Senate Bill sb0834
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 SB 834
By Senator Wilson
33-19A-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to restoration of civil rights;
3 providing a short title; providing findings and
4 purpose; creating s. 944.294, F.S.; providing
5 for automatic restoration of a former felon's
6 civil rights, other than the right to vote,
7 following completion of his or her sentence of
8 incarceration and community supervision;
9 providing conditions for and exemptions from
10 automatic restoration; providing for education
11 concerning the civil rights of people who have
12 felony convictions; amending ss. 944.292,
13 944.293, and 944.705, F.S., to conform;
14 providing applicability; providing a contingent
15 effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. Short title.--This act may be cited as the
20 "Restoration of Civil Rights Act."
21 Section 2. Findings and purpose.--
22 (1) FINDINGS.--The Legislature finds that:
23 (a) The exercise of civil rights is a fundamental
24 aspect of citizenship. Among many things, restoring civil
25 rights allows former felons to participate in public service,
26 serve on juries, and pursue a chosen occupation.
27 (b) Restoring civil rights helps felons who have
28 completed their sentences to reintegrate into society. Their
29 opportunity to fully participate in society reinforces their
30 ties to the community and may help to prevent recidivism.
31
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 SB 834
33-19A-07
1 (c) Under current law, all persons convicted of
2 felonies permanently lose many civil rights unless they
3 receive discretionary executive clemency.
4 (d) The restoration of civil rights through the
5 clemency process is cumbersome and costly and produces long
6 delays. The clemency process imposes administrative burdens on
7 the state and economic burdens on state taxpayers, and it
8 should be reserved for extraordinary cases. Streamlining the
9 restoration process for the majority of former offenders will
10 advance administrative efficiency, fiscal responsibility,
11 fairness, and democracy.
12 (2) PURPOSE.--The purposes of this act are to
13 strengthen democratic institutions by enabling felons who have
14 completed their sentences to become productive members of
15 society, and to streamline procedures for restoring civil
16 rights.
17 Section 3. Section 944.294, Florida Statutes, is
18 created to read:
19 944.294 Restoration of civil rights.--
20 (1) A person who has been convicted of a felony, other
21 than those set forth in subsection (3), shall have those civil
22 rights that are lost as a consequence of a conviction of that
23 felony restored upon completion of his or her sentence.
24 However, this provision does not apply to restoration of the
25 right to own, possess, or use firearms.
26 (2) For purposes of this section, "completion of
27 sentence" occurs when a person is released from incarceration
28 upon expiration of his or her sentence and has completed all
29 other terms and conditions of the sentence or subsequent
30 supervision or, if the person has not been incarcerated for
31
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 SB 834
33-19A-07
1 the felony offense, has completed all terms and conditions of
2 supervision imposed on him or her.
3 (3)(a) A person convicted of a crime defined by any of
4 the following statutes is ineligible for restoration of civil
5 rights under this section:
6 1. Section 782.04, relating to murder.
7 2. Section 782.07(3), relating to aggravated
8 manslaughter of a child.
9 3. Section 794.011, relating to sexual battery.
10 4. Section 796.03, relating to procuring a person
11 under 18 for prostitution.
12 5. Section 796.035, relating to selling or buying
13 minors into sex trafficking or prostitution.
14 6. Section 826.04, relating to incest.
15 7. Section 827.071, relating to sexual performance by
16 a child.
17 8. Section 847.0145, relating to selling or buying
18 minors.
19 (b) A person convicted of treason or whose impeachment
20 has resulted in conviction, as referred to in s. 8, Art. IV of
21 the State Constitution, is ineligible for restoration of civil
22 rights under this section.
23 (4) This section does not impair the ability of any
24 person convicted of a felony to apply for executive clemency
25 under s. 8, Art. IV of the State Constitution.
26 (5) A court shall, before accepting a plea of guilty
27 or nolo contendere to a felony without trial or, if a trial is
28 held, before imposing sentence for a felony, notify the
29 defendant as follows:
30 (a) If the felony is described in subsection (3), that
31 conviction will result in permanent loss of civil rights
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 SB 834
33-19A-07
1 unless he or she receives executive clemency under s. 8, Art.
2 IV of the State Constitution.
3 (b) If the felony is not described in subsection (3),
4 that conviction will result in loss of civil rights until the
5 defendant completes his or her sentence and that civil rights
6 will be restored thereafter, except for the right to own,
7 possess, or use firearms.
8 (6) The Secretary of State shall develop and implement
9 a program to educate attorneys, judges, election officials,
10 corrections officials, including parole and probation
11 officers, and members of the public about the requirements of
12 this section, ensuring that:
13 (a) Judges are informed of their obligation to notify
14 criminal defendants of the potential loss and restoration of
15 their civil rights as required by subsection (5).
16 (b) Accurate and complete information about the civil
17 rights of people who have been charged with or convicted of
18 crimes, whether disenfranchising or not, is made available
19 through a single publication to government officials and the
20 public.
21 Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 944.292, Florida
22 Statutes, is amended to read:
23 944.292 Suspension of civil rights.--
24 (1) Upon conviction of a felony as defined in s. 10,
25 Art. X of the State Constitution, the civil rights of the
26 person convicted shall be suspended in Florida until such
27 rights are restored by a full pardon, conditional pardon, or
28 restoration of civil rights granted pursuant to s. 8, Art. IV
29 of the State Constitution or by restoration of civil rights
30 pursuant to s. 944.294.
31
4
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 SB 834
33-19A-07
1 Section 5. Section 944.293, Florida Statutes, is
2 amended to read:
3 944.293 Initiation of restoration of civil
4 rights.--With respect to those persons convicted of a felony,
5 the following procedure shall apply: Prior to the time an
6 offender who has committed an offense enumerated in s.
7 944.294(3) is discharged from the custody, control, or
8 supervision of the department, an authorized agent of the
9 department shall obtain from the Governor the necessary
10 application and other forms required for the restoration of
11 civil rights. The authorized agent shall assist the offender
12 in completing these forms and shall ensure that the
13 application and all necessary material are forwarded to the
14 Governor before the offender is discharged from supervision.
15 Section 6. Present paragraph (g) of subsection (2) of
16 section 944.705, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as
17 paragraph (h), and a new paragraph (g) is added to that
18 subsection, to read:
19 944.705 Release orientation program.--
20 (2) The release orientation program instruction must
21 include, but is not limited to:
22 (g) Restoration of civil rights.
23 Section 7. This act shall take effect on the effective
24 date of Senate Joint Resolution ___ or another amendment to
25 the State Constitution which authorizes, or removes
26 impediments to, enactment of this act by the Legislature and
27 shall apply retroactively to all persons who are eligible for
28 the restoration of civil rights under its terms, regardless of
29 whether they were convicted or discharged from sentence prior
30 to its effective date.
31
5
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 SB 834
33-19A-07
1 *****************************************
2 SENATE SUMMARY
3 Provides findings and purpose. Provides for the automatic
restoration of a former felon's civil rights, other than
4 the right to vote, following completion of his or her
sentence of incarceration and community supervision.
5 Provides conditions for and exemptions from automatic
restoration.
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
6
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.