Florida Senate - 2020 SB 1304 By Senator Brandes 24-01476A-20 20201304__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to sentencing; creating s. 948.0121, 3 F.S.; defining terms; creating conditional sentences 4 for substance use and mental health offenders; 5 specifying eligibility requirements; providing minimum 6 sentencing requirements; providing an exception to a 7 conditional sentence; authorizing a presentence 8 investigation report; specifying duties of the 9 Department of Corrections; authorizing the department 10 to enter into certain contracts; requiring the 11 department to provide written notice to specified 12 parties upon the offender’s admission into an in 13 prison treatment program; providing that the 14 department may find that an offender is ineligible for 15 an in-prison program under certain circumstances; 16 requiring written notice to certain parties if an 17 offender is terminated from or prevented from entering 18 an in-prison program; requiring that an offender be 19 transitioned to probation upon the completion of an 20 in-prison program; requiring an offender to comply 21 with specified terms of probation; requiring the 22 offender to pay specified costs; providing that 23 certain violations may result in revocation of 24 probation and imposition of any authorized sentence; 25 requiring the department to develop a computerized 26 tracking system; requiring the department make an 27 annual report; requiring rulemaking; providing an 28 effective date. 29 30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 31 32 Section 1. Section 948.0121, Florida Statutes, is created 33 to read: 34 948.0121 Conditional sentences for substance use or mental 35 health offenders.— 36 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 37 (a) “Department” means the Department of Corrections. 38 (b) “Offender” means a person who is convicted of a felony 39 offense and who receives a conditional sentence for substance 40 use or a person with a mental health disorder as prescribed in 41 this section. 42 (2) CREATION.—A conditional sentence for offenders is 43 established in accordance with s. 948.012. A court may sentence 44 an offender to a conditional sentence in accordance with this 45 section. A conditional sentence imposed by a court under this 46 section does not confer to the offender any right to release 47 from incarceration and placement on drug offender or mental 48 health probation unless the offender complies with all sentence 49 requirements in accordance with this section. 50 (3) ELIGIBILITY.—For an offender to receive a conditional 51 sentence under this section, he or she must be a nonviolent 52 offender who is in need of substance use or mental health 53 treatment and who does not pose a danger to the community. As 54 used in this subsection, the term “nonviolent offender” means an 55 offender who has never been convicted of, or pled guilty or no 56 contest to, the commission of, an attempt to commit, or a 57 conspiracy to commit, any of the following: 58 (a) A capital, life, or first degree felony. 59 (b) A second degree felony or third degree felony listed in 60 s. 775.084(1)(c)1. 61 (c) A violation of s. 784.021, s. 784.07, s. 827.03, or s. 62 843.01 or any offense that requires a person to register as a 63 sex offender in accordance with s. 943.0435. 64 (d) An offense for which the sentence was enhanced under s. 65 775.087. 66 (e) An offense in another jurisdiction which would be an 67 offense described in this subsection, or which would have been 68 enhanced under s. 775.087 if the offense had been committed in 69 this state. 70 (4) SENTENCING REQUIREMENTS.— 71 (a) As part of a conditional sentence for an offender with 72 a substance use or mental health disorder, a court must order 73 such offender, at a minimum, to: 74 1. Serve a term of imprisonment which must include an in 75 prison treatment program for substance use, mental health, or 76 co-occurring disorders which consists of a minimum of 90 days of 77 custodial treatment and is administered by the department at a 78 department facility. 79 2. Upon successful completion of a custodial treatment 80 program, comply with a term of special offender probation for 24 81 months, which shall serve as a modification of the remainder of 82 his or her term of imprisonment, and must consist of: 83 a. Either drug offender or mental health probation, to be 84 determined by the court at the time of sentencing. 85 b. Any special conditions of probation ordered by the 86 sentencing court. 87 c. Any recommendations made by the department in a 88 postrelease treatment plan for substance use or mental health 89 aftercare services. 90 (b) If the department finds that the offender is ineligible 91 or not appropriate for placement in a custodial treatment 92 program for the reasons prescribed in subsection (7), or for any 93 other reason the department deems as good cause then the 94 offender shall serve the remainder of his or her term of 95 imprisonment in the custody of the department. 96 (c) The appropriate type of special offender probation 97 shall be determined by the court at the time of sentencing based 98 upon the recommendation by the department in a presentence 99 investigation report. 100 (5) PRESENTENCE INVESTIGATION REPORT.—The court may order 101 the department to conduct a presentence investigation report in 102 accordance with s. 921.231 for an offender who the court 103 believes may be sentenced under this section to provide the 104 court with appropriate information to make a determination at 105 the time of sentencing of whether drug offender or mental health 106 probation is most appropriate for the offender. 107 (6) DEPARTMENT DUTIES.—The department: 108 (a) Shall administer custodial treatment programs that 109 comply with the type of treatment required in this section. 110 (b) May develop and enter into performance-based contracts 111 with qualified individuals, agencies, or corporations to provide 112 any services necessary for the custodial treatment program. Such 113 contracts may only be entered into or renewed if the contracts 114 offer a substantial savings to the department. The department 115 may establish a system of incentives in a custodial treatment 116 program to promote offender participation in rehabilitative 117 programs and the orderly operation of institutions and 118 facilities. 119 (c) Shall provide a special training program for staff 120 members selected to administer or implement a custodial 121 treatment program. 122 (d) Shall evaluate the offender’s needs and develop a 123 postrelease treatment plan that includes substance use or mental 124 health aftercare services. 125 (7) IN-PRISON TREATMENT.— 126 (a) The department shall give written notification of the 127 offender’s admission into an in-prison treatment program portion 128 of the conditional sentence to the sentencing court, the state 129 attorney, the defense counsel for the offender, and any victim 130 of the offense committed by the offender. 131 (b) If, after evaluating an offender for custody and 132 classification status, the department determines at any point 133 during the term of imprisonment that an offender sentenced under 134 this section does not meet the criteria for placement in an in 135 prison treatment program portion of the conditional sentence, as 136 determined in rule by the department, or that space is not 137 available for the offender’s placement in an in-prison treatment 138 program, the department must immediately notify the court, the 139 state attorney, and the defense counsel that this portion of the 140 sentence is unsuccessfully served in accordance with paragraph 141 (4)(b). 142 (c) If, after placement in an in-prison treatment program, 143 an offender is unable to participate due to medical concerns or 144 other reasons, he or she must be examined by qualified medical 145 personnel or qualified nonmedical personnel appropriate for the 146 offender’s situation, as determined by the department. The 147 qualified personnel shall consult with the director of the in 148 prison treatment program, and the director shall determine 149 whether the offender will continue with treatment or be 150 discharged from the program. If the director discharges the 151 offender from the treatment program, the department must 152 immediately notify the court, the state attorney, and the 153 defense counsel that this portion of the sentence is 154 unsuccessfully served in accordance with paragraph (4)(b). 155 (d) If, after placement in an in-prison treatment program, 156 an offender is unable to participate due to disruptive behavior 157 or violations of any of the rules the department adopts to 158 implement this section, the director shall determine whether the 159 offender will continue with treatment or be discharged from the 160 program. If the director discharges the offender from the 161 treatment program, the department must immediately notify the 162 court, the state attorney, and the defense counsel that this 163 portion of the sentence is unsuccessfully served in accordance 164 with paragraph (4)(b). 165 (e) An offender participating in an in-prison treatment 166 program portion of his or her sentence must comply with any 167 additional requirements placed on the participants by the 168 department in rule. If an offender violates a rule, he or she 169 may have sanctions imposed, including loss of privileges, 170 restrictions, disciplinary confinement, forfeiture of gain-time 171 or the right to earn gain-time in the future, alteration of 172 release plans, termination from the in-prison treatment program, 173 or other program modifications in keeping with the nature and 174 gravity of the rule violation. The department may place an 175 offender participating in an in-prison treatment program in 176 administrative or protective confinement, as necessary. 177 (8) DRUG OFFENDER OR MENTAL HEALTH PROBATION.— 178 (a) Upon completion of the in-prison treatment program 179 ordered by the court, the offender shall be transitioned into 180 the community to begin his or her drug offender or mental health 181 probation for a term of 24 months, as ordered by the court at 182 the time of sentencing in accordance with subsection (4). 183 (b) An offender on drug offender or mental health probation 184 following a conditional sentence imposed under this section must 185 comply with all standard conditions of his or her probation and 186 any special condition of probation ordered by the sentencing 187 court, including participation in an aftercare substance abuse 188 or mental health program, residence in a postrelease 189 transitional residential halfway house, or any other appropriate 190 form of supervision or treatment. 191 (c)1. If an offender placed on drug offender probation 192 resides in a county that has established a drug court or a 193 postadjudicatory drug court, the offender shall be monitored by 194 the court as a condition of drug offender probation. 195 2. If an offender placed on mental health probation resides 196 in a county that has established a mental health court, the 197 offender shall be monitored by the court as a condition of 198 mental health probation. 199 (d) While on probation pursuant to this subsection, the 200 offender shall pay all appropriate costs of probation to the 201 department. An offender who is determined to be financially able 202 shall also pay all costs of substance abuse or mental health 203 treatment. The court may impose on the offender additional 204 conditions requiring payment of restitution, court costs, fines, 205 community service, or compliance with other special conditions. 206 (e) An offender’s violation of any condition or order may 207 result in revocation of probation by the court and imposition of 208 any sentence authorized under the law, with credit given for the 209 time already served in prison. 210 (9) REPORTING.—The department shall develop a computerized 211 system to track data on the recidivism and recommitment of 212 offenders who have been sentenced to a conditional sentence for 213 substance use or mental health offenders. On October 1, 2021, 214 and on each October 1 thereafter, the department shall submit an 215 annual report of the results of the collected data to the 216 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the 217 House of Representatives. 218 (10) RULEMAKING.—The department shall adopt rules pursuant 219 to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section. 220 Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2020.