HB 163

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to illegal aliens in the correctional
3	system; requiring the Department of Corrections and the
4	Parole Commission to establish agreements to implement a
5	federal deportation program for certain state inmates;
6	specifying the goals of the program; creating s. 947.1461,
7	F.S.; requiring the department to identify during the
8	reception process inmates eligible for deportation;
9	specifying eligibility criteria; requiring the department
10	to coordinate with federal authorities to determine
11	immigration status and eligibility for removal and obtain
12	a removal order; specifying that eligible inmates waive
13	administrative and appellate rights and cooperate with
14	authorities; requiring the Control Release Authority to
15	establish control release dates; authorizing control
16	release dates to occur after the alien has served a
17	minimum 50 percent of his or her court-imposed sentence;
18	providing for control and responsibility for the custody
19	and transportation of aliens; requiring the authority to
20	give notice to aliens concerning illegally reentering the
21	United States; requiring aliens to waive in writing all
22	rights of extradition which would challenge the alien's
23	return to complete the remainder of his or her sentence
24	upon illegal reentry; prohibiting aliens from benefiting
25	from control release awards when removal is not reasonably
26	foreseeable; requiring the department to compile certain
27	statistics; amending s. 947.146, F.S.; requiring the
28	authority to implement a program to execute an immediate
29	deportation order; providing that control release dates
30	for deportation do not become void when the inmate
31	population changes; authorizing extension or advancement
32	of a control release date based upon arrangements for the
33	transfer of custody pending deportation; providing an
34	effective date.
35
36	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
37
38	Section 1.  The Department of Corrections and the Parole
39	Commission shall immediately initiate, coordinate, and establish
40	agreements among multiple state, local, and federal authorities
41	to implement the United States Immigration and Customs
42	Enforcement Rapid Removal of Eligible Parolees Accepted for
43	Transfer (REPAT) program. The goals of this effort shall be to:
44	(1)  Ensure that deportable aliens are not released from
45	prison into the community.
46	(2)  Reduce the number of criminal aliens incarcerated in
47	the state prison system.
48	(3)  Provide for the mandatory revocation of control
49	release and confinement of criminal aliens who reenter the
50	United States and who are rearrested in this state.
51	(4)  Allow eligible inmates to be released for deportation
52	purposes prior to the expiration of the sentence.
53	(5)  Expedite the deportation process.
54	(6)  Improve information-sharing procedures between the
55	Immigration and Customs Enforcement Section of the United States
56	Department of Homeland Security and the department.
57	Section 2.  Section 947.1461, Florida Statutes, is created
58	to read:
59	947.1461  Control release for removal and deportation
60	only.--
61	(1)  The department shall, during the inmate reception
62	process, identify aliens eligible for deportation to determine
63	whether deportation is feasible and in the best interest of the
64	state. Aliens who are ineligible for the federal deportation
65	process pursuant to this section are inmates who are ineligible
66	for control release pursuant to s. 947.146(3).
67	(2)  The department shall coordinate with federal
68	authorities to determine the alien's immigration status and
69	eligibility for removal and to obtain the final removal order.
70	(3)  The department shall identify for removal any alien
71	who, in writing, has:
72	(a)  Voluntarily waived all administrative and judicial
73	appellate rights; and
74	(b)  Agreed to fully cooperate with federal authorities to
75	obtain valid travel documentation and facilitate removal.
76	(4)  Upon the alien's acceptance into the federal
77	deportation process, the Control Release Authority shall
78	establish a control release date for the alien to be transferred
79	into federal custody, which date, notwithstanding s.
80	944.275(4)(b)3., may fall after the alien has served a minimum
81	of 50 percent of his or her court-imposed sentence.
82	(5)  The department shall maintain exclusive control and
83	responsibility for the custody and transportation of aliens to
84	and from federal facilities.
85	(6)  The authority shall provide notice and obtain
86	acknowledgement in writing that notice was given to each alien
87	eligible for deportation that illegal reentry into the United
88	States requires the return of such alien to the custody of the
89	department to complete the remainder of his or her court-imposed
90	sentence. The alien must also waive in writing any and all
91	rights of extradition which would challenge the alien's return
92	to the department and the authority following illegal reentry
93	into the United States to complete the remainder of his or her
94	sentence.
95	(7)  Under no circumstances shall an alien receive the
96	benefits of control release awards when federal authorities
97	determine that the alien's removal is not reasonably
98	foreseeable.
99	(8)  The department shall compile statistics relating to
100	actions under this section, including the number of aliens who
101	are transferred to federal custody, the number of aliens who are
102	actually removed from the United States, the number of aliens
103	who reenter the United States, and the annualized cost avoidance
104	achieved.
105	Section 3.  Subsections (2) and (5) and paragraph (a) of
106	subsection (7) of section 947.146, Florida Statutes, are amended
107	to read:
108	947.146  Control Release Authority.--
109	(2)  The authority shall implement a system for determining
110	the number and type of inmates who must be released into the
111	community under control release in order to maintain the state
112	prison system between 99 and 100 percent of its total capacity
113	as defined in s. 944.023 or to execute an immediate deportation
114	order from federal immigration authorities. No inmate has a
115	right to control release. Control release is an administrative
116	function solely used to manage the state prison population
117	within total capacity and to expedite the deportation process.
118	An inmate may not receive an advancement of his or her control
119	release date by an award of control release allotments for any
120	period of time before the date the inmate becomes statutorily
121	eligible for control release or before the subsequent date of
122	establishment of the inmate's advanceable control release date.
123	(5)  Whenever the inmate population drops below 99 percent
124	of total capacity and remains below 99 percent for 90
125	consecutive days without requiring the release of inmates under
126	this section, all control release dates shall become void and no
127	inmate shall be eligible for release under any previously
128	established control release date. However, control release dates
129	for deportation purposes shall not become void when the inmate
130	population changes. An inmate shall not have a right to a
131	control release date, nor shall the authority be required to
132	establish or reestablish any additional control release dates
133	except under the provisions of subsection (2).
134	(7)  The authority has the power and duty to:
135	(a)  Extend or advance the control release date of any
136	inmate for whom a date has been established pursuant to
137	subsection (2), based upon one or more of the following:
138	1.  Recently discovered information of:
139	a.  Past criminal conduct;
140	b.  Verified threats by inmates provided by victims, law
141	enforcement, or the department;
142	c.  Potential risk to or vulnerability of a victim;
143	d.  Psychological or physical trauma to the victim due to
144	the criminal offense;
145	e.  Court-ordered restitution;
146	f.  History of abuse or addiction to a chemical substance
147	verified by a presentence or postsentence investigation report;
148	g.  The inmate's ties to organized crime;
149	h.  A change in the inmate's sentence structure;
150	i.  Cooperation with law enforcement;
151	j.  Strong community support; and
152	k.  A documented mental condition as a factor for future
153	criminal behavior.
154	2.  The recommendation of the department regarding:
155	a.  A medical or mental health-related condition; or
156	b.  Institutional adjustment of the inmate, which may
157	include refusal by the inmate to sign the agreement to the
158	conditions of the release plan.
159	3.  Total capacity of the state prison system.
160	4.  Arrangements for the transfer of custody pending
161	deportation.
162	Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.