Florida Senate - 2008 CS for SB 1086

By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senators Bennett and Atwater

591-06410-08 20081086c1

1

A bill to be entitled

2

An act relating to illegal or undocumented aliens;

3

requiring the Department of Corrections and the Parole

4

Commission to establish agreements to implement a federal

5

deportation program for state inmates; specifying the

6

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

7

to the control release for removal and deportation;

8

requiring the department to identify eligible inmates at

9

the reception process; specifying eligibility criteria;

10

requiring the department to coordinate with federal

11

authorities to determine immigration status and

12

eligibility for removal; specifying that eligible inmates

13

waive administrative and appellate rights; requiring the

14

Control Release Authority to establish control release

15

dates; authorizing the control release dates to be set

16

after the alien has served a minimum 50 percent of his or

17

her court imposed sentence; requiring the Control Release

18

Authority to give notice to aliens concerning reentering

19

the United States; prohibiting aliens from benefiting from

20

control release awards when removal is not reasonably

21

foreseeable; requiring the department to compile and

22

report certain statistics; amending s. 947.146, F.S.,

23

relating to the Control Release Authority; requiring the

24

authority to implement a program to execute an immediate

25

deportation order; providing an effective date.

26

27

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

28

29

     Section 1. The Department of Corrections and the Parole

30

Commission shall immediately initiate, coordinate, and establish

31

agreements among multiple state, local, and federal authorities

32

to implement the United States Immigration and Customs

33

Enforcement Rapid Removal of Eligible Parolees Accepted for

34

Transfer (REPAT) program. The goals of this effort shall be to:

35

     (1) Ensure deportable aliens are not released from prison

36

to the community;

37

     (2) Reduce the number of criminal aliens incarcerated in

38

the state prison system;

39

     (3) Provide for the mandatory revocation of control release

40

and confinement of criminal aliens who reenter the United States

41

and who are rearrested in Florida;

42

     (4) Allow eligible inmates to be released for deportation

43

purposes prior to the expiration of the sentence;

44

     (5) Expedite the deportation process; and

45

     (6) Improve information-sharing procedures between the

46

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Section of the United States

47

Department of Homeland Security and the department.

48

     Section 2.  Section 947.1461, Florida Statutes, is created

49

to read:

50

     947.1461 Control release for removal and deportation

51

only.--

52

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

53

reception process a procedure to identify eligible aliens to

54

determine if deportation is feasible and in the best interests of

55

the state. Aliens who are ineligible for the federal deportation

56

process pursuant to this section are inmates who are ineligible

57

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

58

     (2) The Department of Corrections shall coordinate with the

59

federal authorities to determine immigration status and

60

eligibility for removal and to obtain the final removal order.

61

     (3) The Department of Corrections shall identify aliens for

62

removal who have voluntarily waived all administrative and

63

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

64

writing to fully cooperate with federal authorities to obtain

65

valid travel documentation and facilitate removal.

66

     (4) Upon acceptance into the federal deportation program,

67

the Control Release Authority shall establish a control release

68

date for the alien to be transferred into federal custody.

69

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

70

Release Authority may establish a control release date after the

71

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

72

imposed sentence.

73

     (5) The Department of Corrections shall maintain exclusive

74

control and responsibility for the custody and transportation of

75

aliens to and from federal facilities.

76

     (6) The Control Release Authority shall provide notice and

77

obtain acknowledgement in writing that notice was given to aliens

78

eligible for deportation that illegal reentry into the United

79

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

80

Department of Corrections to complete the remainder of their

81

court-imposed sentence. The alien must also waive in writing any

82

and all rights of extradition which would challenge the alien's

83

return to the Department of Corrections and Control Release

84

Authority to complete the remainder of his or her sentence.

85

     (7) Under no circumstances shall an alien receive the

86

benefits of control release awards when the federal authorities

87

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

88

     (8) The Department of Corrections shall compile statistics

89

on this program, including the number of aliens who are

90

transferred to federal custody, the number of aliens who are

91

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

92

reenter the United States, and the annualized cost-avoidance

93

achieved.

94

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

95

947.146, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

96

     947.146  Control Release Authority.--

97

     (2)  The authority shall implement a system for determining

98

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

99

community under control release in order to maintain the state

100

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

101

defined in s. 944.023 or to execute an immediate deportation

102

order from federal immigration authorities. No inmate has a right

103

to control release. Control release is an administrative function

104

solely used to manage the state prison population within total

105

capacity and to expedite the deportation process. An inmate may

106

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

107

an award of control release allotments for any period of time

108

before the date the inmate becomes statutorily eligible for

109

control release or before the subsequent date of establishment of

110

the inmate's advanceable control release date.

111

     (5)  Whenever the inmate population drops below 99 percent

112

of total capacity and remains below 99 percent for 90 consecutive

113

days without requiring the release of inmates under this section,

114

all control release dates shall become void and no inmate shall

115

be eligible for release under any previously established control

116

release date. However, control release dates for deportation

117

purposes shall not become void when the inmate population

118

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

119

date, nor shall the authority be required to establish or

120

reestablish any additional control release dates except under the

121

provisions of subsection (2).

122

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

123

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

124

inmate for whom a date has been established pursuant to

125

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

126

     1.  Recently discovered information of:

127

     a.  Past criminal conduct;

128

     b.  Verified threats by inmates provided by victims, law

129

enforcement, or the department;

130

     c.  Potential risk to or vulnerability of a victim;

131

     d.  Psychological or physical trauma to the victim due to

132

the criminal offense;

133

     e.  Court-ordered restitution;

134

     f.  History of abuse or addiction to a chemical substance

135

verified by a presentence or postsentence investigation report;

136

     g.  The inmate's ties to organized crime;

137

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

138

     i.  Cooperation with law enforcement;

139

     j.  Strong community support; and

140

     k.  A documented mental condition as a factor for future

141

criminal behavior.

142

     2.  The recommendation of the department regarding:

143

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

144

     b.  Institutional adjustment of the inmate, which may

145

include refusal by the inmate to sign the agreement to the

146

conditions of the release plan.

147

     3.  Total capacity of the state prison system.

148

     4. Arrangements for the transfer of custody pending

149

deportation.

150

     (b)  Authorize an individual commissioner to postpone a

151

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

152

for any inmate who has become the subject of a disciplinary

153

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

154

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

155

any recently discovered information as specified in paragraph

156

(a).

157

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

158

control release for persons released pursuant to this section.

159

     (d)  Determine violations of control release and what

160

actions shall be taken with reference thereto.

161

     (e)  Provide for victim input into the decisionmaking

162

process which may be used by the authority as aggravation or

163

mitigation in determining which persons shall be released on

164

control release.

165

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

166

purposes of establishing, modifying, or revoking a control

167

release date.

168

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

169

representation of indigent persons charged with violating the

170

terms of control release.

171

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

172

implementation of the provisions of this section.

173

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

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