Florida Senate - 2019 SB 534
By Senator Brandes
24-00752-19 2019534__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to pretrial release; creating s.
3 907.042, F.S.; providing legislative findings;
4 authorizing each county to establish a supervised bond
5 program with the concurrence of the chief judge of the
6 judicial circuit, the county’s chief correctional
7 officer, the state attorney, and the public defender;
8 providing an exception for a county that has already
9 established and implemented a supervised bond program
10 that uses a risk assessment instrument; providing
11 minimum program requirements; requiring each county
12 that establishes a supervised bond program to have the
13 risk assessment instrument validated by the Department
14 of Corrections; requiring each county that establishes
15 a supervised bond program to submit an annual report
16 by a certain date to the Office of Program Policy
17 Analysis and Government Accountability; requiring the
18 Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
19 Accountability to compile such reports and include
20 such information in a specified report sent to the
21 Legislature; authorizing the department to adopt
22 rules; creating s. 907.0421, F.S.; providing
23 legislative findings; authorizing the chief judge of
24 each circuit, with the concurrence of the county’s
25 chief correctional officer, the state attorney, and
26 the public defender, to enter an administrative order
27 for the use of a risk assessment instrument in
28 pretrial release determinations; requiring the risk
29 assessment instrument results to be used as
30 supplemental factors for the court’s evaluation of
31 appropriate pretrial release conditions; requiring the
32 court to impose the least restrictive conditions
33 necessary to reasonably ensure the defendant’s
34 appearance at subsequent hearings; providing that a
35 court retains sole discretion to determine the
36 appropriateness of pretrial release and any necessary
37 pretrial release conditions; requiring a circuit that
38 uses a risk assessment instrument to have the
39 instrument validated by the department; authorizing
40 the circuit to implement the risk assessment
41 instrument immediately after validation and
42 implementation of training of all local staff who will
43 administer the risk assessment instrument; requiring
44 each circuit that enters an administrative order to
45 use risk assessment instruments in pretrial release
46 determinations to submit an annual report by a certain
47 date to the Office of Program Policy Analysis and
48 Government Accountability; requiring the Office of
49 Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
50 to compile the reports and include such information in
51 a specified report sent to the Legislature;
52 authorizing the department to adopt rules; providing
53 an effective date.
54
55 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
56
57 Section 1. Section 907.042, Florida Statutes, is created to
58 read:
59 907.042 Supervised bond program.—
60 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—The Legislature finds that there
61 is a need to use evidence-based methods to identify defendants
62 who can successfully comply with specified pretrial release
63 conditions. The Legislature finds that the use of actuarial
64 instruments that evaluate criminogenic-based needs and classify
65 defendants according to levels of risk provides a more
66 consistent and accurate assessment of a defendant’s risk of
67 noncompliance while on pretrial release pending trial. The
68 Legislature also finds that both the community and a defendant
69 are better served when a defendant who poses a low risk to
70 society is provided the opportunity to fulfill employment and
71 familial responsibilities in the community under a structured
72 pretrial release plan that ensures the best chance of remaining
73 compliant with all pretrial conditions, rather than remaining in
74 custody. The Legislature finds that there is a benefit to
75 establishing a supervised bond program in each county for the
76 purpose of providing pretrial release to certain defendants who
77 may not otherwise be eligible for pretrial release on
78 unsupervised nonmonetary conditions and who do not have the
79 ability to satisfy the bond imposed by the court. The
80 Legislature finds that the creation of such a program will
81 reduce the likelihood of defendants remaining unnecessarily in
82 custody pending trial.
83 (2) CREATION.—A supervised bond program may be established
84 in each county with the terms of each program to be developed
85 with concurrence of the chief judge of the judicial circuit, the
86 county’s chief correctional officer, the state attorney, and the
87 public defender. A county that has already established and
88 implemented a supervised bond program that uses a validated risk
89 assessment instrument for similar pretrial or supervision
90 determinations may continue to operate without such concurrence,
91 as long as the program meets all other requirements of this
92 section.
93 (3) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—A supervised bond program, at a
94 minimum, shall:
95 (a) Require the county’s chief correctional officer to
96 administer the supervised bond program.
97 (b) Use the results of a validated pretrial risk assessment
98 instrument that has been administered to the defendant for the
99 purposes of pretrial release or supervision determinations.
100 (c) Assess the defendant’s behavioral characteristics and
101 needs that increase the likelihood of criminal activity and that
102 are able to be addressed through the placement of services.
103 (d) Coordinate necessary services and supervision through
104 the program to reduce the likelihood of criminal activity and to
105 increase the likelihood of compliance with pretrial release
106 conditions.
107 (e) Require the appropriate court to make a final
108 determination regarding whether a defendant will be placed into
109 the supervised bond program. If such a determination is made,
110 the court must also:
111 1. Determine the conditions of the individualized
112 supervision plan with which the defendant must comply as a part
113 of the supervised bond program, including, but not limited to,
114 the requirement that the defendant must:
115 a. Be placed on active electronic monitoring or active
116 continuous alcohol monitoring, or both, dependent upon the level
117 of risk indicated by the risk assessment instrument; and
118 b. Communicate weekly, via telephone or in-person contact,
119 as determined by the court, with the office of the county’s
120 chief correctional officer.
121 2. Review the bond of a defendant who is being accepted
122 into the supervised bond program to determine if a reduction of
123 the court-ordered bond, up to and including its entirety, is
124 appropriate.
125 (f) Establish procedures for reassessing or terminating
126 from the supervised bond program defendants who do not comply
127 with the terms of the individualized supervision plan imposed
128 through the program.
129 (4) VALIDATION.—Each county that establishes a supervised
130 bond program in accordance with this section must use a risk
131 assessment instrument that is validated by the Department of
132 Corrections. A risk assessment instrument that is used for other
133 pretrial release determinations in accordance with s. 907.0421
134 and that has previously been validated by the department does
135 not need to be validated for use in the supervised bond program.
136 A supervised bond program that is in operation on October 1,
137 2019, and that uses a risk assessment instrument may continue to
138 operate while the department validates the risk assessment
139 instrument used by the program.
140 (5) REPORTING.—
141 (a) Each county that establishes a supervised bond program
142 in accordance with this section, or that has an existing
143 supervised bond program that operates in compliance with this
144 section, shall provide an annual report to the Office of Program
145 Policy Analysis and Government Accountability which details:
146 1. The results of the administration of the risk assessment
147 instrument;
148 2. The programming used for defendants who received the
149 assessment and were accepted into the supervised bond program;
150 3. The success rate of the program; and
151 4. Any savings realized by the county as a result of such
152 defendants being released from custody pending trial.
153 (b) Beginning in 2020, and by each October 1 thereafter,
154 the annual report from the county must be submitted to the
155 Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.
156 The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
157 Accountability shall compile the results of such reports for
158 inclusion in an independent section of its annual report
159 developed and submitted to the President of the Senate and the
160 Speaker of the House of Representatives in accordance with s.
161 907.044.
162 (6) RULEMAKING.—The department may adopt rules to
163 administer this section.
164 Section 2. Section 907.0421, Florida Statutes, is created
165 to read:
166 907.0421 Use of risk assessment instruments in pretrial
167 release determinations.—
168 (1) The Legislature finds that there is a need to use
169 evidence-based methods to identify defendants who can
170 successfully comply with specified pretrial release conditions.
171 The Legislature finds that the use of actuarial instruments that
172 classify offenders according to the likelihood of failure to
173 appear at subsequent hearings or to engage in criminal conduct
174 while awaiting trial provides a more consistent and accurate
175 assessment of a defendant’s risk of noncompliance while on
176 pretrial release pending trial. The Legislature also finds that
177 research indicates that using accurate risk and needs assessment
178 instruments ensures successful compliance with pretrial release
179 conditions imposed on a defendant and reduces the likelihood of
180 a defendant remaining unnecessarily in custody pending trial.
181 (2) The chief judge of each judicial circuit, with the
182 concurrence of the county’s chief correctional officer, the
183 state attorney, and the public defender, may enter an
184 administrative order to administer a risk assessment instrument
185 in preparation for first appearance or within 72 hours after
186 arrest for use in pretrial release determinations. The risk
187 assessment instrument must be objective, standardized, and based
188 on analysis of empirical data and risk factors relevant to
189 failure of pretrial release conditions which evaluates the
190 likelihood of failure to appear in court and the likelihood of
191 rearrest during the pretrial release period and which is
192 validated on the pretrial population.
193 (3)(a) The risk assessment instrument results must be used
194 as supplemental factors for the court to consider when
195 determining the appropriateness of first appearance pretrial
196 release and, if applicable, the conditions of release which are
197 appropriate based on predicted level of risk and failure of
198 pretrial release conditions. Based on the risk assessment
199 instrument results, the court shall impose the least restrictive
200 conditions necessary to reasonably ensure that the defendant
201 will be present at subsequent hearings.
202 (b) A court that uses the results from a risk assessment
203 instrument in first appearance pretrial release determinations
204 retains sole discretion to impose any pretrial conditions it
205 deems necessary to ensure the defendant’s subsequent appearance
206 at hearings.
207 (4) A circuit that intends to use a risk assessment
208 instrument in pretrial release determinations must have such
209 instrument independently validated by the Department of
210 Corrections. A circuit may begin to use such instrument in
211 pretrial release determinations immediately after validation of
212 such instrument and implementation of training of all local
213 staff who will administer the risk assessment instrument.
214 (5)(a) Each circuit that establishes an administrative
215 order for the use of risk assessment instruments in first
216 appearance pretrial release determinations shall provide an
217 annual report to the Office of Program Policy Analysis and
218 Government Accountability which details:
219 1. The risk assessment instrument used;
220 2. The results of the administration of the risk assessment
221 instrument, including the results of defendants who were
222 detained in custody awaiting trial and those who were released
223 from custody awaiting trial;
224 3. The frequency at which released defendants failed to
225 appear at one or more subsequent court hearings; and
226 4. The level of risk determined in the risk assessment
227 instrument associated with a defendant that failed to appear for
228 any court hearings.
229 (b) Beginning in 2020, and by each October 1 thereafter,
230 the annual report from each circuit must be submitted to the
231 Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.
232 The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
233 Accountability shall compile the results of such reports for
234 inclusion in an independent section of its annual report
235 developed and submitted to the President of the Senate and the
236 Speaker of the House of Representatives in accordance with s.
237 907.044.
238 (6) The department may adopt rules to administer this
239 section.
240 Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2019.