HB 1117

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 following completion of his or
6	her sentence of incarceration and community supervision;
7	providing that the restoration of civil rights does not
8	apply to the right to own, possess, or use firearms;
9	providing conditions for and exemptions from automatic
10	restoration; providing for education concerning the civil
11	rights of people who have felony convictions; amending ss.
12	944.292, 944.293, and 944.705, F.S., to conform; providing
13	applicability; providing a contingent effective date.
14
15	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17	Section 1.  Short title.--This act may be cited as the
18	"Restoration of Civil Rights Act."
19	Section 2.  Findings and purpose.--
20	(1)  FINDINGS.--The Legislature finds that:
21	(a)  The exercise of civil rights is a fundamental aspect
22	of citizenship. Among many things, restoring civil rights allows
23	former felons to participate in public service, serve on juries,
24	and pursue a chosen occupation.
25	(b)  Restoring civil rights helps felons who have completed
26	their sentences to reintegrate into society. Their opportunity
27	to fully participate in society reinforces their ties to the
28	community and may help to prevent recidivism.
29	(c)  Under current law, all persons convicted of felonies
30	permanently lose many civil rights unless they receive
31	discretionary executive clemency.
32	(d)  The restoration of civil rights through the clemency
33	process is cumbersome and costly and produces long delays. The
34	clemency process imposes administrative burdens on the state and
35	economic burdens on state taxpayers, and it should be reserved
36	for extraordinary cases. Streamlining the restoration process
37	for the majority of former offenders will advance administrative
38	efficiency, fiscal responsibility, fairness, and democracy.
39	(2)  PURPOSE.--The purposes of this act are to strengthen
40	democratic institutions by enabling felons who have completed
41	their sentences to become productive members of society, and to
42	streamline procedures for restoring civil rights.
43	Section 3.  Section 944.294, Florida Statutes, is created
44	to read:
45	944.294  Restoration of civil rights.--
46	(1)  A person who has been convicted of a felony, other
47	than those set forth in subsection (3), shall have those civil
48	rights that are lost as a consequence of a conviction of that
49	felony restored upon completion of his or her sentence. However,
50	this section does not apply to restoration of the right to own,
51	possess, or use firearms.
52	(2)  For purposes of this section, "completion of sentence"
53	occurs when a person is released from incarceration upon
54	expiration of his or her sentence and has completed all other
55	terms and conditions of the sentence or subsequent supervision
56	or, if the person has not been incarcerated for the felony
57	offense, has completed all terms and conditions of supervision
58	imposed on him or her.
59	(3)(a)  A person convicted of a crime defined by any of the
60	following statutes is ineligible for restoration of civil rights
61	under this section:
62	1.  Section 782.04, relating to murder.
63	2.  Section 782.07(3), relating to aggravated manslaughter
64	of a child.
65	3.  Section 794.011, relating to sexual battery.
66	4.  Section 796.03, relating to procuring a person under 18
67	for prostitution.
68	5.  Section 796.035, relating to selling or buying minors
69	into sex trafficking or prostitution.
70	6.  Section 826.04, relating to incest.
71	7.  Section 827.071, relating to sexual performance by a
72	child.
73	8.  Section 847.0145, relating to selling or buying minors.
74	(b)  A person convicted of treason or whose impeachment has
75	resulted in conviction, as referred to in s. 8, Art. IV of the
76	State Constitution, is ineligible for restoration of civil
77	rights under this section.
78	(4)  This section does not impair the ability of any person
79	convicted of a felony to apply for executive clemency under s.
80	8, Art. IV of the State Constitution.
81	(5)  A court shall, before accepting a plea of guilty or
82	nolo contendere to a felony without trial or, if a trial is
83	held, before imposing sentence for a felony, notify the
84	defendant as follows:
85	(a)  If the felony is described in subsection (3), that
86	conviction will result in permanent loss of civil rights unless
87	he or she receives executive clemency under s. 8, Art. IV of the
88	State Constitution.
89	(b)  If the felony is not described in subsection (3), that
90	conviction will result in loss of civil rights until the
91	defendant completes his or her sentence and that civil rights
92	will be restored thereafter, except for the right to own,
93	possess, or use firearms.
94	(6)  The Secretary of State shall develop and implement a
95	program to educate attorneys, judges, election officials,
96	corrections officials, including parole and probation officers,
97	and members of the public about the requirements of this
98	section, ensuring that:
99	(a)  Judges are informed of their obligation to notify
100	criminal defendants of the potential loss and restoration of
101	their civil rights as required by subsection (5).
102	(b)  Accurate and complete information about the civil
103	rights of people who have been charged with or convicted of
104	crimes, whether disenfranchising or not, is made available
105	through a single publication to government officials and the
106	public.
107	Section 4.  Subsection (1) of section 944.292, Florida
108	Statutes, is amended to read:
109	944.292  Suspension of civil rights.--
110	(1)  Upon conviction of a felony as defined in s. 10, Art.
111	X of the State Constitution, the civil rights of the person
112	convicted shall be suspended in Florida until such rights are
113	restored by a full pardon, conditional pardon, or restoration of
114	civil rights granted pursuant to s. 8, Art. IV of the State
115	Constitution or by restoration of civil rights pursuant to s.
116	944.294.
117	Section 5.  Section 944.293, Florida Statutes, is amended
118	to read:
119	944.293  Initiation of restoration of civil rights.--With
120	respect to those persons convicted of a felony, the following
121	procedure shall apply:  Prior to the time an offender who has
122	committed an offense enumerated in s. 944.294(3) is discharged
123	from the custody, control, or supervision of the department, an
124	authorized agent of the department shall obtain from the
125	Governor the necessary application and other forms required for
126	the restoration of civil rights. The authorized agent shall
127	assist the offender in completing these forms and shall ensure
128	that the application and all necessary material are forwarded to
129	the Governor before the offender is discharged from supervision.
130	Section 6.  Present paragraph (g) of subsection (2) of
131	section 944.705, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph
132	(h), and a new paragraph (g) is added to that subsection, to
133	read:
134	944.705  Release orientation program.--
135	(2)  The release orientation program instruction must
136	include, but is not limited to:
137	(g)  Restoration of civil rights.
138	Section 7.  This act shall take effect on the effective
139	date of House Joint Resolution 1115 or another amendment to the
140	State Constitution which authorizes, or removes impediments to,
141	enactment of this act by the Legislature and shall apply
142	retroactively to all persons who are eligible for the
143	restoration of civil rights under its terms, regardless of
144	whether they were convicted or discharged from sentence prior to
145	its effective date.

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