Florida Senate - 2008 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

Bill No. SB 1086

841572

CHAMBER ACTION

Senate

Comm: RCS

4/1/2008

.

.

.

.

.

House



1

The Committee on Criminal Justice (Bennett) recommended the

2

following amendment:

3

4

     Senate Amendment (with title amendment)

5

     Delete everything after the enacting clause

6

and insert:

7

     Section 1. The Department of Corrections and the Parole

8

Commission shall immediately initiate, coordinate and establish

9

agreements with multiple state, local, and federal authorities to

10

implement the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement

11

Rapid Removal of Eligible Parolees Accepted for Transfer (REPAT)

12

program. The goals of this effort shall be to:

13

     (a) Ensure deportable aliens are not released from prison

14

to the community;

15

     (b) Reduce the number of criminal aliens incarcerated in

16

the state prison system;

17

     (c) Provide for the mandatory revocation of control release

18

and confinement of criminal aliens who re-enter the United States

19

and who are re-arrested in Florida;

20

     (d) Allow eligible inmates to be released for deportation

21

purposes prior to the expiration of the sentence;

22

     (e) Expedite the deportation process, and

23

     (f_) Improve information sharing procedures between the

24

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Section of the United States

25

Department of Homeland Security and the department.

26

     Section 2.  Section 947.1461, Florida Statutes, is created

27

to read:

28

     947.1461 Control release for removal and deportation

29

only.--

30

     (1) The Department of Corrections shall begin at the inmate

31

reception process a procedure to identify eligible aliens to

32

determine if deportation is feasible and in the best interests of

33

the State of Florida. Aliens who are ineligible for the federal

34

deportation process pursuant to this section are inmates who are

35

ineligible for control release pursuant to s. 947.146(3)(a)-(m).

36

     (2) The Department of Corrections shall coordinate with the

37

federal authorities to determine immigration status and

38

removability and to obtain the final removal order.

39

     (3) The Department of Corrections shall only identify

40

aliens for removal who have voluntarily waived all administrative

41

and judicial appellate rights in writing, and if the alien agrees

42

in writing to fully cooperate with federal authorities to obtain

43

valid travel documentation and facilitate removal.

44

     (4) Upon acceptance into the federal deportation program,

45

the Control Release Authority shall establish a control release

46

date for the alien to be transferred into federal custody.

47

Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 944.275(4)(b)3., the Control

48

Release Authority may establish a control release date after the

49

alien has served a minimum of 50 percent of his or her court

50

imposed sentence.

51

     (5) The Department of Corrections shall maintain exclusive

52

control and responsibility for the custody and transportation of

53

aliens to and from federal facilities.

54

     (6) The Control Release Authority shall provide notice and

55

obtain acknowledgement in writing that notice was given to aliens

56

eligible for deportation that illegal re-entry into the United

57

States requires the return of such aliens to the custody of the

58

State of Florida to complete the remainder of their court imposed

59

sentence. The alien must also waive in writing any and all rights

60

of extradition which would challenge the alien's return to the

61

Department of Corrections and Control Release Authority to

62

complete the remainder of their sentence.

63

     (7) Under no circumstances shall an alien receive the

64

benefits of control release awards when the federal authorities

65

determine that the alien's removal is not reasonably foreseeable.

66

     (8) The Department of Corrections shall compile statistics

67

on this program including: the number of aliens who are

68

transferred to federal custody; the number of aliens who are

69

actually removed from the United States; the number of aliens who

70

re-enter the United States; and the annualized cost avoidance

71

achieved.

72

     Section 3.  Subsections (2), (5), and (7) of section

73

947.146, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

74

     947.146  Control Release Authority.--

75

     (2)  The authority shall implement a system for determining

76

the number and type of inmates who must be released into the

77

community under control release in order to maintain the state

78

prison system between 99 and 100 percent of its total capacity as

79

defined in s. 944.023 or to execute an immediate deportation

80

order from federal immigration authorities. No inmate has a right

81

to control release. Control release is an administrative function

82

solely used to manage the state prison population within total

83

capacity and to expedite the deportation process. An inmate may

84

not receive an advancement of his or her control release date by

85

an award of control release allotments for any period of time

86

before the date the inmate becomes statutorily eligible for

87

control release or before the subsequent date of establishment of

88

the inmate's advanceable control release date.

89

     (5)  Whenever the inmate population drops below 99 percent

90

of total capacity and remains below 99 percent for 90 consecutive

91

days without requiring the release of inmates under this section,

92

all control release dates shall become void and no inmate shall

93

be eligible for release under any previously established control

94

release date. However, control release dates for deportation

95

purposes shall not become void when the inmate population

96

changes. An inmate shall not have a right to a control release

97

date, nor shall the authority be required to establish or

98

reestablish any additional control release dates except under the

99

provisions of subsection (2).

100

     (7)  The authority has the power and duty to:

101

     (a)  Extend or advance the control release date of any

102

inmate for whom a date has been established pursuant to

103

subsection (2), based upon one or more of the following:

104

     1.  Recently discovered information of:

105

     a.  Past criminal conduct;

106

     b.  Verified threats by inmates provided by victims, law

107

enforcement, or the department;

108

     c.  Potential risk to or vulnerability of a victim;

109

     d.  Psychological or physical trauma to the victim due to

110

the criminal offense;

111

     e.  Court-ordered restitution;

112

     f.  History of abuse or addiction to a chemical substance

113

verified by a presentence or postsentence investigation report;

114

     g.  The inmate's ties to organized crime;

115

     h.  A change in the inmate's sentence structure;

116

     i.  Cooperation with law enforcement;

117

     j.  Strong community support; and

118

     k.  A documented mental condition as a factor for future

119

criminal behavior.

120

     2.  The recommendation of the department regarding:

121

     a.  A medical or mental health-related condition; or

122

     b.  Institutional adjustment of the inmate, which may

123

include refusal by the inmate to sign the agreement to the

124

conditions of the release plan.

125

     3.  Total capacity of the state prison system.

126

     4. Arrangements for the transfer of custody pending

127

deportation.

128

     (b)  Authorize an individual commissioner to postpone a

129

control release date for not more than 60 days without a hearing

130

for any inmate who has become the subject of a disciplinary

131

proceeding, a criminal arrest, an information, or an indictment;

132

who has been terminated from work release; or about whom there is

133

any recently discovered information as specified in paragraph

134

(a).

135

     (c)  Determine the terms, conditions, and period of time of

136

control release for persons released pursuant to this section.

137

     (d)  Determine violations of control release and what

138

actions shall be taken with reference thereto.

139

     (e)  Provide for victim input into the decisionmaking

140

process which may be used by the authority as aggravation or

141

mitigation in determining which persons shall be released on

142

control release.

143

     (f)  Make such investigations as may be necessary for the

144

purposes of establishing, modifying, or revoking a control

145

release date.

146

     (g)  Contract with a public defender or private counsel for

147

representation of indigent persons charged with violating the

148

terms of control release.

149

     (h)  Adopt such rules as the authority deems necessary for

150

implementation of the provisions of this section.

151

     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

152

153

================ T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================

154

And the title is amended as follows:

155

     Delete everything before the enacting clause

156

and insert:

157

A bill to be entitled

158

An act relating to illegal or undocumented aliens;

159

requiring the Department of Corrections and the Parole

160

Commission to establish agreements to implement a federal

161

deportation program for state inmates; specifying the

162

goals of the program; creating s. 947.1461, F.S. relating

163

to the control release for removal and deportation;

164

requiring the department to identify eligible inmates at

165

the reception process; specifying eligibility criteria;

166

requiring the department to coordinate with federal

167

authorities to determine immigration status and

168

removability; specifying that eligible inmates waive

169

administrative and appellate rights and to cooperate in

170

obtaining travel documentation; requiring the Control

171

Release Authority to establish control release dates;

172

allowing for the control release dates to be set after the

173

alien has served a minimum 50% of his or her court imposed

174

sentence; requiring the Control Release Authority to give

175

notice to aliens concerning re-entering the United States;

176

prohibiting aliens from benefiting from control release

177

awards when removal is not reasonably foreseeable;

178

requiring the department to compile and report certain

179

statistics; amending s. 947.146, F.S. relating to the

180

Control Release Authority; requiring the Authority to

181

implement a program to execute an immediate deportation

182

order; providing an effective date.

3/28/2008  1:46:00 PM     CJ.CJ.05418

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