Florida Senate - 2013 SB 880
By Senator Ring
29-00945A-13 2013880__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to offender reentry programs; creating
3 s. 397.755, F.S.; directing the Department of
4 Corrections to create a reentry program; providing
5 eligibility criteria for the program; requiring a
6 recommendation for reentry at the time of sentencing
7 in order for the offender to participate in the
8 program; clarifying that the sentencing court is not
9 required to recommend reentry; requiring the
10 department to place the offender into the in-prison
11 treatment component at a specified time; directing the
12 department to prepare a postrelease treatment plan;
13 requiring that the offender be examined by the
14 appropriate personnel in the case of medical or other
15 problems; providing that an offender in the in-prison
16 component is subject to the rules of conduct
17 established by the department and may have sanctions
18 imposed, including loss of privileges and protective
19 confinement; providing requirements before
20 transitioning the offender into the community;
21 requiring the offender to abide by the order of
22 supervision and the rules of the department; providing
23 that violation of any condition or order may result in
24 imposition of any authorized sentenced by the court;
25 providing that the offender’s case will be transferred
26 to drug court, if applicable; providing that the
27 department is responsible for collecting the cost of
28 supervision from the offender, including court costs
29 and fines; authorizing the department to develop
30 performance-based contracts to supply services to the
31 program; permitting the department to establish a
32 system of incentives in the program to promote
33 participation in reentry programs; providing that the
34 section does not confer any right to placement in the
35 reentry program; directing the department to track
36 recidivism and recommitment of offenders who have
37 participated in the program; requiring an annual
38 report to the Governor and Legislature; authorizing
39 rulemaking; providing an effective date.
40
41 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
42
43 Section 1. Section 397.755, Florida Statutes, is created to
44 read:
45 397.755 Offender reentry programs.—
46 (1) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.—The department shall develop and
47 administer a reentry program for offenders. The program must
48 provide a mechanism by which an eligible, nonviolent, low-risk
49 offender who poses a minimal foreseeable risk to the public and
50 for whom the reentry program has been ordered as part of his or
51 her sentence may be transitioned into the community during the
52 last year of the sentence. The reentry program must consist of
53 an in-prison treatment component for substance abuse or mental
54 health or co-occurring disorders for a minimum of 90 days and a
55 community-based aftercare treatment program. The reentry program
56 must be specifically designed to be intensive and may have a
57 work-release component as part of the program. The in-prison
58 treatment component may be operated in secure areas in or
59 adjacent to an adult institution, a community residential
60 facility, or a work-release center.
61 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—For the offender to participate in the
62 reentry program, the sentencing court must order the reentry
63 program and conditional drug offender probation at sentencing to
64 alert the department of the offender’s eligibility.
65 (a) An offender is eligible for admission to the program
66 if:
67 1. The primary offense is a felony of the third degree or
68 second degree for a purchase of a controlled substance;
69 2. The offender has never been convicted of:
70 a. A forcible felony as defined in s. 776.08;
71 b. An offense listed in s. 775.082(9)(a), without regard to
72 prior incarceration or release;
73 c. An offense described in chapter 847 involving a minor or
74 a depiction of a minor;
75 d. An offense described in chapter 827;
76 e. An offense described in s. 784.07, s. 784.074, s.
77 784.075, s. 784.076, s. 784.08, s. 784.083, or s. 784.085;
78 f. An offense involving the possession or use of a firearm;
79 g. A capital felony or a felony of the first or second
80 degree; or
81 h. An offense that requires a person to register as a
82 sexual offender pursuant to s. 943.0435;
83 3. The offender is not the subject of a domestic violence
84 injunction currently in force;
85 4. The offender is in need of substance abuse or mental
86 health treatment services; and
87 5. The department has placed the offender in minimum or
88 community custody status.
89 (b) Placement on drug offender probation shall be
90 conditioned upon the offender’s successful completion of the in
91 prison treatment component.
92 (3) ADMISSION INTO PROGRAM.—If an offender meets the
93 criteria for program admission under subsection (2), the
94 sentencing court may order the reentry program at the time of
95 sentencing. Admission into the reentry program is not a right;
96 accordingly, the sentencing court is not required to sentence an
97 offender to the reentry program.
98 (4) PROCEDURE UPON ADMISSION TO PROGRAM; IN-PRISON
99 TREATMENT.—If the sentencing court orders the offender into the
100 reentry program, the department shall place the offender into
101 the in-prison treatment component no later than 120 days before
102 the beginning of the last year of the offender’s sentence,
103 including any gain-time accrued.
104 (a) Before the offender completes the in-prison treatment
105 component, the department shall evaluate the offender’s needs
106 for community placement and develop a postrelease treatment plan
107 that includes aftercare substance abuse or mental health
108 services.
109 (b) If, at any time after placement in the reentry program,
110 the offender appears unable to participate due to medical or
111 other causes, he or she must be examined by qualified medical
112 personnel or qualified nonmedical personnel appropriate for the
113 offender’s situation, as determined by the department. The
114 qualified personnel shall consult with the director of the
115 reentry program, and the director shall determine if the
116 offender may continue with treatment or be discharged from the
117 reentry program.
118 (c) An offender in the in-prison treatment component of the
119 reentry program is subject to the rules of conduct established
120 by the department and may have sanctions imposed, including loss
121 of privileges, restrictions, disciplinary confinement,
122 forfeiture of gain-time or the right to earn gain-time in the
123 future, alteration of release plans, termination from the
124 reentry program, and other program modifications, in keeping
125 with the nature and gravity of the program violation. The
126 department may place an offender in the reentry program in an
127 administrative or protective confinement, as necessary.
128 (5) PROCEDURE UPON COMPLETION OF IN-PRISON TREATMENT.
129 Following successful completion of the in-prison treatment
130 component, the offender shall be transitioned into the community
131 on drug offender probation for the last year of his or her
132 sentence.
133 (a) While in the community, the offender is subject to all
134 standard terms of drug offender probation under s. 948.20, any
135 special conditions of supervision ordered by the sentencing
136 court, including participation in an aftercare substance abuse
137 or mental health program, residence in a postrelease
138 transitional halfway house, or any other appropriate form of
139 supervision or treatment.
140 (b) Violation of any condition or order may result in
141 revocation or supervision by the court and imposition of any
142 sentence that is authorized by law, subject to time served in
143 prison.
144 (c) If there is a drug court in the county of the
145 sentencing court, or the county to which the offender returns,
146 and the drug court is willing to accept the case, the offender’s
147 case shall be transferred to the drug court for supervision for
148 the last year of his or her sentence. The drug court judge shall
149 be deemed the sentencing judge for purposes of ensuring
150 compliance with this section.
151 (d) While on drug offender probation, the department shall
152 collect from the offender the cost of supervision as provided in
153 s. 948.09. An offender who is financially able shall also pay
154 all costs of his or her drug rehabilitation. The sentencing
155 judge may impose on the offender additional conditions requiring
156 payment of courts costs and fines, public service, and
157 compliance with other court-ordered special conditions.
158 (6) DEPARTMENT DUTIES.—The department shall, within
159 available resources, administer the reentry program to the
160 fullest extent feasible within the provisions of this section.
161 (7) CONTRACTORS.—The department may develop and enter into
162 performance-based contracts with qualified individuals,
163 agencies, or corporations to supply any services provided in the
164 reentry program. However, a contract may not be executed or
165 renewed unless the contract offers substantial savings to the
166 department. The department may establish a system of incentives
167 within the reentry program to promote participation by private
168 sector employers in the reentry programs and in the orderly
169 operation of institutions and facilities.
170 (8) NO RIGHTS CONFERRED UPON OFFENDERS.—This section does
171 not create or confer any right to any offender to placement in
172 the reentry program or any right to early release under
173 supervision of any type. An offender does not have a cause of
174 action against the department, a court, the state attorney, or a
175 victim related to the reentry program.
176 (9) REPORTING.—The department shall develop a computerized
177 system to track recidivism and recommitment of offenders who
178 have participated in the reentry program. Beginning October 1,
179 2014, and no later than October 1 of each year thereafter, the
180 department shall submit an annual report of the results of the
181 collected data to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and
182 the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
183 (10) RULEMAKING.—The department may adopt rules pursuant to
184 ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer the provisions of this
185 section.
186 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.