Florida Senate - 2025 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 168
Ì857776_Î857776
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
03/04/2025 .
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The Committee on Criminal Justice (Bradley) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment
2
3 Delete lines 375 - 499
4 and insert:
5 be followed.
6
7 If the assessment under this paragraph results in an outpatient
8 treatment plan, and the defendant has not already been released,
9 the defendant may be released on his or her own recognizance on
10 the condition that all treatment recommendations must be
11 followed. The state attorney and the defense attorney must have
12 an opportunity to be heard before the court releases the
13 defendant.
14 (f) If the defendant is released from the custody of the
15 jail on pretrial release at any point before the completion of
16 the process in this section, evaluation or assessment of the
17 defendant under this section by a qualified mental health
18 professional may be initiated at any time by order of the court
19 at the request of the state attorney or the defense attorney, or
20 on the court’s own motion. If this process results in the
21 creation of a discharge plan by a receiving facility or an
22 outpatient treatment plan by the local mental health treatment
23 center, the court may set as a condition of the defendant’s
24 continued pretrial release compliance with all of the terms of
25 the discharge plan or outpatient treatment plan.
26 (4) If a defendant has not been referred to the diversion
27 program under this section, the state attorney, the defense
28 attorney, or the court may, at any stage of the criminal
29 proceedings, request that the defendant be screened pursuant to
30 subsection (3) to determine if there is an indication of mental
31 illness. If the defendant is no longer in custody, the defendant
32 may be evaluated or assessed pursuant to paragraph (3)(f).
33 (5) Upon the defendant’s successful completion of all of
34 the treatment recommendations from any mental health evaluation
35 or assessment completed pursuant to this section, the state
36 attorney must consider dismissal of the charges. If dismissal is
37 deemed inappropriate by the state attorney, the state attorney
38 may consider referral of the defendant’s case to mental health
39 court or another available mental health diversion program.
40 (6) If the defendant fails to comply with any aspect of his
41 or her discharge or outpatient treatment plan under this
42 section, the court may exhaust therapeutic interventions aimed
43 at improving compliance before considering returning the
44 defendant to the jail.
45 Section 5. Section 916.136, Florida Statutes, is created to
46 read:
47 916.136 Pretrial felony mental health diversion program.—
48 (1) As used in this section, the term:
49 (a) “Conviction” means a determination of guilt that is the
50 result of a plea agreement, including a plea of nolo contendere,
51 or trial. For purposes of this section, a conviction does not
52 include an offense for which an adjudication of guilt was
53 withheld.
54 (b) “Court” means a circuit court or any court presiding
55 over felony violations under the laws of this state or any of
56 its political subdivisions.
57 (c) “Defendant” means a person who has been charged as an
58 adult by a law enforcement agency or a state attorney with a
59 felony of the second degree or felony of the third degree, and
60 who is eligible for the diversion program as provided in
61 subsection (3).
62 (d) “Qualified mental health professional” means a
63 physician, a physician assistant, a clinical psychologist, a
64 psychiatric nurse, an advanced practice registered nurse
65 registered under s. 464.0123, or a mental health counselor, a
66 marriage and family therapist, or a clinical social worker, as
67 those terms are defined in s. 394.455.
68 (2) A community desiring to establish a pretrial felony
69 mental health diversion program to divert clinically appropriate
70 defendants from jails to treatment is encouraged to apply for
71 the Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse
72 Reinvestment Grant Program under s. 394.656 for the purpose of
73 obtaining funds to plan, implement, or expand such programs.
74 This section provides a model process for diverting such
75 defendants to treatment, but this process may be modified
76 according to each community’s particular resources.
77 (a) The local sheriff’s department, the state attorney, the
78 public defender, the court, and local treatment providers may
79 collaborate to establish policies and procedures to meet the
80 specific needs of each community and to develop a form that a
81 defendant must sign to consent to treatment.
82 (b) A consent form must include the defendant’s consent to
83 treatment and to the release of any records necessary to
84 demonstrate compliance with and completion of treatment.
85 Additionally, such form must include that the defendant agrees
86 to waive his or her right to a speedy trial by participating in
87 the diversion program. A defendant must sign the consent form to
88 participate in the diversion program.
89 (3) A defendant may be eligible for the pretrial felony
90 mental health diversion program under this section if he or she
91 meets the following criteria:
92 (a) Has a mental illness;
93 (b) Has no more than three prior felony convictions in the
94 past 5 years;
95 (c) Is not charged with a violent felony; and
96 (d) Does not have a significant history of violence.
97
98 The state attorney has the sole discretion to determine a
99 defendant’s eligibility for the pretrial felony mental health
100 diversion program. Meeting the criteria in this subsection does
101 not guarantee eligibility. Additionally, the state attorney may,
102 in extenuating circumstances, waive the criteria in this
103 subsection if he or she finds that it is in the interest of
104 justice.
105 (4) At any stage in the pretrial process, the state
106 attorney may recommend that a defendant be screened using a
107 standardized, validated mental health screening instrument to
108 determine if there is an indication of mental illness. Such
109 screening may be completed by the jail’s corrections or medical
110 staff or by any qualified mental health professional. The
111 results of such screening must be forwarded to the state
112 attorney and the defense attorney.
113 (5) If there is an indication of mental illness, the state
114 attorney may consider an offer of pretrial felony mental health
115 diversion under this section. Entry into the diversion program
116 is voluntary, and the defendant must sign the consent form as
117 described in subsection (2) before participating in the program.
118 (6) Upon the defendant agreeing to participate in pretrial
119 felony mental health diversion under this section, the defendant
120 must be assessed for outpatient treatment by a local mental
121 health treatment center. This assessment may be completed:
122 (a) At the jail via telehealth assessment by the local
123 mental health treatment center;
124 (b) At the local mental health treatment center after the
125 sheriff or jail authorities transport the defendant to and from
126 the treatment center; or
127 (c) By releasing the defendant on his or her own
128 recognizance on the conditions that the assessment be completed
129 at the local mental health treatment center within 48 hours
130 after his or her release and that all treatment recommendations
131 be followed.
132
133 If the assessment under this subsection results in an outpatient