HB 205

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to illegal or undocumented aliens;
3requiring the Department of Corrections and the Parole
4Commission to establish agreements to implement a federal
5deportation program for state inmates; specifying the
6goals of the program; amending s. 947.146, F.S., relating
7to the Control Release Authority; requiring the authority
8to implement a program to execute an immediate deportation
9order; authorizing the authority to extend or advance the
10control release date for arrangements for the transfer of
11custody pending deportation; creating s. 947.1461, F.S.,
12relating to control release for removal and deportation;
13requiring the department to identify eligible inmates at
14the reception process; specifying eligibility criteria;
15requiring the department to coordinate with federal
16authorities to determine immigration status and
17eligibility for removal; requiring the department to
18identify eligible inmates who waive administrative and
19appellate rights and who agree to cooperate; requiring the
20Control Release Authority to establish control release
21dates; authorizing the control release dates to be set
22after the alien has served a minimum 50 percent of his or
23her court-imposed sentence; requiring the department to
24maintain exclusive control and responsibility for the
25custody and transportation of an alien until the alien is
26transferred to federal custody; requiring the Control
27Release Authority to give notice to aliens concerning
28reentering the United States; prohibiting aliens from
29benefiting from control release awards when removal is not
30reasonably foreseeable; requiring the department to
31compile and report certain statistics; providing an
32effective date.
33
34Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
35
36     Section 1.  The Department of Corrections and the Parole
37Commission shall immediately initiate, coordinate, and establish
38agreements among multiple state, local, and federal authorities
39to implement the United States Immigration and Customs
40Enforcement Rapid Removal of Eligible Parolees Accepted for
41Transfer (REPAT) program. The goals of this effort shall be to:
42     (1)  Ensure that deportable aliens are not released from
43prison to the community;
44     (2)  Reduce the number of criminal aliens incarcerated in
45the state prison system;
46     (3)  Provide for the mandatory revocation of control
47release and the confinement of criminal aliens who reenter the
48United States;
49     (4)  Allow eligible inmates to be released for deportation
50purposes before the expiration of the sentence;
51     (5)  Expedite the deportation process; and
52     (6)  Improve information-sharing procedures between the
53Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United States
54Department of Homeland Security and the Department of
55Corrections.
56     Section 2.  Subsections (2), (5), and (7) of section
57947.146, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
58     947.146  Control Release Authority.-
59     (2)  The authority shall implement a system for determining
60the number and type of inmates who must be released into the
61community under control release in order to maintain the state
62prison system between 99 and 100 percent of its total capacity
63as defined in s. 944.023 or in order to execute an immediate
64deportation order from federal immigration authorities. An No
65inmate does not have has a right to control release. Control
66release is an administrative function solely used solely to
67manage the state prison population within total capacity and to
68expedite the deportation process. An inmate may not receive an
69advancement of his or her control release date by an award of
70control release allotments for any period of time before the
71date the inmate becomes statutorily eligible for control release
72or before the subsequent date of establishment of the inmate's
73advanceable control release date.
74     (5)  Whenever the inmate population drops below 99 percent
75of total capacity and remains below 99 percent for 90
76consecutive days without requiring the release of inmates under
77this section, all control release dates shall become void and an
78no inmate is not shall be eligible for release under any
79previously established control release date. However, control
80release dates for deportation purposes do not become void when
81the inmate population changes. An inmate does shall not have a
82right to a control release date, and nor shall the authority is
83not be required to establish or reestablish any additional
84control release dates except under the provisions of subsection
85(2).
86     (7)  The authority has the power and duty to:
87     (a)  Extend or advance the control release date of any
88inmate for whom a date has been established pursuant to
89subsection (2), based upon one or more of the following:
90     1.  Recently discovered information of:
91     a.  Past criminal conduct;
92     b.  Verified threats by inmates provided by victims, law
93enforcement, or the department;
94     c.  Potential risk to or vulnerability of a victim;
95     d.  Psychological or physical trauma to the victim due to
96the criminal offense;
97     e.  Court-ordered restitution;
98     f.  History of abuse or addiction to a chemical substance
99verified by a presentence or postsentence investigation report;
100     g.  The inmate's ties to organized crime;
101     h.  A change in the inmate's sentence structure;
102     i.  Cooperation with law enforcement;
103     j.  Strong community support; and
104     k.  A documented mental condition as a factor for future
105criminal behavior.
106     2.  The recommendation of the department regarding:
107     a.  A medical or mental health-related condition; or
108     b.  Institutional adjustment of the inmate, which may
109include refusal by the inmate to sign the agreement to the
110conditions of the release plan.
111     3.  Total capacity of the state prison system.
112     4.  Arrangements for the transfer of custody pending
113deportation.
114     (b)  Authorize an individual commissioner to postpone a
115control release date for not more than 60 days without a hearing
116for any inmate who has become the subject of a disciplinary
117proceeding, a criminal arrest, an information, or an indictment;
118who has been terminated from work release; or about whom there
119is any recently discovered information as specified in paragraph
120(a).
121     (c)  Determine the terms, conditions, and period of time of
122control release for persons released under pursuant to this
123section.
124     (d)  Determine violations of control release and what
125actions shall be taken with reference thereto.
126     (e)  Provide for victim input into the decisionmaking
127process which may be used by the authority as aggravation or
128mitigation in determining which persons shall be released on
129control release.
130     (f)  Make such investigations as may be necessary for the
131purposes of establishing, modifying, or revoking a control
132release date.
133     (g)  Contract with a public defender or private counsel for
134representation of indigent persons charged with violating the
135terms of control release.
136     (h)  Adopt such rules as the authority deems necessary to
137implement for implementation of the provisions of this section.
138     Section 3.  Section 947.1461, Florida Statutes, is created
139to read:
140     947.1461  Control release for removal and deportation
141only.-
142     (1)  The Department of Corrections shall begin during the
143inmate reception process a procedure to identify eligible aliens
144and determine if deportation is feasible and in the best
145interests of the state. Aliens who are ineligible for the
146federal deportation process under this section are inmates who
147are ineligible for control release under s. 947.146(3)(a)-(m).
148     (2)  The department shall coordinate with federal
149authorities to determine an inmate's immigration status and
150eligibility for removal and to obtain the final removal order.
151     (3)  The department shall identify aliens for removal who
152have voluntarily waived all administrative and judicial
153appellate rights in writing and who have agreed in writing to
154fully cooperate with federal authorities to obtain valid travel
155documentation and facilitate removal.
156     (4)  Upon acceptance into the federal deportation program,
157the Control Release Authority shall establish a control release
158date for the alien to be transferred into federal custody.
159Notwithstanding s. 944.275(4)(b)3., the Control Release
160Authority may establish a control release date after the alien
161has served a minimum of 50 percent of his or her court-imposed
162sentence.
163     (5)  The department shall maintain exclusive control and
164responsibility for the custody and transportation of an alien
165who is accepted into the federal deportation program until the
166alien is physically transferred to federal custody.
167     (6)  The Control Release Authority shall provide notice and
168obtain acknowledgement in writing that notice was given to each
169alien who is eligible for deportation that reentry into the
170United States requires the return of the alien to the custody of
171the department in order to complete the remainder of his or her
172court-imposed sentence. The alien must also waive in writing all
173rights of extradition which would challenge the alien's return
174to the department and Control Release Authority in order to
175complete the remainder of his or her sentence.
176     (7)  An alien may not under any circumstances receive the
177benefits of control release awards if the federal authorities
178determine that the alien's removal is not reasonably
179foreseeable.
180     (8)  The department shall compile statistics on this
181program, including the number of aliens who are transferred to
182federal custody, the number of aliens who are actually removed
183from the United States, the number of aliens who reenter the
184United States, and the annualized cost-avoidance achieved.
185     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.


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