 (4) Each private attorney who is appointed by the
30 court to represent a capital defendant must enter into a
31 contract with the Comptroller. If the appointed attorney fails
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SENATE AMENDMENT
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Amendment No. 1
1 to execute the contract within 30 days after the date the
2 contract is mailed to the attorney, the executive director of
3 the Commission on Capital Cases shall notify the trial court.
4 The executive director of the Commission on the Administration
5 of Justice in Capital Cases shall develop the form of the
6 contract, and the Comptroller shall function as contract
7 manager and shall enforce performance of the terms and
8 conditions of the contract. By signing such contract, the
9 attorney certifies that he or she intends to continue the
10 representation under the terms and conditions set forth in the
11 contract until the sentence is reversed, reduced, or carried
12 out or until released by order of the trial court.
13 (6) More than one attorney may not be appointed and
14 compensated at any one time under s. 27.711 to represent a
15 person in postconviction capital collateral proceedings.
16 However, an attorney appointed under this section may
17 designate another attorney to assist him or her if the
18 designated attorney meets the qualifications of this section.
19 Section 5. Section 27.711, Florida Statutes, 1998
20 Supplement, is amended to read:
21 27.711 Terms and conditions of appointment of
22 attorneys as counsel in postconviction capital collateral
23 proceedings.--
24 (1) As used in s. 27.710 and this section, the term:
25 (a) "Capital defendant" means the person who is
26 represented in postconviction capital collateral proceedings
27 by an attorney appointed under s. 27.710.
28 (b) "Executive director" means the executive director
29 of the Commission on the Administration of Justice in Capital
30 Cases.
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2054
Amendment No. 1
1 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
2 And the title is amended as follows:
3 On page 1, lines 3-5, delete those lines
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5 and insert:
6 representation; amending s. 27.702, F.S.;
7 redesignating the Commission on the
8 Administration of Justice in Capital Cases as
9 the Commission on Capital Cases; amending s.
10 27.703, F.S.; requiring private counsel
11 appointments to be in accordance with specified
12 provisions; amending s. 27.709, F.S.;
13 conforming provisions to changes made by the
14 act; amending
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