1 | A bill to be entitled |
2 | An act relating to the capital collateral regional |
3 | counsel; amending s. 27.701, F.S.; extending the term of |
4 | the capital collateral regional counsel pilot program; |
5 | providing for legislative determination of converting the |
6 | pilot program to a permanent program after receipt of |
7 | Auditor General's review; deleting an expiration date; |
8 | amending s. 27.702, F.S.; removing authorization for |
9 | representation by capital collateral regional counsel in |
10 | federal courts; providing an effective date. |
11 |
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12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
13 |
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14 | Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 27.701, Florida |
15 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
16 | 27.701 Capital collateral regional counsels.-- |
17 | (2) For the 2003-2004 fiscal year only and Notwithstanding |
18 | the provisions of subsection (1), the responsibilities of the |
19 | regional office of capital collateral counsel for the northern |
20 | region of the state shall be met through a pilot program using |
21 | only attorneys from the registry of attorneys maintained |
22 | pursuant to s. 27.710. Each attorney participating in the pilot |
23 | must be qualified to provide representation in federal court. |
24 | The Auditor General shall present a status report on the |
25 | implementation of the pilot program to the President of the |
26 | Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by |
27 | February 27, 2004. The Auditor General shall also schedule a |
28 | performance review of the pilot program to determine the |
29 | effectiveness and efficiency of using attorneys from the |
30 | registry compared to the capital collateral regional counsels. |
31 | The review, at a minimum, shall include comparisons of the |
32 | timeliness and costs of the pilot and the counsels and shall be |
33 | submitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the |
34 | House of Representatives by January 30, 2006 2007. The |
35 | Legislature may determine whether to convert the pilot program |
36 | to a permanent program after receipt of the Auditor General's |
37 | review. This subsection expires July 1, 2004. |
38 | Section 2. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 27.702, |
39 | Florida Statutes, as amended by chapter 2003-402, Laws of |
40 | Florida, are amended to read: |
41 | 27.702 Duties of the capital collateral regional counsel; |
42 | reports.-- |
43 | (1) The capital collateral regional counsel shall |
44 | represent each person convicted and sentenced to death in this |
45 | state for the sole purpose of instituting and prosecuting |
46 | collateral actions challenging the legality of the judgment and |
47 | sentence imposed against such person in the state courts, |
48 | federal courts in this state, the United States Court of Appeals |
49 | for the Eleventh Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. |
50 | The capital collateral regional counsel and the attorneys |
51 | appointed pursuant to s. 27.710 shall file only those |
52 | postconviction or collateral actions authorized by statute. The |
53 | three capital collateral regional counsels' offices shall |
54 | function independently and be separate budget entities, and the |
55 | regional counsels shall be the office heads for all purposes. |
56 | The Justice Administrative Commission shall provide |
57 | administrative support and service to the three offices to the |
58 | extent requested by the regional counsels. The three regional |
59 | offices shall not be subject to control, supervision, or |
60 | direction by the Justice Administrative Commission in any |
61 | manner, including, but not limited to, personnel, purchasing, |
62 | transactions involving real or personal property, and budgetary |
63 | matters. |
64 | (3)(a) The capital collateral regional counsel shall file |
65 | motions seeking compensation for representation and |
66 | reimbursement for expenses pursuant to 18 U.S.C. s. 3006A when |
67 | providing representation to indigent persons in the federal |
68 | courts, and shall deposit all such payments received into the |
69 | Capital Collateral Trust Fund established for such purpose. |
70 | (b) The court having jurisdiction over any nonindigent or |
71 | indigent-but-able-to-contribute defendant who has been receiving |
72 | the services of the capital collateral regional counsel may |
73 | assess attorney's fees and costs against the defendant at any |
74 | stage in the proceedings as the court may deem appropriate. The |
75 | determination of indigence of any defendant shall be made |
76 | pursuant to s. 27.52. Liability for the costs of such |
77 | representation may be imposed in the form of a lien against the |
78 | property of the nonindigent or indigent-but-able-to-contribute |
79 | defendant, which lien shall be enforceable as provided in s. |
80 | 27.561 or s. 938.29. |
81 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. |