| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the restoration of civil rights of |
| 3 | persons exonerated of felony convictions; amending s. |
| 4 | 940.05, F.S.; providing automatic restoration of the civil |
| 5 | rights of a person convicted of a felony who is |
| 6 | subsequently exonerated of the offense; amending s. |
| 7 | 97.041, F.S., relating to qualifications to register or |
| 8 | vote, s. 499.012, F.S., relating to the wholesale |
| 9 | distribution of prescription drugs, s. 499.067, F.S., |
| 10 | relating to denial, suspension, or revocation of a permit, |
| 11 | certification, or registration to deal in prescription |
| 12 | drugs, s. 499.64, F.S., relating to issuance of licenses |
| 13 | and permits to deal in prescription drugs, s. 944.292, |
| 14 | F.S., relating to suspension of civil rights, and s. |
| 15 | 944.293, F.S., relating to initiation of restoration of |
| 16 | civil rights, to conform; providing a contingent effective |
| 17 | date. |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Section 1. Section 940.05, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 22 | read: |
| 23 | 940.05 Restoration of civil rights.-- |
| 24 | (1) The civil rights of a person who has been convicted of |
| 25 | one or more felonies are automatically restored by operation of |
| 26 | law if the person is subsequently exonerated of the conviction |
| 27 | or convictions, whether as the result of a postsentence DNA test |
| 28 | or for any other reason. |
| 29 | (2) Any other person who has been convicted of a felony |
| 30 | may be entitled to the restoration of all the rights of |
| 31 | citizenship enjoyed by him or her prior to conviction if the |
| 32 | person has: |
| 33 | (a)(1) Received a full pardon from the board of pardons; |
| 34 | (b)(2) Served the maximum term of the sentence imposed |
| 35 | upon him or her; or |
| 36 | (c)(3) Been granted his or her final release by the Parole |
| 37 | Commission. |
| 38 | Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section |
| 39 | 97.041, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 40 | 97.041 Qualifications to register or vote.-- |
| 41 | (2) The following persons, who might be otherwise |
| 42 | qualified, are not entitled to register or vote: |
| 43 | (b) A person who has been convicted of any felony by any |
| 44 | court of record and who: |
| 45 | 1. Has not had his or her civil rights restored as a |
| 46 | matter of law under s. 940.05; or |
| 47 | 2. Has not had his or her right to vote restored pursuant |
| 48 | to law. |
| 49 | Section 3. Paragraph (n) of subsection (5) of section |
| 50 | 499.012, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 51 | 499.012 Wholesale distribution; definitions; permits; |
| 52 | applications; general requirements.-- |
| 53 | (5) The department may deny an application for a permit or |
| 54 | refuse to renew a permit for a prescription drug wholesaler or |
| 55 | an out-of-state prescription drug wholesaler if: |
| 56 | (n) The applicant or any affiliated party receives, |
| 57 | directly or indirectly, financial support and assistance from a |
| 58 | person who has been found guilty of any violation of ss. |
| 59 | 499.001-499.081 or chapter 465, chapter 501, or chapter 893, any |
| 60 | rules adopted under any of those sections or chapters, any |
| 61 | federal or state drug law, or any felony where the underlying |
| 62 | facts related to drugs, regardless of whether the person has |
| 63 | been pardoned, had her or his civil rights restored, or had |
| 64 | adjudication withheld, other than through the ownership of stock |
| 65 | in a publicly traded company or a mutual fund. However, this |
| 66 | paragraph does not apply to a person whose civil rights have |
| 67 | been restored by operation of law under s. 940.05. |
| 68 | Section 4. Subsection (5) of section 499.067, Florida |
| 69 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 70 | 499.067 Denial, suspension, or revocation of permit, |
| 71 | certification, or registration.-- |
| 72 | (5) The department may deny, suspend, or revoke a permit |
| 73 | issued under ss. 499.001-499.081 which authorizes the permittee |
| 74 | to purchase prescription drugs, if any owner, officer, employee, |
| 75 | or other person who participates in administering or operating |
| 76 | the establishment has been found guilty of any violation of ss. |
| 77 | 499.001-499.081 or chapter 465, chapter 501, or chapter 893, any |
| 78 | rules adopted under any of those sections or chapters, or any |
| 79 | federal or state drug law, regardless of whether the person has |
| 80 | been pardoned, had her or his civil rights restored, or had |
| 81 | adjudication withheld. However, this subsection does not apply |
| 82 | to a person whose civil rights have been restored by operation |
| 83 | of law under s. 940.05. |
| 84 | Section 5. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (3) of |
| 85 | section 499.64, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 86 | 499.64 Issuance of licenses and permits; prohibitions.-- |
| 87 | (3) No license or permit shall be issued, renewed, or |
| 88 | allowed to remain in effect for any natural person, or for any |
| 89 | corporation which has any corporate officer: |
| 90 | (b) Who has been convicted of a felony under the |
| 91 | prescription drug or controlled substance laws of this state or |
| 92 | any other state or federal jurisdiction, regardless of whether |
| 93 | he or she has been pardoned or had his or her civil rights |
| 94 | restored. However, this paragraph does not apply to a person |
| 95 | whose civil rights have been restored by operation of law under |
| 96 | s. 940.05. |
| 97 | (c) Who has been convicted of any felony other than a |
| 98 | felony under the prescription drug or controlled substance laws |
| 99 | of this state or any other state or federal jurisdiction and has |
| 100 | not been pardoned or had his or her civil rights restored. |
| 101 | However, this paragraph does not apply to a person whose civil |
| 102 | rights have been restored by operation of law under s. 940.05. |
| 103 | Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 944.292, Florida |
| 104 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 105 | 944.292 Suspension of civil rights.-- |
| 106 | (1) Upon conviction of a felony as defined in s. 10, Art. |
| 107 | X of the State Constitution, the civil rights of the person |
| 108 | convicted shall be suspended in Florida until such rights are |
| 109 | restored by operation of law under s. 940.05 or by a full |
| 110 | pardon, conditional pardon, or restoration of civil rights |
| 111 | granted pursuant to s. 8, Art. IV of the State Constitution. |
| 112 | Section 7. Section 944.293, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 113 | to read: |
| 114 | 944.293 Initiation of restoration of civil rights.--With |
| 115 | respect to those persons convicted of a felony, the following |
| 116 | procedure shall apply: Prior to the time an offender, other |
| 117 | than a person whose civil rights are restored as a matter of law |
| 118 | under s. 940.05, is discharged from supervision, an authorized |
| 119 | agent of the department shall obtain from the Governor the |
| 120 | necessary application and other forms required for the |
| 121 | restoration of civil rights. The authorized agent shall assist |
| 122 | the offender in completing these forms and shall ensure that the |
| 123 | application and all necessary material are forwarded to the |
| 124 | Governor before the offender is discharged from supervision. |
| 125 | Section 8. This act shall take effect upon the effective |
| 126 | date of House Joint Resolution No. _____ or substantially |
| 127 | similar legislation adopted during the Regular Session or a |
| 128 | special session of the Legislature in 2005. |