Florida Senate - 2008 SENATOR AMENDMENT

Bill No. CS/CS/CS/SB 756, 1st Eng.

029444

CHAMBER ACTION

Senate

Floor: WD/3R

4/23/2008 10:36 AM

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House



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Senator Siplin moved the following amendment:

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     Senate Amendment (with title amendment)

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     Delete line(s) 415 and 416,

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and insert:

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     Section 8. The Legislature finds that creating a program to

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compensate, using state funds, individuals who are wrongfully

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incarcerated serves an important public purpose. The Legislature

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further finds, however, that using solely state funds to provide

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the compensation may not be equitable or fiscally responsible if

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the wrongful incarceration results, in whole or in part, from

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misconduct, abuse of discretion, or gross negligence on the part

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of law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, or others in the

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criminal justice system. In those cases, the Legislature finds

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that consideration should be given to a policy of having costs of

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compensation shared with or fully borne by those whose

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misconduct, abuse of discretion, or gross negligence resulted in

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the wrongful incarceration. To that end, the Legislature shall

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monitor and study implementation of the Victims of Wrongful

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Incarceration Compensation Act to evaluate, based on, among other

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things, the records available from each case funded under the act

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and the application materials, the extent to which payments made

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under the act result from misconduct, abuse of discretion, or

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gross negligence on the part of officials in the criminal justice

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system. The study shall explore the feasibility of, and legal

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issues related to, revising the Victims of Wrongful Incarceration

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Compensation Act in a manner that provides for the costs of

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compensation to be shared with or borne by those officials in

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their individual capacities. At a minimum, the study shall

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consider whether civil remedies are available or could be created

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which the wrongfully incarcerated person could pursue before

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seeking compensation under the act or after being awarded

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compensation, with the state having a right to share in any

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recovery in order to recoup state expenditures. The Legislature

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shall complete the study before January 1, 2011.

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(Redesignate subsequent sections.)

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

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And the title is amended as follows:

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     On line 51, after the semicolon

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and insert:

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providing legislative findings; providing for a study of

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implementation of the act and the feasibility of sharing

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program costs with certain officials in the criminal

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justice system;

4/22/2008  4:44:00 PM     JU.19.08415

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