Senate Bill sb2426e1
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SB 2426 First Engrossed
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to electronic monitoring
3 services; amending s. 648.387, F.S.; requiring
4 vendors that provide electronic monitoring
5 services to register certain information with
6 the clerk of the court; authorizing bail bond
7 agents to contract with registered vendors to
8 provide electronic monitoring of pretrial
9 releasees in certain circumstances; authorizing
10 bail bond agents to contract with government
11 entities to provide electronic monitoring
12 services in certain circumstances; authorizing
13 such agents to assess and collect a fee for
14 electronic monitoring services; providing that
15 failure to make timely payment of fees
16 constitutes grounds to remand; providing that
17 such fees are exempt from regulation by the
18 Department of Financial Services; providing
19 specifications for electronic monitoring
20 equipment; creating s. 903.0472, F.S.;
21 authorizing pretrial release subject to
22 electronic monitoring; authorizing a fee for
23 such services; providing that failure to make
24 timely payment of electronic monitoring fees
25 constitutes a violation of pretrial release
26 conditions; providing that a violation of
27 pretrial release conditions constitutes grounds
28 to remand; requiring reporting of violations of
29 pretrial release conditions; providing that it
30 is a third-degree felony for certain persons to
31 alter, tamper with, damage, or destroy
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SB 2426 First Engrossed
1 electronic monitoring equipment; providing
2 criminal penalties; providing applicability;
3 amending s. 948.09, F.S.; authorizing the
4 department to contract for collection of
5 electronic monitoring fees; providing an
6 effective date.
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8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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10 Section 1. Subsection (6) is added to section 648.387,
11 Florida Statutes, to read:
12 648.387 Primary bail bond agents; duties.--
13 (6)(a)1. A bail bond agent may contract with a vendor
14 of the bail bond agent's choice from among those vendors who
15 register with the clerk of the court to provide electronic
16 monitoring of any person who is released by the court in
17 accordance with chapter 903, subject to court-ordered
18 conditions requiring electronic monitoring.
19 2. A vendor who provides electronic monitoring
20 services shall register with the clerk of the court in each
21 judicial circuit in which the vendor intends to provide such
22 services. At a minimum, the vendor shall provide the clerk
23 with the name of the vendor, the name of an individual
24 employed by the vendor who is to serve as a contact person for
25 the vendor, the address of the vendor, and the telephone
26 number of the contract person. Each clerk of the court may
27 establish an appropriate fee for registration, not to exceed
28 $25.
29 (b) A bail bond agent may contract with government
30 entities to provide electronic monitoring services as a
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SB 2426 First Engrossed
1 condition of bail or bond, independent of bail or bond, or
2 under conditions ordered by the court.
3 (c) Bail bond agents are authorized to assess and
4 collect a reasonable, nonrefundable fee for electronic
5 monitoring services from the person who is subject to
6 electronic monitoring. Failure to make timely payment of such
7 fees constitutes grounds for the agent to remand such person
8 to the court or sheriff. Fees associated with required
9 electronic monitoring services are not considered part of the
10 premium for bail bond and shall be exempt from the provisions
11 of s. 648.26.
12 (d)1. The contracted vendor providing the electronic
13 monitoring services shall furnish a transmitter that meets
14 certification standards approved by the Federal Communications
15 Commission unless otherwise specified by state law. For
16 purposes of providing electronic monitoring in accordance with
17 this section and s. 903.0472, each transmitter shall perform
18 according to the following specifications:
19 a. Operate within a signal range of no less than 65
20 feet but no greater than 150 feet under normal household
21 conditions.
22 b. Emit a signal at least once every 30 seconds.
23 c. Possess signal content that identifies the offender
24 and the offender's location.
25 d. Possess an internal power source that provides a
26 minimum of 1 year of normal operation without need for
27 recharging or replacing the power source, as well as signal
28 content that indicates the power status of the transmitter and
29 provides the vendor with notification of whether the power
30 source needs to be recharged or replaced.
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SB 2426 First Engrossed
1 e. Possess signal content that indicates whether the
2 transmitter has been subjected to tampering or removal.
3 f. Possess encrypted signal content or another feature
4 designed to discourage duplication.
5 g. Be of a design that is shock resistant, water and
6 moisture proof, and capable of reliable function under normal
7 atmospheric and environmental conditions.
8 h. Be capable of wear and use in a manner that does
9 not pose a safety hazard or unduly restrict the activities of
10 the defendant.
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12 In addition, the transmitter must be capable of being attached
13 to the defendant in a manner that readily reveals any efforts
14 to tamper with or remove the transmitter upon visual
15 inspection. Straps or other mechanisms for attaching the
16 transmitter to the defendant must be either capable of being
17 adjusted to fit a defendant of any size or made available in a
18 variety of sizes.
19 2. The contracted vendor providing the electronic
20 monitoring services shall furnish the bail bondsman with a
21 monitoring unit that meets certification standards approved by
22 the Federal Communications Commission unless otherwise
23 specified by state law. The monitoring unit must be capable of
24 receiving radio-frequency signals from the transmitter worn by
25 the defendant and described in subparagraph 1. The monitoring
26 unit must transmit data concerning the defendant's monitoring
27 status to a central monitoring system facility. The monitoring
28 unit must include an internal memory capable of storing data
29 in the event that communication with the central monitoring
30 system facility is disrupted or in the event of a power
31 failure. The monitoring unit must be capable of transmitting
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SB 2426 First Engrossed
1 data that is stored by the unit in the event that
2 communication with the central monitoring system facility is
3 disrupted as soon as communication is restored. The monitoring
4 unit must not pose any safety hazard to the defendant or
5 others and must be capable of reliable function under normal
6 environmental and atmospheric conditions.
7 Section 2. Section 903.0472, Florida Statutes, is
8 created to read:
9 903.0472 Electronic monitoring.--
10 (1) The court may order the defendant to be released
11 from custody subject to conditions of electronic monitoring,
12 if such services are provided in its jurisdiction. The court
13 may order the defendant to pay a reasonable fee for such
14 services as a condition of pretrial release. The failure of
15 the defendant to make timely payment of such fees constitutes
16 a violation of pretrial release and grounds for the defendant
17 to be remanded to the court or appropriate sheriff.
18 (2) Any entity that provides electronic monitoring
19 services shall report forthwith any known violation of the
20 defendant's pretrial release conditions to the appropriate
21 court, sheriff, state attorney, and bail agent, if any.
22 (3) A defendant who has been released in accordance
23 with the provisions of this section shall not alter, tamper
24 with, damage, or destroy any electronic monitoring equipment.
25 A person who violates this subsection commits a felony of the
26 third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s.
27 775.083, or 775.084.
28 (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to
29 limit any other provision of this chapter.
30 Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 948.09, Florida
31 Statutes, is amended to read:
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SB 2426 First Engrossed
1 948.09 Payment for cost of supervision and
2 rehabilitation.--
3 (2) Any person being electronically monitored by the
4 department as a result of placement on community control shall
5 be required to pay as a surcharge an amount that may not
6 exceed the full cost of the monitoring service in addition to
7 the cost of supervision fee as directed by the sentencing
8 court. The department is authorized to contract with a private
9 entity to provide services necessary to implement or
10 facilitate the collection of this surcharge and to allow for
11 payment of a reasonable fee for costs of collection from the
12 proceeds. The surcharge, less the reasonable fee for costs of
13 collection, shall be deposited in the Operating Trust Fund to
14 be used by the department for purchasing and maintaining
15 electronic monitoring devices.
16 Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 2004,
17 and shall apply to offenses committed on or after that date.
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