Florida Senate - 2007            PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
    Bill No. SB 1086
                        Barcode 631006   Comm: FAV  03/28/2007 10:44 AM       
    604-2101-07
    Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Criminal and
    Civil Justice Appropriations
 1                      A bill to be entitled
 2         An act relating to the capital collateral
 3         regional counsel; amending s. 27.701, F.S.;
 4         deleting provisions providing for a pilot
 5         program in the northern region of the state to
 6         operate the office of the capital collateral
 7         regional counsel; providing an effective date.
 8  
 9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
10  
11         Section 1.  Section 27.701, Florida Statutes, is
12  amended to read:
13         27.701  Capital collateral regional counsel.--
14         (1)  There are created three regional offices of
15  capital collateral counsel, which shall be located in a
16  northern, middle, and southern region of the state. The
17  northern region shall consist of the First, Second, Third,
18  Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Judicial Circuits; the middle
19  region shall consist of the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth,
20  Tenth, Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Eighteenth Judicial Circuits;
21  and the southern region shall consist of the Eleventh,
22  Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth
23  Judicial Circuits. Each regional office shall be administered
24  by a regional counsel. A regional counsel must be, and must
25  have been for the preceding 5 years, a member in good standing
26  of The Florida Bar or a similar organization in another state.
27  Each capital collateral regional counsel shall be appointed by
28  the Governor, and is subject to confirmation by the Senate.
29  The Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission shall
30  recommend to the Governor three qualified candidates for each
31  appointment as regional counsel. The Governor shall appoint a
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    8:23 AM   03/20/07                             s1086p-ja00-t02

Florida Senate - 2007 PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE Bill No. SB 1086 Barcode 631006 604-2101-07 1 regional counsel for each region from among the 2 recommendations, or, if it is in the best interest of the fair 3 administration of justice in capital cases, the Governor may 4 reject the nominations and request submission of three new 5 nominees by the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. 6 Each capital collateral regional counsel shall be appointed to 7 a term of 3 years. Vacancies in the office of capital 8 collateral regional counsel shall be filled in the same manner 9 as appointments. A person appointed as a regional counsel may 10 not run for or accept appointment to any state office for 2 11 years following vacation of office. 12 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), 13 the responsibilities of the regional office of capital 14 collateral counsel for the northern region of the state shall 15 be met through a pilot program using only attorneys from the 16 registry of attorneys maintained pursuant to s. 27.710. Each 17 attorney participating in the pilot must be qualified to 18 provide representation in federal court. The Auditor General 19 shall schedule a performance review of the pilot program to 20 determine the effectiveness and efficiency of using attorneys 21 from the registry compared to the capital collateral regional 22 counsel. The review, at a minimum, shall include comparisons 23 of the timeliness and costs of the pilot and the counsel and 24 shall be submitted to the President of the Senate and the 25 Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 30, 2007. 26 The Legislature may determine whether to convert the pilot 27 program to a permanent program after receipt of the Auditor 28 General's review. 29 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. 30 31 2 8:23 AM 03/20/07 s1086p-ja00-t02