Florida Senate - 2010 CS for SB 200
By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senators Baker and
Thrasher
591-01247-10 2010200c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to parole interview dates for certain
3 inmates; amending ss. 947.16, 947.174, and 947.1745,
4 F.S.; extending from 5 to 7 years the period between
5 parole interview dates for inmates convicted of
6 violating specified provisions or serving a mandatory
7 minimum sentence under a specified provision;
8 providing an effective date.
9
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12 Section 1. Paragraph (g) of subsection (4) of section
13 947.16, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
14 947.16 Eligibility for parole; initial parole interviews;
15 powers and duties of commission.—
16 (4) A person who has become eligible for an initial parole
17 interview and who may, according to the objective parole
18 guidelines of the commission, be granted parole shall be placed
19 on parole in accordance with the provisions of this law; except
20 that, in any case of a person convicted of murder, robbery,
21 burglary of a dwelling or burglary of a structure or conveyance
22 in which a human being is present, aggravated assault,
23 aggravated battery, kidnapping, sexual battery or attempted
24 sexual battery, incest or attempted incest, an unnatural and
25 lascivious act or an attempted unnatural and lascivious act,
26 lewd and lascivious behavior, assault or aggravated assault when
27 a sexual act is completed or attempted, battery or aggravated
28 battery when a sexual act is completed or attempted, arson, or
29 any felony involving the use of a firearm or other deadly weapon
30 or the use of intentional violence, at the time of sentencing
31 the judge may enter an order retaining jurisdiction over the
32 offender for review of a commission release order. This
33 jurisdiction of the trial court judge is limited to the first
34 one-third of the maximum sentence imposed. When any person is
35 convicted of two or more felonies and concurrent sentences are
36 imposed, then the jurisdiction of the trial court judge as
37 provided herein applies to the first one-third of the maximum
38 sentence imposed for the highest felony of which the person was
39 convicted. When any person is convicted of two or more felonies
40 and consecutive sentences are imposed, then the jurisdiction of
41 the trial court judge as provided herein applies to one-third of
42 the total consecutive sentences imposed.
43 (g) The decision of the original sentencing judge or, in
44 her or his absence, the chief judge of the circuit to vacate any
45 parole release order as provided in this section is not
46 appealable. Each inmate whose parole release order has been
47 vacated by the court shall be reinterviewed within 2 years after
48 the date of receipt of the vacated release order and every 2
49 years thereafter, or earlier by order of the court retaining
50 jurisdiction. However, each inmate whose parole release order
51 has been vacated by the court and who has been:
52 1. Convicted of murder or attempted murder;
53 2. Convicted of sexual battery or attempted sexual battery;
54 or
55 3. Sentenced to a 25-year minimum mandatory sentence
56 previously provided in s. 775.082,
57
58 shall be reinterviewed once within 7 5 years after the date of
59 receipt of the vacated release order and once every 7 5 years
60 thereafter, if the commission finds that it is not reasonable to
61 expect that parole would be granted during the following years
62 and states the bases for the finding in writing. For any inmate
63 who is within 7 years of his or her tentative release date, the
64 commission may establish a reinterview date prior to the 7-year
65 5-year schedule.
66 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
67 947.174, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
68 947.174 Subsequent interviews.—
69 (1)
70 (b) For any inmate convicted of murder, attempted murder,
71 sexual battery, or attempted sexual battery, or any inmate who
72 has been sentenced to a 25-year minimum mandatory sentence
73 previously provided in s. 775.082, and whose presumptive parole
74 release date is more than 7 5 years after the date of the
75 initial interview, a hearing examiner shall schedule an
76 interview for review of the presumptive parole release date. The
77 such interview shall take place once within 7 5 years after the
78 initial interview and once every 7 5 years thereafter if the
79 commission finds that it is not reasonable to expect that parole
80 will be granted at a hearing during the following years and
81 states the bases for the finding in writing. For any inmate who
82 is within 7 years of his or her tentative release date, the
83 commission may establish an interview date before prior to the
84 7-year 5-year schedule.
85 Section 3. Subsection (6) of section 947.1745, Florida
86 Statutes, is amended to read:
87 947.1745 Establishment of effective parole release date.—If
88 the inmate’s institutional conduct has been satisfactory, the
89 presumptive parole release date shall become the effective
90 parole release date as follows:
91 (6) Within 90 days before the effective parole release date
92 interview, the commission shall send written notice to the
93 sentencing judge of any inmate who has been scheduled for an
94 effective parole release date interview. If the sentencing judge
95 is no longer serving, the notice must be sent to the chief judge
96 of the circuit in which the offender was sentenced. The chief
97 judge may designate any circuit judge within the circuit to act
98 in the place of the sentencing judge. Within 30 days after
99 receipt of the commission’s notice, the sentencing judge, or the
100 designee, shall send to the commission notice of objection to
101 parole release, if the judge objects to such release. If there
102 is objection by the judge, such objection may constitute good
103 cause in exceptional circumstances as described in s. 947.173,
104 and the commission may schedule a subsequent review within 2
105 years, extending the presumptive parole release date beyond that
106 time. However, for an inmate who has been:
107 (a) Convicted of murder or attempted murder;
108 (b) Convicted of sexual battery or attempted sexual
109 battery; or
110 (c) Sentenced to a 25-year minimum mandatory sentence
111 previously provided in s. 775.082,
112
113 the commission may schedule a subsequent review under this
114 subsection once every 7 5 years, extending the presumptive
115 parole release date beyond that time if the commission finds
116 that it is not reasonable to expect that parole would be granted
117 at a review during the following years and states the bases for
118 the finding in writing. For any inmate who is within 7 years of
119 his or her release date, the commission may schedule a
120 subsequent review prior to the 7-year 5 year schedule. With any
121 subsequent review the same procedure outlined above will be
122 followed. If the judge remains silent with respect to parole
123 release, the commission may authorize an effective parole
124 release date. This subsection applies if the commission desires
125 to consider the establishment of an effective release date
126 without delivery of the effective parole release date interview.
127 Notice of the effective release date must be sent to the
128 sentencing judge, and either the judge’s response to the notice
129 must be received or the time period allowed for such response
130 must elapse before the commission may authorize an effective
131 release date.
132 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.