HB 761

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to restoration of civil rights; providing
3	a short title; providing findings and purpose; creating s.
4	944.294, F.S.; providing for automatic restoration of a
5	former felon's civil rights, other than the right to own,
6	possess, or use firearms, following completion of his or
7	her sentence of incarceration and community supervision;
8	providing conditions for and exemptions from automatic
9	restoration; providing for education concerning the civil
10	rights of people who have felony convictions; amending ss.
11	944.292, 944.293, and 944.705, F.S., to conform; providing
12	applicability; providing a contingent effective date.
13
14	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16	Section 1.  Short title.--This act may be cited as the
17	"Restoration of Civil Rights Act."
18	Section 2.  Findings and purpose.--
19	(1)  FINDINGS.--The Legislature finds that:
20	(a)  The exercise of civil rights is a fundamental aspect
21	of citizenship. Among many things, restoring civil rights allows
22	former felons to participate in public service, serve on juries,
23	and pursue a chosen occupation.
24	(b)  Restoring civil rights helps felons who have completed
25	their sentences to reintegrate into society. Their opportunity
26	to fully participate in society reinforces their ties to the
27	community and may help to prevent recidivism.
28	(c)  Under current law, all persons convicted of felonies
29	permanently lose many civil rights unless they receive
30	discretionary executive clemency.
31	(d)  The restoration of civil rights through the clemency
32	process is cumbersome and costly and produces long delays. The
33	clemency process imposes administrative burdens on the state and
34	economic burdens on state taxpayers, and it should be reserved
35	for extraordinary cases. Streamlining the restoration process
36	for the majority of former offenders will advance administrative
37	efficiency, fiscal responsibility, fairness, and democracy.
38	(2)  PURPOSE.--The purposes of this act are to strengthen
39	democratic institutions by enabling felons who have completed
40	their sentences to become productive members of society, and to
41	streamline procedures for restoring civil rights.
42	Section 3.  Section 944.294, Florida Statutes, is created
43	to read:
44	944.294  Restoration of civil rights.--
45	(1)  A person who has been convicted of a felony, other
46	than those set forth in subsection (3), shall have those civil
47	rights that are lost as a consequence of a conviction of that
48	felony restored upon completion of his or her sentence. However,
49	this provision does not apply to restoration of the right to
50	own, possess, or use firearms.
51	(2)  For purposes of this section, "completion of sentence"
52	occurs when a person is released from incarceration upon
53	expiration of his or her sentence and has completed all other
54	terms and conditions of the sentence or subsequent supervision
55	or, if the person has not been incarcerated for the felony
56	offense, has completed all terms and conditions of supervision
57	imposed on him or her.
58	(3)(a)  A person convicted of a crime defined by any of the
59	following statutes is ineligible for restoration of civil rights
60	under this section:
61	1.  Section 782.04, relating to murder.
62	2.  Section 782.07(3), relating to aggravated manslaughter
63	of a child.
64	3.  Section 794.011, relating to sexual battery.
65	4.  Section 796.03, relating to procuring a person under 18
66	for prostitution.
67	5.  Section 796.035, relating to selling or buying minors
68	into sex trafficking or prostitution.
69	6.  Section 826.04, relating to incest.
70	7.  Section 827.071, relating to sexual performance by a
71	child.
72	8.  Section 847.0145, relating to selling or buying minors.
73	(b)  A person convicted of treason or whose impeachment has
74	resulted in conviction, as referred to in s. 8, Art. IV of the
75	State Constitution, is ineligible for restoration of civil
76	rights under this section.
77	(4)  This section does not impair the ability of any person
78	convicted of a felony to apply for executive clemency under s.
79	8, Art. IV of the State Constitution.
80	(5)  A court shall, before accepting a plea of guilty or
81	nolo contendere to a felony without trial or, if a trial is
82	held, before imposing sentence for a felony, notify the
83	defendant as follows:
84	(a)  If the felony is described in subsection (3), that
85	conviction will result in permanent loss of civil rights unless
86	he or she receives executive clemency under s. 8, Art. IV of the
87	State Constitution.
88	(b)  If the felony is not described in subsection (3), that
89	conviction will result in loss of civil rights until the
90	defendant completes his or her sentence and that civil rights
91	will be restored thereafter, except for the right to own,
92	possess, or use firearms.
93	(6)  The Secretary of State shall develop and implement a
94	program to educate attorneys, judges, election officials,
95	corrections officials, including parole and probation officers,
96	and members of the public about the requirements of this
97	section, ensuring that:
98	(a)  Judges are informed of their obligation to notify
99	criminal defendants of the potential loss and restoration of
100	their civil rights as required by subsection (5).
101	(b)  Accurate and complete information about the civil
102	rights of people who have been charged with or convicted of
103	crimes, whether disenfranchising or not, is made available
104	through a single publication to government officials and the
105	public.
106	Section 4.  Subsection (1) of section 944.292, Florida
107	Statutes, is amended to read:
108	944.292  Suspension of civil rights.--
109	(1)  Upon conviction of a felony as defined in s. 10, Art.
110	X of the State Constitution, the civil rights of the person
111	convicted shall be suspended in Florida until such rights are
112	restored by a full pardon, conditional pardon, or restoration of
113	civil rights granted pursuant to s. 8, Art. IV of the State
114	Constitution or by restoration of civil rights pursuant to s.
115	944.294.
116	Section 5.  Section 944.293, Florida Statutes, is amended
117	to read:
118	944.293  Initiation of restoration of civil rights.--With
119	respect to those persons convicted of a felony, the following
120	procedure shall apply: Prior to the time an offender who has
121	committed an offense enumerated in s. 944.294(3) is discharged
122	from the custody, control, or supervision of the department, an
123	authorized agent of the department shall obtain from the
124	Governor the necessary application and other forms required for
125	the restoration of civil rights. The authorized agent shall
126	assist the offender in completing these forms and shall ensure
127	that the application and all necessary material are forwarded to
128	the Governor before the offender is discharged from supervision.
129	Section 6.  Present paragraph (g) of subsection (2) of
130	section 944.705, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph
131	(h), and a new paragraph (g) is added to that subsection to
132	read:
133	944.705  Release orientation program.--
134	(2)  The release orientation program instruction must
135	include, but is not limited to:
136	(g)  Restoration of civil rights.
137	Section 7.  This act shall take effect on the effective
138	date of House Joint Resolution 705 or another amendment to the
139	State Constitution which authorizes, or removes impediments to,
140	enactment of this act by the Legislature and shall apply
141	retroactively to all persons who are eligible for the
142	restoration of civil rights under its terms, regardless of
143	whether they were convicted or discharged from sentence prior to
144	its effective date.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.