| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to pretrial release; amending s. 903.02, |
| 3 | F.S.; providing that any judge setting or granting bail |
| 4 | shall set a separate bail amount for each charge or |
| 5 | offense; amending s. 903.047, F.S.; requiring a defendant |
| 6 | to comply with all conditions of pretrial release; |
| 7 | amending s. 903.27, F.S.; providing that in cases in which |
| 8 | the bond forfeiture has been discharged by the court, the |
| 9 | amount of the judgment may not exceed the amount of the |
| 10 | unpaid fees or costs upon which the discharge had been |
| 11 | conditioned; amending s. 903.31, F.S.; providing that the |
| 12 | clerk of court shall furnish an executed certificate of |
| 13 | cancellation to the surety; providing that an acquittal or |
| 14 | a withholding of adjudication of guilt shall satisfy bond |
| 15 | conditions; providing an effective date. |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Section 1. Subsection (4) is added to section 903.02, |
| 20 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 21 | 903.02 Actions following with respect to denial; changes |
| 22 | in bail or conditions of bail or bond amount; separation by |
| 23 | charge or offense of bond prohibited; "court" defined.-- |
| 24 | (4) Any judge setting or granting monetary bail shall set |
| 25 | a separate and specific bail amount for each charge or offense. |
| 26 | When bail is posted, each charge or offense requires a separate |
| 27 | bond. |
| 28 | Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 903.047, Florida |
| 29 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 30 | 903.047 Conditions of pretrial release.-- |
| 31 | (1) As a condition of pretrial release, whether such |
| 32 | release is by surety bail bond or recognizance bond or in some |
| 33 | other form, the defendant court shall require that: |
| 34 | (a) The defendant Refrain from criminal activity of any |
| 35 | kind.; and |
| 36 | (b) The defendant Refrain from any contact of any type |
| 37 | with the victim, except through pretrial discovery pursuant to |
| 38 | the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure. |
| 39 | (c) Comply with all conditions of pretrial release. |
| 40 | Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 903.27, Florida |
| 41 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 42 | 903.27 Forfeiture to judgment.-- |
| 43 | (1) If the forfeiture is not paid or discharged by order |
| 44 | of a court of competent jurisdiction within 60 days and the bond |
| 45 | is secured other than by money and bonds authorized in s. |
| 46 | 903.16, the clerk of the circuit court for the county where the |
| 47 | order was made shall enter a judgment against the surety for the |
| 48 | amount of the penalty and issue execution. However, in any case |
| 49 | in which the bond forfeiture has been discharged by the court of |
| 50 | competent jurisdiction conditioned upon the payment by the |
| 51 | surety of certain costs or fees as allowed by statute, the |
| 52 | amount for which judgment may be entered may not exceed the |
| 53 | amount of the unpaid fees or costs upon which the discharge had |
| 54 | been conditioned. Judgment for the full amount of the forfeiture |
| 55 | shall not be entered if payment of a lesser amount will satisfy |
| 56 | the conditions to discharge the forfeiture. Within 10 days, the |
| 57 | clerk shall furnish the Department of Financial Services and the |
| 58 | Office of Insurance Regulation of the Financial Services |
| 59 | Commission with a certified copy of the judgment docket and |
| 60 | shall furnish the surety company at its home office a copy of |
| 61 | the judgment, which shall include the power of attorney number |
| 62 | of the bond and the name of the executing agent. If the judgment |
| 63 | is not paid within 35 days, the clerk shall furnish the |
| 64 | Department of Financial Services, the Office of Insurance |
| 65 | Regulation, and the sheriff of the county in which the bond was |
| 66 | executed, or the official responsible for operation of the |
| 67 | county jail, if other than the sheriff, two copies of the |
| 68 | judgment and a certificate stating that the judgment remains |
| 69 | unsatisfied. When and if the judgment is properly paid or an |
| 70 | order to vacate the judgment has been entered by a court of |
| 71 | competent jurisdiction, the clerk shall immediately notify the |
| 72 | sheriff, or the official responsible for the operation of the |
| 73 | county jail, if other than the sheriff, and the Department of |
| 74 | Financial Services and the Office of Insurance Regulation, if |
| 75 | the department and office had been previously notified of |
| 76 | nonpayment, of such payment or order to vacate the judgment. The |
| 77 | clerk shall also immediately prepare and record in the public |
| 78 | records a satisfaction of the judgment or record the order to |
| 79 | vacate judgment. If the defendant is returned to the county of |
| 80 | jurisdiction of the court, whenever a motion to set aside the |
| 81 | judgment is filed, the operation of this section is tolled until |
| 82 | the court makes a disposition of the motion. |
| 83 | Section 4. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 903.31, |
| 84 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 85 | 903.31 Canceling the bond.-- |
| 86 | (1) Within 10 business days after the conditions of a bond |
| 87 | have been satisfied or the forfeiture discharged or remitted, |
| 88 | the court shall order the bond canceled and, if the surety has |
| 89 | attached a certificate of cancellation to the original bond, the |
| 90 | clerk of the court shall furnish an executed certificate of |
| 91 | cancellation to the surety without cost. An adjudication of |
| 92 | guilt or innocence, an acquittal, or a withholding of an |
| 93 | adjudication of guilt of the defendant shall satisfy the |
| 94 | conditions of the bond. The original appearance bond shall |
| 95 | expire 36 months after such bond has been posted for the release |
| 96 | of the defendant from custody. This subsection does not apply to |
| 97 | cases in which a bond has been declared forfeited. |
| 98 | (2) The original appearance bond does shall not be |
| 99 | construed to guarantee deferred sentences, appearance during or |
| 100 | after a presentence investigation, appearance during or after |
| 101 | appeals, conduct during or appearance after admission to a |
| 102 | pretrial intervention program, payment of fines, or attendance |
| 103 | at educational or rehabilitation facilities the court otherwise |
| 104 | provides in the judgment. If the original appearance bond has |
| 105 | been forfeited or revoked, the bond shall not be reinstated |
| 106 | without approval from the surety on the original bond. |
| 107 | Section 5. This act shall take effect October 1, 2006. |