Florida Senate - 2010                                     SB 494
       
       
       
       By Senator Smith
       
       
       
       
       29-00556-10                                            2010494__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to pretrial detention and release;
    3         amending s. 907.041, F.S.; requiring all pretrial
    4         release programs established by ordinance of a county
    5         commission or by administrative order of a court to
    6         facilitate the release of defendants from pretrial
    7         custody to conform to the policies and restrictions
    8         established in the act; requiring that the defendant
    9         meet certain specified criteria in order to be
   10         eligible for pretrial release; requiring that the
   11         pretrial release program certify in writing that the
   12         defendant satisfies each requirement for eligibility;
   13         requiring the court to determine whether a defendant
   14         is eligible to participate in the pretrial release
   15         program after reviewing certain reports; requiring
   16         that the pretrial release program notify each
   17         defendant of the time and place of each required court
   18         appearance; providing for a pretrial release program
   19         to supervise a released defendant only upon a finding
   20         by the court that supervision is necessary;
   21         prohibiting the assessment of any fee or charge
   22         against a released defendant other than those
   23         authorized by law; providing an effective date.
   24  
   25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   26  
   27         Section 1. Subsection (5) is added to section 907.041,
   28  Florida Statutes, to read:
   29         907.041 Pretrial detention and release.—
   30         (5)(a) PRETRIAL RELEASE PROGRAMS.—A pretrial release
   31  program established by ordinance of the county commission or by
   32  administrative order of the court enacted or established to
   33  facilitate the release of defendants from pretrial custody is
   34  subject to the policies and restrictions established in this
   35  subsection.
   36         (b) A defendant is eligible to participate in a pretrial
   37  release program only if the defendant:
   38         1. Is charged with a misdemeanor or a nonviolent felony;
   39         2. Has no history of failing to appear at any court
   40  proceeding;
   41         3. Is not, at the time of the arrest, subject to or on
   42  probation for another charge and is not facing charges for
   43  another crime anywhere in this state;
   44         4. Has no prior convictions involving violence. For
   45  purposes of this subparagraph with respect to any prior
   46  conviction, if adjudication was withheld by the sentencing
   47  court, the withheld adjudication is deemed a conviction;
   48         5. Satisfies any other limitation upon eligibility for
   49  release which is in addition to those in this subsection,
   50  whether established by the board of county commissioners or the
   51  court; and
   52         6. Is indigent as defined in Rule 3.111, Florida Rules of
   53  Criminal Procedure.
   54         (c) The pretrial release program must certify in writing to
   55  the court that the defendant satisfies each requirement of
   56  eligibility which is set forth in paragraph (b) before a
   57  determination is made concerning the defendant’s eligibility for
   58  placement in the pretrial release program.
   59         (d) If a defendant seeks to post a surety bond pursuant to
   60  a bond schedule established by the administrative order, he or
   61  she must do so without any interaction with, or restriction by,
   62  the pretrial release program.
   63         (e) The court shall determine whether the defendant is
   64  eligible to participate in the pretrial release program after
   65  the pretrial release program evaluates the defendant’s
   66  eligibility and reports its findings to the court.
   67         (f) The pretrial release program shall notify every
   68  defendant released under this subsection of the times and places
   69  at which he or she is required to appear before the court.
   70         (g) A defendant who is released pursuant to a pretrial
   71  release program may be supervised only upon a finding by the
   72  court that supervision is necessary, and in such case, the
   73  defendant must be supervised by a correctional probation officer
   74  as defined in s. 943.10.
   75         (h) A defendant who is released pursuant to a pretrial
   76  release program may not be assessed any fee or charge other than
   77  those authorized by law.
   78         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.