Amendment
Bill No. 1847
Amendment No. 707931
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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1The Conference Committee on HB 1847 offered the following:
2
3     Conference Committee Amendment (with title amendment)
4     Remove everything after the enacting clause and insert:
5     Section 1.  Subsection (2) of section 27.701, Florida
6Statutes, is amended to read:
7     27.701  Capital collateral regional counsels.--
8     (2)  For the 2003-2004 fiscal year only and Notwithstanding
9the provisions of subsection (1), the responsibilities of the
10regional office of capital collateral counsel for the northern
11region of the state shall be met through a pilot program using
12only attorneys from the registry of attorneys maintained
13pursuant to s. 27.710. Each attorney participating in the pilot
14must be qualified to provide representation in federal court.
15The Auditor General shall present a status report on the
16implementation of the pilot program to the President of the
17Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by
18February 27, 2004. The Auditor General shall also schedule a
19performance review of the pilot program to determine the
20effectiveness and efficiency of using attorneys from the
21registry compared to the capital collateral regional counsels.
22The review, at a minimum, shall include comparisons of the
23timeliness and costs of the pilot and the counsels and shall be
24submitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
25House of Representatives by January 30, 2007. The Legislature
26may determine whether to convert the pilot program to a
27permanent program after receipt of the Auditor General's review.
28This subsection expires July 1, 2004.
29     Section 2.  Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (2) of
30section 27.709, Florida Statutes, as amended by section 86 of
31chapter 2003-399, Laws of Florida, are amended to read:
32     27.709  Commission on Capital Cases.--
33     (2)(a)  The commission shall review the administration of
34justice in capital collateral cases, receive relevant public
35input, review the operation of the capital collateral regional
36counsel and private counsel appointed pursuant to ss. 27.710 and
3727.711, and advise and make recommendations to the Governor,
38Legislature, and Supreme Court.
39     (c)  In addition, the commission shall receive complaints
40regarding the practice of any office of regional counsel and
41private counsel appointed pursuant to ss. 27.710 and 27.711 and
42shall refer any complaint to The Florida Bar, the State Supreme
43Court, or the Commission on Ethics, as appropriate.
44     Section 3.  Subsections (3) and (9) of section 27.711,
45Florida Statutes, as amended by section 88 of chapter 2003-399,
46Laws of Florida, are amended, and subsection (14) is added to
47that section, to read:
48      27.711  Terms and conditions of appointment of attorneys
49as counsel in postconviction capital collateral proceedings.--
50     (3)  An attorney appointed to represent a capital defendant
51is entitled to payment of the fees set forth in this section
52only upon full performance by the attorney of the duties
53specified in this section and approval of payment by the trial
54court, and the submission of a payment request by the attorney,
55subject to the availability of sufficient funding specifically
56appropriated for this purpose. An attorney may not be
57compensated under this section for work performed by the
58attorney before July 1, 2003, while employed by the northern
59regional office of the capital collateral counsel. The Chief
60Financial Officer shall notify the executive director and the
61court if it appears that sufficient funding has not been
62specifically appropriated for this purpose to pay any fees which
63may be incurred. The attorney shall maintain appropriate
64documentation, including a current and detailed hourly
65accounting of time spent representing the capital defendant. The
66fee and payment schedule in this section is the exclusive means
67of compensating a court-appointed attorney who represents a
68capital defendant. When appropriate, a court-appointed attorney
69must seek further compensation from the Federal Government, as
70provided in 18 U.S.C. s. 3006A or other federal law, in habeas
71corpus litigation in the federal courts.
72     (9)  An attorney may not represent more than five capital
73defendants in capital postconviction litigation at any one time.
74     (14)  Each attorney participating in the pilot program in
75the northern region pursuant to s. 27.701(2), as a condition of
76payment pursuant to this section, shall report on the
77performance measures adopted by the Legislature for the capital
78collateral regional counsels.
79     Section 4.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
8027.702, Florida Statutes, as amended by section 90 of chapter
812003-399, Laws of Florida, is amended to read:
82     27.702  Duties of the capital collateral regional counsel;
83reports.--
84     (4)
85     (b)  Each capital collateral regional counsel and each
86attorney participating in the pilot program in the northern
87region pursuant to s. 27.701(2) shall provide a quarterly report
88to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
89Representatives, and the Commission on Capital Cases which
90details the number of hours worked by investigators and legal
91counsel per case and the amounts per case expended during the
92preceding quarter in investigating and litigating capital
93collateral cases.
94     Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004; or, if
95this act fails to become a law until after that date, it shall
96take effect upon becoming a law and shall operate retroactively
97to July 1, 2004.
98
99================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T =================
100     Remove the entire title and insert:
101
A bill to be entitled
102An act relating to the capital collateral regional counsel;
103amending s. 27.701, F.S.; extending the term of the capital
104collateral regional counsel pilot program; providing for
105legislative determination of converting the pilot program to a
106permanent program after receipt of Auditor General's review;
107deleting an expiration date; amending s. 27.709, F.S.; expanding
108the jurisdiction of the Commission on Capital Cases; amending s.
10927.711, F.S.; providing for compensation of counsel in the pilot
110program; providing for limitations on such counsel; amending s.
11127.702, F.S.; requiring reports from attorneys participating in
112the pilot program; providing an effective date.


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