Florida Senate - 2026 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 762
Ì250350mÎ250350
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
01/12/2026 .
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The Committee on Judiciary (Martin) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Present subsections (6) through (10) of section
6 27.511, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (7)
7 through (11), respectively, and a new subsection (6) is added to
8 that section, to read:
9 27.511 Offices of criminal conflict and civil regional
10 counsel; legislative intent; qualifications; appointment;
11 duties.—
12 (6)(a) At any time that an office of criminal conflict and
13 civil regional counsel determines that it can no longer
14 represent an indigent defendant in a death penalty case due to a
15 conflict of interest or a lack of qualifications, it must
16 provide written notice to the court. The written notice must
17 state that the person has been determined to be indigent under
18 s. 27.52, that the state has filed a notice of intent to seek
19 the death penalty, and that it can no longer provide
20 representation due to a conflict of interest or a lack of
21 qualifications. Upon receiving the notice, the court is
22 authorized to appoint an office of criminal conflict and civil
23 regional counsel from another region to represent the defendant
24 provided that their designated counsel is qualified to provide
25 competent representation in death penalty cases. These
26 provisions are effective notwithstanding ss. 27.40 and 27.5305,
27 which authorize the appointment of a private attorney to
28 represent the defendant.
29 (b) Subject to legislative appropriation, the office of
30 criminal conflict and civil regional counsel appointed from
31 another region under paragraph (a) shall provide documentation
32 for all due process costs and services of representation to the
33 Justice Administrative Commission for reimbursement.
34 (c) Biannually, by February 1 and August 1, each regional
35 office of the office of criminal conflict and civil regional
36 counsel that accepts an appointment under paragraph (a), in a
37 case involving a person determined to be indigent under s. 27.52
38 in which the state has filed a notice of intent to seek the
39 death penalty, shall submit a report to the Justice
40 Administrative Commission. For each case, the report must
41 contain all of the following information:
42 1. The office of criminal conflict and civil regional
43 counsel appointed and the date of appointment, including the
44 name of counsel assigned.
45 2. The length of time the capital case has been pending.
46 3. The date the state filed a notice of intent to seek the
47 death penalty.
48 4. The number of victims.
49 5. The status of any ongoing discovery, including any
50 discovery deadline set by the court.
51 6. The number of outstanding motions.
52 7. Whether there is a mitigation specialist, and, if so,
53 the date of his or her employment, as well as any mitigation
54 work product.
55 (d) If the office of criminal conflict and civil regional
56 counsel from another region cannot accept an appointment under
57 paragraph (a) because of a conflict of interest or a lack of
58 qualified attorneys, private counsel must be appointed.
59 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
60 744.331, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
61 744.331 Procedures to determine incapacity.—
62 (2) ATTORNEY FOR THE ALLEGED INCAPACITATED PERSON.—
63 (a) When a court appoints an attorney for an alleged
64 incapacitated person, the court must appoint the office of
65 criminal conflict and civil regional counsel or a private
66 attorney as prescribed in s. 27.511(7) s. 27.511(6). A private
67 attorney must be one who is included in the attorney registry
68 compiled pursuant to s. 27.40. Appointments of private attorneys
69 must be made on a rotating basis, taking into consideration
70 conflicts arising under this chapter.
71 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.
72
73 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
74 And the title is amended as follows:
75 Delete everything before the enacting clause
76 and insert:
77 A bill to be entitled
78 An act relating to offices of criminal conflict and
79 civil regional counsel; amending s. 27.511, F.S.;
80 authorizing appointments from the office of criminal
81 conflict and civil regional counsel in other regions
82 for certain cases in certain circumstances; requiring
83 such counsel to provide certain documentation to the
84 Justice Administrative Commission for reimbursement;
85 requiring each regional office that accepts such
86 appointments to annually submit a specified report to
87 the commission; requiring the appointment of private
88 counsel in certain circumstances; amending s. 744.331,
89 F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; providing an
90 effective date.