Florida Senate - 2025 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1140
Ì256344+Î256344
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/01/2025 .
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The Committee on Criminal Justice (Gruters) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 948.22, Florida Statutes, is created to
6 read:
7 948.22 Substance Abuse Accountability Pilot Program.—
8 (1) A Substance Abuse Accountability Pilot Program is
9 established in Hillsborough County from October 1, 2025, through
10 September 30, 2027.
11 (2)(a) Among persons convicted of a felony or first-degree
12 misdemeanor and who are placed on probation, for which
13 abstention from alcohol or controlled substances is a condition
14 of compliance, a court shall designate a subset identified as
15 eligible for the program. Among this eligible pool, individuals
16 will be randomly assigned to participate in the program. All
17 persons deemed eligible shall have the same probability of
18 assignment to the program and shall participate in the program
19 if assigned. No more than 150 offenders may participate in the
20 program at any one time.
21 (b) Prior to entering any plea agreement that includes a
22 term of probation and any condition of compliance that would
23 make a person eligible for the program, the person must be
24 explicitly advised that he or she may be randomly assigned to
25 participate in the program. All terms and conditions of the
26 program shall be explained to the person, and the person shall
27 acknowledge in writing that he or she understands such terms and
28 conditions and is entering a plea freely and voluntarily.
29 (3) The sheriff of the participating county, in
30 consultation with the chief judge of the judicial circuit, the
31 state attorney, and the Department of Corrections, shall design
32 and implement the program. The sheriff may contract with a third
33 party to assist with program design and implementation. However,
34 the program established under this section must include all of
35 the following elements:
36 (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the sheriff shall manage
37 the supervision of all participants during their participation
38 in the program. Upon discharge from the program, the
39 participants shall be managed in accordance with current law for
40 any remaining term of supervision.
41 (b) Participants shall attend an in-person judicial hearing
42 at which a judge shall explain to the participants all program
43 conditions and sanctions for noncompliance. A participant’s term
44 of participation in the program shall be for the same length as
45 the term of probation for which he or she was sentenced, except
46 as provided in paragraph (k), but may not exceed the expiration
47 of the program. Participants are entitled to an attorney at any
48 court hearing related to the program. A court shall appoint a
49 public defender for a participant who is eligible to be
50 represented by a public defender under s. 27.51.
51 (c) A participant who is ordered to abstain from alcohol
52 shall be tested twice per day by mobile breath alcohol testing.
53 Testing shall be completed in person at the participating county
54 sheriff’s office or an alternate location designated by the
55 sheriff’s office, approximately 12 hours apart. However, if a
56 court determines that in-person testing is unreasonably
57 burdensome to a participant, the participant may instead be
58 ordered to wear a continuous monitoring device capable of
59 detecting and signaling the presence of alcohol.
60 (d) A participant who is ordered to abstain from controlled
61 substances shall be tested randomly, at least twice every 7
62 days, with no fewer than 60 hours between tests. Testing shall
63 be completed in person at the participating county sheriff’s
64 office or an alternate location designated by the sheriff’s
65 office, by a method determined by the sheriff.
66 (e) A missed test, failed test, or alert by a continuous
67 monitoring device of a positive test result shall be probable
68 cause that a participant has committed a violation of the
69 program.
70 (f) If there is probable cause that a participant has
71 committed a violation of the program, the participant shall be
72 arrested at the earliest opportunity and held in county jail
73 until an appearance before a judge which must occur no later
74 than 24 hours after the participant’s arrest.
75 (g) Upon a judicial finding that a participant has
76 committed a violation of the program, the participant shall be
77 ordered to serve 24 hours in county jail, with credit for time
78 served between his or her arrest and the judicial finding of a
79 violation. The court may not waive or modify any penalties
80 required under this paragraph.
81 (h) A participant who is arrested and held in custody under
82 this section whose alleged violation is not adjudicated within
83 24 hours of his or her arrest must be released at the earliest
84 possible opportunity. Release of a participant under this
85 paragraph does not end the offender’s participation in the
86 program.
87 (i) A court may reduce the frequency of testing for alcohol
88 consumption to once per day for a participant who has zero
89 adjudicated program violations for 60 consecutive days.
90 (j) A court may reduce the frequency of testing for
91 controlled substances to once per week for a participant who has
92 zero adjudicated program violations for 6 consecutive months.
93 (k) Upon successful completion of half the term of
94 participation, the court may place the person on administrative
95 probation pursuant to s. 948.013 for the remainder of the term
96 of supervision, or may terminate the person’s probation and
97 participation in the program.
98 (l) Upon five adjudicated violations of program conditions,
99 a court may discharge the participant from the program and
100 sentence the offender as authorized by law. Nothing in this
101 paragraph shall preclude a court from modifying the conditions
102 of a participant’s supervision, including revocation of
103 supervision, upon any other violation of supervision conditions.
104 (m) Participants shall pay all fees associated with
105 participation in the program. However, a court may reduce or
106 eliminate program fees for a participant who has been declared
107 indigent.
108 (4) The program established under this section shall
109 include a program coordinator, whose duties shall include
110 identifying and hiring personnel to ensure efficient
111 administration of the program. The sheriff of the participating
112 county may make subgrants to any appropriate agency for hiring
113 personnel under this subsection.
114 (5) A court may not order participation in the program in
115 lieu of mandatory placement of an ignition interlock device as
116 described in s. 316.193.
117 (6) By June 30, 2028, the Attorney General shall complete
118 an evaluation of the program’s effectiveness. The Attorney
119 General shall determine the metrics to be evaluated and may
120 contract with a third party to conduct any program evaluations.
121 (7) A report on the pilot program, which must include the
122 number of program participants, the number of program
123 violations, and the number of successful program completions,
124 shall be delivered to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
125 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by November 30,
126 2028.
127 (8) This section is repealed November 30, 2028.
128 Section 2. For fiscal year 2025-2026, the nonrecurring sum
129 of $2.5 million to the sheriff in Hillsborough County shall be
130 appropriated from the Opioid Settlement Trust Fund. Funds
131 appropriated under this section may be used for any expenses
132 related to establishing and administering the program through
133 September 30, 2027, including personnel, equipment, training and
134 technical assistance, payments for jail space, data collection,
135 program evaluations, and program fees for indigent participants.
136 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
137
138 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
139 And the title is amended as follows:
140 Delete everything before the enacting clause
141 and insert:
142 A bill to be entitled
143 An act relating to a criminal offender substance abuse
144 pilot program; creating s. 948.22, F.S.; creating a
145 substance abuse accountability pilot program in a
146 specified county; providing for eligibility for the
147 program; specifying that eligible participants shall
148 be advised of the program before entering a plea;
149 providing for design and implementation of the
150 program; specifying how long a person may participate
151 in the program; providing that participants are
152 entitled to an attorney at any court hearing related
153 to the program; providing requirements for the
154 program; authorizing a court to terminate probation
155 and participation in the program or place a person on
156 administrative probation under specified circumstances
157 related to the program; specifying personnel
158 requirements; authorizing subgrants for personnel
159 needs; specifying that program participation does not
160 supersede ignition interlock requirements; requiring
161 program evaluation by a specified date; requiring a
162 report to certain officials by a specified date;
163 providing for repeal of provisions; providing an
164 appropriation; providing an effective date.