Florida Senate - 2020                              CS for SB 572
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senators Brandes and
       Perry
       
       
       
       
       591-02025-20                                           2020572c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to release from imprisonment; amending
    3         s. 921.002, F.S.; revising a principle of the Criminal
    4         Punishment Code relating to a prisoner’s required
    5         minimum term of imprisonment; amending s. 944.275,
    6         F.S.; revising the incentive gain-time that the
    7         Department of Corrections may grant a prisoner;
    8         providing exceptions; providing that an inmate is
    9         considered in the care, custody, supervision, or
   10         control of the Department of Corrections when
   11         participating in specified programs and may receive
   12         credit towards specified portions of a sentence for
   13         such participation; amending s. 945.091, F.S.;
   14         authorizing the department to extend the limits of
   15         confinement to allow an inmate to participate in
   16         supervised community release, subject to certain
   17         requirements, as prescribed by the department by rule;
   18         providing that an inmate participating in such
   19         supervised community release is considered to be in
   20         the custody, care, supervision, and control of the
   21         department; authorizing the department to terminate
   22         the inmate’s supervised community release under
   23         certain circumstances; providing that an inmate
   24         participating in supervised community release is
   25         eligible to earn or lose gain-time, subject to certain
   26         restrictions; prohibiting the inmate from being
   27         counted in the population of the prison system;
   28         prohibiting the inmate’s approved community-based
   29         housing location from being counted in the capacity
   30         figures for the prison system; reenacting ss.
   31         775.084(4)(k) and 921.002(1)(e), F.S., relating to
   32         violent criminals and habitual offenders and the
   33         Criminal Punishment Code, respectively, to incorporate
   34         the amendment made to s. 944.275, F.S., in references
   35         thereto; reenacting s. 946.503(2), F.S., relating to
   36         the definition of the term “correctional work program”
   37         to incorporate the amendment made to s. 945.091, F.S.,
   38         in a reference thereto; providing an effective date.
   39          
   40  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   41  
   42         Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section
   43  921.002, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   44         921.002 The Criminal Punishment Code.—The Criminal
   45  Punishment Code shall apply to all felony offenses, except
   46  capital felonies, committed on or after October 1, 1998.
   47         (1) The provision of criminal penalties and of limitations
   48  upon the application of such penalties is a matter of
   49  predominantly substantive law and, as such, is a matter properly
   50  addressed by the Legislature. The Legislature, in the exercise
   51  of its authority and responsibility to establish sentencing
   52  criteria, to provide for the imposition of criminal penalties,
   53  and to make the best use of state prisons so that violent
   54  criminal offenders are appropriately incarcerated, has
   55  determined that it is in the best interest of the state to
   56  develop, implement, and revise a sentencing policy. The Criminal
   57  Punishment Code embodies the principles that:
   58         (e) The sentence imposed by the sentencing judge reflects
   59  the length of actual time to be served, shortened only by the
   60  application of incentive and meritorious gain-time as provided
   61  by law, and may not be shortened if the defendant would
   62  consequently serve less than 65 percent of his or her term of
   63  imprisonment as provided in s. 944.275(4)(b)3.a. or less than 85
   64  percent of his or her term of imprisonment as provided in s.
   65  944.275(4) or s. 944.275(4)(b)3.b. The provisions of chapter
   66  947, relating to parole, shall not apply to persons sentenced
   67  under the Criminal Punishment Code.
   68         Section 2. Paragraphs (b) and (f) of subsection (4) of
   69  section 944.275, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   70         944.275 Gain-time.—
   71         (4)
   72         (b) For each month in which an inmate works diligently,
   73  participates in training, uses time constructively, or otherwise
   74  engages in positive activities, the department may grant
   75  incentive gain-time in accordance with this paragraph. The rate
   76  of incentive gain-time in effect on the date the inmate
   77  committed the offense that which resulted in his or her
   78  incarceration shall be the inmate’s rate of eligibility to earn
   79  incentive gain-time throughout the period of incarceration and
   80  may shall not be altered by a subsequent change in the severity
   81  level of the offense for which the inmate was sentenced.
   82         1. For sentences imposed for offenses committed before
   83  prior to January 1, 1994, up to 20 days of incentive gain-time
   84  may be granted. If granted, such gain-time shall be credited and
   85  applied monthly.
   86         2. For sentences imposed for offenses committed on or after
   87  January 1, 1994, and before October 1, 1995:
   88         a. For offenses ranked in offense severity levels 1 through
   89  7, under former s. 921.0012 or former s. 921.0013, up to 25 days
   90  of incentive gain-time may be granted. If granted, such gain
   91  time shall be credited and applied monthly.
   92         b. For offenses ranked in offense severity levels 8, 9, and
   93  10, under former s. 921.0012 or former s. 921.0013, up to 20
   94  days of incentive gain-time may be granted. If granted, such
   95  gain-time shall be credited and applied monthly.
   96         3. For sentences imposed for offenses, regardless of the
   97  date committed, the department may grant up to 20 days per month
   98  of incentive gain-time, except that:
   99         a.If the offense is a nonviolent felony, as defined in s.
  100  948.08(6), the prisoner is not eligible to earn any type of
  101  gain-time in an amount that would cause a sentence to expire,
  102  end, or terminate, or that would result in a prisoner’s release,
  103  before he or she serves a minimum of 65 percent of the sentence
  104  imposed. For purposes of this sub-subparagraph, credits awarded
  105  by the court for time physically incarcerated must be credited
  106  toward satisfaction of 65 percent of the sentence imposed. A
  107  prisoner who is granted incentive gain-time pursuant to this
  108  sub-subparagraph may not accumulate further gain-time awards at
  109  any point when the tentative release date is the same as that
  110  date at which the prisoner will have served 65 percent of the
  111  sentence imposed. State prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
  112  must be incarcerated for the rest of their natural lives, unless
  113  granted pardon or clemency.
  114         b.If the offense is not a nonviolent felony, as defined in
  115  s. 948.08(6), the prisoner is not eligible to earn any type of
  116  gain-time in an amount that would cause a sentence to expire,
  117  end, or terminate, or that would result in a prisoner’s release,
  118  before he or she serves a minimum of 85 percent of the sentence
  119  imposed. For purposes of this sub-subparagraph, credits awarded
  120  by the court for time physically incarcerated must be credited
  121  toward satisfaction of 85 percent of the sentence imposed. A
  122  prisoner who is granted incentive gain-time pursuant to this
  123  sub-subparagraph may not accumulate further gain-time awards at
  124  any point when the tentative release date is the same as that
  125  date at which the prisoner will have served 85 percent of the
  126  sentence imposed. State prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
  127  must be incarcerated for the rest of their natural lives, unless
  128  granted pardon or clemency For sentences imposed for offenses
  129  committed on or after October 1, 1995, the department may grant
  130  up to 10 days per month of incentive gain-time.
  131         (f) An inmate who is subject to subparagraph (b)3. is not
  132  eligible to earn or receive gain-time under paragraph (a),
  133  paragraph (b), paragraph (c), or paragraph (d) or any other type
  134  of gain-time in an amount that would cause a sentence to expire,
  135  end, or terminate, or that would result in a prisoner’s release,
  136  prior to serving a minimum of 85 percent of the sentence
  137  imposed. For purposes of this paragraph, credits awarded by the
  138  court for time physically incarcerated or time spent in the
  139  department’s care, custody, supervision, or control through
  140  participation in a program under s. 945.091 shall be credited
  141  toward satisfaction of 85 percent of the sentence imposed.
  142  Except as provided by this section, a prisoner may not
  143  accumulate further gain-time awards at any point when the
  144  tentative release date is the same as that date at which the
  145  prisoner will have served 85 percent of the sentence imposed.
  146  State prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment shall be
  147  incarcerated for the rest of their natural lives, unless granted
  148  pardon or clemency.
  149         Section 3. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (1) of
  150  section 945.091, Florida Statutes, to read:
  151         945.091 Extension of the limits of confinement; restitution
  152  by employed inmates.—
  153         (1) The department may adopt rules permitting the extension
  154  of the limits of the place of confinement of an inmate as to
  155  whom there is reasonable cause to believe that the inmate will
  156  honor his or her trust by authorizing the inmate, under
  157  prescribed conditions and following investigation and approval
  158  by the secretary, or the secretary’s designee, who shall
  159  maintain a written record of such action, to leave the confines
  160  of that place unaccompanied by a custodial agent for a
  161  prescribed period of time to:
  162         (d) Participate in supervised community release as
  163  prescribed by the department by rule. An inmate who has a
  164  sentence of 2 years or more may begin participation in
  165  supervised community release 365 days before his or her
  166  provisional or tentative release date. The supervised community
  167  release may include active electronic monitoring and community
  168  control as defined in s. 948.001. An inmate participating in
  169  such supervised community release is considered to be in the
  170  custody, care, supervision, and control of the department for
  171  purposes of ss. 921.002 and 944.275 and must be assigned to the
  172  caseload of a community control officer. The department must
  173  administer a risk assessment instrument to appropriately
  174  determine an inmate’s ability to be released pursuant to this
  175  paragraph.
  176         1. If a participating inmate fails to comply with the
  177  conditions prescribed in the department’s rule for supervised
  178  community release, the department may terminate the inmate’s
  179  supervised community release and return him or her to the same
  180  or another institution designated by the department. A law
  181  enforcement officer or a probation officer may arrest the inmate
  182  without a warrant in accordance with s. 948.06, if there are
  183  reasonable grounds to believe he or she has violated the terms
  184  and conditions of supervised community release. The law
  185  enforcement officer must report the inmate’s alleged violations
  186  to the supervising probation office or the department’s
  187  emergency action center for disposition of disciplinary charges
  188  as prescribed by the department by rule.
  189         2. An inmate participating in supervised community release
  190  under this paragraph remains eligible to earn or lose gain-time
  191  in accordance with s. 944.275 and department rule, but may not
  192  receive gain-time or other sentence credit in an amount that
  193  would cause his or her sentence to expire, end, or terminate, or
  194  that would result in his or her release before serving a minimum
  195  of 85 percent of the sentence imposed. The inmate may not be
  196  counted in the population of the prison system, and the inmate’s
  197  approved community-based housing location may not be counted in
  198  the capacity figures for the prison system.
  199         Section 4. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  200  made by this act to section 944.275, Florida Statutes, in a
  201  reference thereto, paragraph (k) of subsection (4) of section
  202  775.084, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  203         775.084 Violent career criminals; habitual felony offenders
  204  and habitual violent felony offenders; three-time violent felony
  205  offenders; definitions; procedure; enhanced penalties or
  206  mandatory minimum prison terms.—
  207         (4)
  208         (k)1. A defendant sentenced under this section as a
  209  habitual felony offender, a habitual violent felony offender, or
  210  a violent career criminal is eligible for gain-time granted by
  211  the Department of Corrections as provided in s. 944.275(4)(b).
  212         2. For an offense committed on or after October 1, 1995, a
  213  defendant sentenced under this section as a violent career
  214  criminal is not eligible for any form of discretionary early
  215  release, other than pardon or executive clemency, or conditional
  216  medical release granted pursuant to s. 947.149.
  217         3. For an offense committed on or after July 1, 1999, a
  218  defendant sentenced under this section as a three-time violent
  219  felony offender shall be released only by expiration of sentence
  220  and shall not be eligible for parole, control release, or any
  221  form of early release.
  222         Section 5. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  223  made by this act to section 944.275, Florida Statutes, in a
  224  reference thereto, paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section
  225  921.002, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  226         921.002 The Criminal Punishment Code.—The Criminal
  227  Punishment Code shall apply to all felony offenses, except
  228  capital felonies, committed on or after October 1, 1998.
  229         (1) The provision of criminal penalties and of limitations
  230  upon the application of such penalties is a matter of
  231  predominantly substantive law and, as such, is a matter properly
  232  addressed by the Legislature. The Legislature, in the exercise
  233  of its authority and responsibility to establish sentencing
  234  criteria, to provide for the imposition of criminal penalties,
  235  and to make the best use of state prisons so that violent
  236  criminal offenders are appropriately incarcerated, has
  237  determined that it is in the best interest of the state to
  238  develop, implement, and revise a sentencing policy. The Criminal
  239  Punishment Code embodies the principles that:
  240         (e) The sentence imposed by the sentencing judge reflects
  241  the length of actual time to be served, shortened only by the
  242  application of incentive and meritorious gain-time as provided
  243  by law, and may not be shortened if the defendant would
  244  consequently serve less than 85 percent of his or her term of
  245  imprisonment as provided in s. 944.275(4). The provisions of
  246  chapter 947, relating to parole, shall not apply to persons
  247  sentenced under the Criminal Punishment Code.
  248         Section 6. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  249  made by this act to section 945.091, Florida Statutes, in a
  250  reference thereto, subsection (2) of section 946.503, Florida
  251  Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  252         946.503 Definitions to be used with respect to correctional
  253  work programs.—As used in this part, the term:
  254         (2) “Correctional work program” means any program presently
  255  a part of the prison industries program operated by the
  256  department or any other correctional work program carried on at
  257  any state correctional facility presently or in the future, but
  258  the term does not include any program authorized by s. 945.091
  259  or s. 946.40.
  260         Section 7. This act shall take effect October 1, 2020.