| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the capital collateral regional |
| 3 | counsel; amending s. 27.701, F.S.; extending the term of |
| 4 | the capital collateral regional counsel pilot program; |
| 5 | providing for legislative determination of converting the |
| 6 | pilot program to a permanent program after receipt of |
| 7 | Auditor General's review; deleting an expiration date; |
| 8 | amending s. 27.702, F.S.; removing authorization for |
| 9 | representation by capital collateral regional counsel in |
| 10 | federal courts; providing an effective date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 27.701, Florida |
| 15 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 16 | 27.701 Capital collateral regional counsels.-- |
| 17 | (2) For the 2003-2004 fiscal year only and Notwithstanding |
| 18 | the provisions of subsection (1), the responsibilities of the |
| 19 | regional office of capital collateral counsel for the northern |
| 20 | region of the state shall be met through a pilot program using |
| 21 | only attorneys from the registry of attorneys maintained |
| 22 | pursuant to s. 27.710. Each attorney participating in the pilot |
| 23 | must be qualified to provide representation in federal court. |
| 24 | The Auditor General shall present a status report on the |
| 25 | implementation of the pilot program to the President of the |
| 26 | Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by |
| 27 | February 27, 2004. The Auditor General shall also schedule a |
| 28 | performance review of the pilot program to determine the |
| 29 | effectiveness and efficiency of using attorneys from the |
| 30 | registry compared to the capital collateral regional counsels. |
| 31 | The review, at a minimum, shall include comparisons of the |
| 32 | timeliness and costs of the pilot and the counsels and shall be |
| 33 | submitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the |
| 34 | House of Representatives by January 30, 2006 2007. The |
| 35 | Legislature may determine whether to convert the pilot program |
| 36 | to a permanent program after receipt of the Auditor General's |
| 37 | review. This subsection expires July 1, 2004. |
| 38 | Section 2. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 27.702, |
| 39 | Florida Statutes, as amended by chapter 2003-402, Laws of |
| 40 | Florida, are amended to read: |
| 41 | 27.702 Duties of the capital collateral regional counsel; |
| 42 | reports.-- |
| 43 | (1) The capital collateral regional counsel shall |
| 44 | represent each person convicted and sentenced to death in this |
| 45 | state for the sole purpose of instituting and prosecuting |
| 46 | collateral actions challenging the legality of the judgment and |
| 47 | sentence imposed against such person in the state courts, |
| 48 | federal courts in this state, the United States Court of Appeals |
| 49 | for the Eleventh Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. |
| 50 | The capital collateral regional counsel and the attorneys |
| 51 | appointed pursuant to s. 27.710 shall file only those |
| 52 | postconviction or collateral actions authorized by statute. The |
| 53 | three capital collateral regional counsels' offices shall |
| 54 | function independently and be separate budget entities, and the |
| 55 | regional counsels shall be the office heads for all purposes. |
| 56 | The Justice Administrative Commission shall provide |
| 57 | administrative support and service to the three offices to the |
| 58 | extent requested by the regional counsels. The three regional |
| 59 | offices shall not be subject to control, supervision, or |
| 60 | direction by the Justice Administrative Commission in any |
| 61 | manner, including, but not limited to, personnel, purchasing, |
| 62 | transactions involving real or personal property, and budgetary |
| 63 | matters. |
| 64 | (3)(a) The capital collateral regional counsel shall file |
| 65 | motions seeking compensation for representation and |
| 66 | reimbursement for expenses pursuant to 18 U.S.C. s. 3006A when |
| 67 | providing representation to indigent persons in the federal |
| 68 | courts, and shall deposit all such payments received into the |
| 69 | Capital Collateral Trust Fund established for such purpose. |
| 70 | (b) The court having jurisdiction over any nonindigent or |
| 71 | indigent-but-able-to-contribute defendant who has been receiving |
| 72 | the services of the capital collateral regional counsel may |
| 73 | assess attorney's fees and costs against the defendant at any |
| 74 | stage in the proceedings as the court may deem appropriate. The |
| 75 | determination of indigence of any defendant shall be made |
| 76 | pursuant to s. 27.52. Liability for the costs of such |
| 77 | representation may be imposed in the form of a lien against the |
| 78 | property of the nonindigent or indigent-but-able-to-contribute |
| 79 | defendant, which lien shall be enforceable as provided in s. |
| 80 | 27.561 or s. 938.29. |
| 81 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. |