Senate Bill 2390c1
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Florida Senate - 2000 CS for SB 2390
By the Committee on Criminal Justice and Senator Thomas
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to elderly offenders; amending
3 s. 944.02, F.S.; providing a definition of
4 "elderly offender"; creating s. 944.804, F.S.;
5 providing legislative findings; requiring the
6 Department of Corrections to establish and
7 operate an exclusively geriatric facility for
8 elderly offenders at the current River Junction
9 Correctional Institution site; requiring the
10 department to develop rules specifying
11 eligibility for the facility; providing
12 specific legislative intent for implementation
13 of rules; requiring a study; creating s.
14 944.8041, F.S.; requiring annual review and
15 reports by the Florida Corrections Commission
16 and the Correctional Medical Authority on the
17 status and treatment of elderly offenders;
18 amending ss. 120.81, 413.051, 414.40, F.S.;
19 correcting cross-references; providing an
20 effective date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. Section 944.02, Florida Statutes, is
25 amended to read:
26 944.02 Definitions.--The following words and phrases
27 used in this chapter shall, unless the context clearly
28 indicates otherwise, have the following meanings:
29 (1)(3) "Commission" means the Parole Commission.
30 (2)(1) "Correctional system" means all prisons and
31 other state correctional institutions now existing or
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Florida Senate - 2000 CS for SB 2390
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1 hereafter created under the jurisdiction of the Department of
2 Corrections.
3 (3)(2) "Department" means the Department of
4 Corrections.
5 (4) "Elderly offender" means a prisoner age 50 or
6 older in a state correctional institution or facility operated
7 by the Department of Corrections or the Correctional
8 Privatization Commission.
9 (5)(7) "Lease-purchase agreement" means an installment
10 sales contract which requires regular payments with an
11 interest charge included and which provides that the lessee
12 receive title to the property upon final payment.
13 (6)(5) "Prisoner" means any person who is under arrest
14 and in the lawful custody of any law enforcement official, or
15 any person convicted and sentenced by any court and committed
16 to any municipal or county jail or state prison, prison farm,
17 or penitentiary, or to the custody of the department, as
18 provided by law.
19 (7)(4) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Corrections.
20 (8)(6) "State correctional institution" means any
21 prison, road camp, prison industry, prison forestry camp, or
22 any prison camp or prison farm or other correctional facility,
23 temporary or permanent, in which prisoners are housed, worked,
24 or maintained, under the custody and jurisdiction of the
25 department.
26 Section 2. Section 944.804, Florida Statutes, is
27 created to read:
28 944.804 Elderly offenders correctional facilities
29 program of 2000.--
30 (1) The Legislature finds that the number and
31 percentage of elderly offenders in the Florida prison system
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Florida Senate - 2000 CS for SB 2390
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1 is increasing and will continue to increase for the forseeable
2 future. The current cost to incarcerate elderly offenders is
3 approximately three times the cost of incarceration of younger
4 inmates. Alternatives to the current approaches to housing,
5 programming, and treating the medical needs of elderly
6 offenders, which may reduce the overall costs associated with
7 this segment of the prison population, must be explored and
8 implemented.
9 (2) The department shall establish and operate a
10 geriatric facility at the site known as River Junction
11 Correctional Institution, which shall be an institution
12 specifically for generally healthy elderly offenders who can
13 perform general work appropriate for their physical and mental
14 condition. Prior to reopening the facility, the department
15 shall make modifications to the facility which will ensure its
16 compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and
17 decrease the likelihood of falls, accidental injury, and other
18 conditions known to be particularly hazardous to the elderly.
19 (a) In order to decrease long-term medical costs to
20 the state, a preventive fitness/wellness program and diet
21 specifically designed to maintain the mental and physical
22 health of elderly offenders shall be developed and
23 implemented. In developing the program, the department shall
24 give consideration to preventive medical care for the elderly
25 which shall include, but not be limited to, maintenance of
26 bone density, all aspects of cardiovascular health, lung
27 capacity, mental alertness, and orientation. Existing
28 policies and procedures shall be reexamined and altered to
29 encourage offenders to adopt a more healthy lifestyle and
30 maximize their level of functioning. The program components
31 shall be modified as data and experience are received which
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Florida Senate - 2000 CS for SB 2390
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1 measure the relative success of the program components
2 previously implemented.
3 (b) Consideration must be given to redirecting
4 resources as a method of offsetting increased medical costs.
5 Elderly offenders are not likely to reenter society as a part
6 of the workforce, and programming resources would be better
7 spent in activities to keep the elderly offenders healthy,
8 alert, and oriented. Limited or restricted programming or
9 activities for elderly offenders will increase the daily cost
10 of institutional and health care; and programming
11 opportunities adequate to reduce the cost of care will be
12 provided. Programming shall include, but not be limited to,
13 recreation, education, and counseling which is needs-specific
14 to elderly offenders. Institutional staff shall be
15 specifically trained to effectively supervise elderly
16 offenders and to detect physical or mental changes which
17 warrant medical attention before more serious problems
18 develop.
19 (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 120.54(1)(b),
20 the department shall adopt rules within 90 days after the
21 effective date of this act, or may initially adopt emergency
22 rules, that specify which elderly offenders shall be eligible
23 to be housed at River Junction Correctional Institution. The
24 Legislature finds that initial emergency rulemaking power is
25 necessary for the welfare of the people in order to provide
26 future savings to benefit the public. The Legislature further
27 finds that if the initial rules adopted are emergency rules,
28 then the department need not make the findings required by s.
29 120.54(4)(a).
30 (4) In developing the rules or initial emergency
31 rules, the Legislature directs the department to target
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1 occupancy at 100 percent, and to achieve occupancy of no less
2 than 85 percent, at River Junction Correctional Institution.
3 While developing the criteria for eligibility, the department
4 shall use the information in existing offender databases to
5 determine the number of offenders who would be eligible. The
6 Legislature directs the department to consider a broad range
7 of elderly offenders for River Junction Correctional
8 Institution who have good disciplinary records and a medical
9 grade that will permit them to perform meaningful work
10 activities, including participation in an appropriate
11 correctional work program (PRIDE) facility, if available.
12 (5) It is further the specific intent of the
13 Legislature that implementation of these statutory provisions
14 not be delayed until adoption of rules or emergency rules or
15 during any period when previously existing rules are no longer
16 in effect. During any such period, the department shall
17 maintain an inmate population profile in accordance with the
18 following schedule:
19
20 Profile Variable Population Variation
21 Percent Percent
22 Age 50 or greater 100% 2%
23 Custody Level
24 Minimum/Medium 100% .05%
25 Physical Health Grade
26 M1 or M2 60% 1%
27 M3 with chronic condition(s)
28 considered stable 40% 1%
29 Psychological Grade
30 S1 or S2 100% 1%
31
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1 (6) At the time of submission of the rules to the
2 Joint Administrative Procedures Committee, the department
3 shall also submit a study based on existing offenders which
4 projects the number of existing offenders who will qualify
5 under the rules. An appendix to the study shall identify the
6 specific offenders who qualify.
7 Section 3. Section 944.8041, Florida Statutes, is
8 created to read:
9 944.8041 Elderly offenders; annual review.--For the
10 purpose of providing information to the Legislature on elderly
11 offenders within the correctional system, the Florida
12 Corrections Commission and the Correctional Medical Authority
13 shall each submit annually a report on the status and
14 treatment of elderly offenders in the state-administered and
15 private state correctional systems, as well as such
16 information on the River Junction Correctional Institution.
17 In order to adequately prepare the reports, the Department of
18 Corrections and the Correctional Privatization Commission
19 shall grant access to the Florida Corrections Commission and
20 the Correctional Medical Authority which includes access to
21 the facilities, offenders, and any information the agencies
22 require to complete their reports. The review shall also
23 include an examination of promising geriatric policies,
24 practices, and programs currently implemented in other
25 correctional systems within the United States. The reports,
26 with specific findings and recommendations for implementation,
27 shall be submitted to the President of the Senate and the
28 Speaker of the House of Representatives on or before December
29 31 of each year.
30 Section 4. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (3) of
31 section 120.81, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
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1 120.81 Exceptions and special requirements; general
2 areas.--
3 (3) PRISONERS AND PAROLEES.--
4 (a) Notwithstanding s. 120.52(12), prisoners, as
5 defined by s. 944.02(5), shall not be considered parties in
6 any proceedings other than those under s. 120.54(3)(c) or (7),
7 and may not seek judicial review under s. 120.68 of any other
8 agency action. Prisoners are not eligible to seek an
9 administrative determination of an agency statement under s.
10 120.56(4). Parolees shall not be considered parties for
11 purposes of agency action or judicial review when the
12 proceedings relate to the rescission or revocation of parole.
13 (b) Notwithstanding s. 120.54(3)(c), prisoners, as
14 defined by s. 944.02(5), may be limited by the Department of
15 Corrections to an opportunity to present evidence and argument
16 on issues under consideration by submission of written
17 statements concerning intended action on any department rule.
18 Section 5. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section
19 413.051, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
20 413.051 Eligible blind persons; operation of vending
21 stands.--
22 (2) As used in this section:
23 (d) "State property" means any building or land owned,
24 leased, or otherwise controlled by the state, but does not
25 include any building or land under the control of the Board of
26 Regents, a community college district board of trustees, or
27 any state correctional institution as defined in s. 944.02(6).
28 Section 6. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
29 414.40, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
30 414.40 Stop Inmate Fraud Program established;
31 guidelines.--
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1 (2) The Department of Law Enforcement is directed to
2 implement the Stop Inmate Fraud Program in accordance with the
3 following guidelines:
4 (a) The program shall establish procedures for sharing
5 public records not exempt from the public records law among
6 social services agencies regarding the identities of persons
7 incarcerated in state correctional institutions, as defined in
8 s. 944.02(6), or in county, municipal, or regional jails or
9 other detention facilities of local governments under chapter
10 950 or chapter 951 who are wrongfully receiving public
11 assistance benefits or entitlement benefits.
12 Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
13
14 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
15 Senate Bill 2390
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17 - Changes the operation of the geriatric facility from
being overseen by the Correctional Privatization
18 Commission to being established and operated by the
Department of Corrections.
19
- Revises the definition of "elderly offender."
20
- Requires an annual review by the Florida Corrections
21 Commission and the Correctional Medical Authority to the
Legislature on elderly offenders within the correctional
22 system by December 31st of each year.
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