Florida Senate - 2017 CS for SB 458
By the Committee on Appropriations; and Senators Brandes and
Rouson
576-03495-17 2017458c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Florida Criminal Justice Reform
3 Task Force; creating the task force within the
4 legislative branch; specifying membership of the task
5 force; establishing the manner of appointments and the
6 terms of membership; prescribing duties of the task
7 force; specifying requirements for meetings of the
8 task force; requiring the task force to submit a
9 report to the Legislature by a specified date;
10 providing for staffing; specifying public records and
11 public meetings requirements applicable to the task
12 force; authorizing reimbursement for per diem and
13 travel expenses; providing for expiration; providing
14 an effective date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Florida Criminal Justice Reform Task Force.—The
19 Florida Criminal Justice Reform Task Force is created within the
20 legislative branch of state government for the purpose of
21 conducting a comprehensive review of the state’s criminal
22 justice system, court system, and corrections system.
23 (1) MEMBERSHIP.—The task force is composed of 28 members,
24 as follows:
25 (a) Two members of the Senate, appointed by the President
26 of the Senate, not including any member designated pursuant to
27 paragraph (k).
28 (b) Two members of the House of Representatives, appointed
29 by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, not including
30 any member designated pursuant to paragraph (k).
31 (c) Two circuit judges, one of whom must have presided over
32 a mental health court or drug court, appointed by the chair of
33 the Conference of Circuit Judges of Florida.
34 (d) Two county court judges, appointed by the chair of the
35 Conference of County Court Judges of Florida.
36 (e) A justice of the Supreme Court or judge of a district
37 court of appeal, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme
38 Court.
39 (f) A representative of the Florida State University
40 Project on Accountable Justice, appointed by the chair of the
41 organization’s executive board.
42 (g) A representative from a victim’s advocacy group,
43 appointed by the Governor from a list of three nominees
44 recommended by the chairs of the committees in the Senate and
45 the House of Representatives with jurisdiction over criminal
46 justice matters.
47 (h) Two county commissioners, appointed by the Florida
48 Association of Counties.
49 (i) A formerly incarcerated individual who has demonstrated
50 exceptional commitment to rehabilitation and community
51 improvement, appointed by the Governor from a list of three
52 nominees jointly recommended by the chairs of the committees in
53 the Senate and House of Representatives with jurisdiction over
54 criminal justice matters.
55 (j) Two representatives of the faith community, either
56 clergy or employees of faith-based policy organizations,
57 appointed by the Governor from a list of three nominees jointly
58 recommended by the chairs of the committees in the Senate and
59 the House of Representatives with jurisdiction over criminal
60 justice matters.
61 (k) The chairs of the committees of the Senate and House of
62 Representatives with jurisdiction over criminal justice matters,
63 or their designees.
64 (l) Two designees of the Executive Office of the Governor
65 with demonstrated knowledge in the criminal justice field.
66 (m) The Attorney General or his or her designee.
67 (n) The Secretary of Corrections or his or her designee.
68 (o) The Secretary of Juvenile Justice or his or her
69 designee.
70 (p) The president of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys
71 Association or his or her designee.
72 (q) The president of the Florida Public Defender
73 Association or his or her designee.
74 (r) The president of the Florida Association of Criminal
75 Defense Lawyers or his or her designee.
76 (s) The president of the Florida Sheriffs Association or
77 his or her designee.
78 (t) The president of the Florida Police Chiefs Association
79 or his or her designee.
80 (2) TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP.—Appointments to the task force
81 shall be made within 30 days of the effective date of this act.
82 For appointments that are selected from a list of nominees
83 jointly recommended by the chairs of the committees of the
84 Senate and the House of Representatives with jurisdiction over
85 criminal justice matters, the respective chairs shall submit the
86 names of nominees to the Governor within 15 days of the
87 effective date of this act. All members shall serve for the
88 duration of the task force. Any vacancy shall be filled by the
89 original appointing authority for the remainder of the task
90 force. The task force membership must reflect the racial,
91 gender, geographic, and economic diversity of the state, as well
92 as the diversity and demographics of the state’s prison
93 population. Individuals employed by or under contract with an
94 entity that contracts with the state or local governments to
95 provide corrections, mental health, substance abuse, reentry, or
96 similar criminal justice-related services are not eligible for
97 membership on the task force. Representatives from trade
98 associations, professional groups, or other organizations whose
99 membership or board consists of entities that provide
100 corrections, mental health, substance abuse, reentry, or similar
101 criminal justice-related services are not eligible for
102 membership on the task force. Any member may be removed by the
103 Governor for misfeasance, malfeasance, or willful neglect of
104 duty.
105 (3) DUTIES.—
106 (a) The task force is authorized and directed to study,
107 evaluate, analyze, and undertake a comprehensive review of the
108 state’s adult criminal justice system, using a data-driven
109 approach, to develop sentencing and corrections policy
110 recommendations for proposed legislation that will accomplish
111 the following goals:
112 1. Reduce correctional populations and associated
113 correctional spending by focusing prison capacity on serious
114 offenses and violent criminals.
115 2. Hold offenders accountable more efficiently by
116 implementing or expanding research-based supervision and
117 sentencing practices.
118 3. Reinvest savings into strategies shown to decrease
119 recidivism, including reentry outcomes.
120 (b) The task force shall request technical assistance from
121 nongovernmental research groups, including, but not limited to,
122 the Justice Reinvestment Initiative. The Department of
123 Corrections, the Department of Law Enforcement, the Office of
124 the State Courts Administrator, the Department of Juvenile
125 Justice, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
126 Accountability, and any other state agency or department shall
127 provide assistance, data, and other information to the task
128 force upon request.
129 (4) MEETINGS.—The task force shall hold its first meeting
130 within 60 days of the effective date of this act, upon the call
131 of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
132 Representatives. At the first meeting, the task force shall
133 elect a chair and any other offices as it deems necessary from
134 among its membership. The task force shall hold a minimum of
135 four regular meetings. The task force shall meet upon the call
136 of the chair or a request of a majority of the membership. A
137 majority of the membership of the task force constitutes a
138 quorum. All members must be notified in writing of all meetings
139 at least 5 days before the date on which a meeting of the task
140 force is scheduled. However, an emergency meeting may be held
141 without the 5 days’ written notice if the meeting is scheduled
142 at the request of the entire membership.
143 (5) REPORT.—The task force shall submit a report of its
144 findings, conclusions, and recommendations for proposed
145 legislation to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of
146 the House of Representatives by the date of convening of the
147 2018 Regular Session of the Legislature. Upon submission of the
148 report, the task force is dissolved and discharged of further
149 duties.
150 (6) STAFFING.—The President of the Senate and the Speaker
151 of the House of Representatives shall appoint an executive
152 director and are authorized to assign legislative staff to
153 provide support for the task force.
154 (7) PUBLIC RECORDS AND PUBLIC MEETINGS.—The task force is
155 subject to policies governing public records disclosure
156 prescribed in the joint rules of the Senate and the House of
157 Representatives. All meetings of the task force must be open to
158 the public, and regularly scheduled meetings must be publicly
159 noticed at least 5 days before the date of the meeting. The task
160 force shall maintain records of its meetings.
161 (8) PER DIEM AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Task force members shall
162 serve without compensation but are entitled to receive
163 reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses as provided in s.
164 112.061, Florida Statutes.
165 (9) EXPIRATION.—This section expires January 31, 2018.
166 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.