| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to pretrial programs; providing state |
| 3 | policy and legislative intent; requiring each pretrial |
| 4 | release program established by ordinance of a county |
| 5 | commission, by administrative order of a court, or by any |
| 6 | other means in order to assist in the release of a |
| 7 | defendant from pretrial custody to conform to the |
| 8 | eligibility criteria set forth by the act; preempting any |
| 9 | conflicting statutes, local ordinances, orders, or |
| 10 | practices; requiring that the defendant satisfy certain |
| 11 | eligibility criteria in order to be assigned to a pretrial |
| 12 | release program; permitting a defendant to post a surety |
| 13 | bond pursuant to a predetermined bond schedule; requiring |
| 14 | disclosure of certain fees; providing that the act does |
| 15 | not prohibit a court from releasing a defendant on the |
| 16 | defendant's own recognizance or imposing any other |
| 17 | reasonable condition of release on the defendant; |
| 18 | authorizing a county to reimburse a licensed surety agent |
| 19 | for the premium costs of a bail bond for the pretrial |
| 20 | release of an indigent defendant under certain |
| 21 | circumstances; providing an effective date. |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Section 1. Eligibility criteria for the enrollment of a |
| 26 | defendant in a pretrial release program.- |
| 27 | (1) It is the policy of this state that only defendants |
| 28 | who are indigent and who qualify for the services of a public |
| 29 | defender are eligible to participate in a pretrial release |
| 30 | program. Further, it is the policy of this state that, to the |
| 31 | greatest extent possible, the resources of the private sector be |
| 32 | used to assist in the pretrial release of defendants. It is the |
| 33 | intent of the Legislature that this section not be interpreted |
| 34 | to limit the discretion of courts with respect to imposing on a |
| 35 | defendant reasonable conditions for pretrial release. |
| 36 | (2) A pretrial release program established by an ordinance |
| 37 | of the county commission, an administrative order of the court, |
| 38 | or by any other means in order to assist in the release of |
| 39 | defendants from pretrial custody is subject to the eligibility |
| 40 | criteria set forth in this section. These eligibility criteria |
| 41 | for admission into a pretrial release program supersede and |
| 42 | preempt all conflicting statutes, local ordinances, orders, or |
| 43 | practices. Each pretrial release program shall certify annually, |
| 44 | in writing to the chief circuit court judge, that it has |
| 45 | complied with the reporting requirements of s. 907.043(4), |
| 46 | Florida Statutes. |
| 47 | (3) A defendant is eligible to participate in a pretrial |
| 48 | release program only by order of the court after the court finds |
| 49 | in writing upon consideration of the defendant's affidavit of |
| 50 | insolvency that the defendant is indigent as set forth in Rule |
| 51 | 3.111, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, and that the |
| 52 | defendant has not previously failed to appear at any required |
| 53 | court proceeding. |
| 54 | (4) If a defendant seeks to post a surety bond pursuant to |
| 55 | a predetermined bond schedule, the defendant shall be permitted |
| 56 | to do so without any interference or restriction by a pretrial |
| 57 | release program. Each pretrial release program shall disclose in |
| 58 | writing to each defendant at his or her initial interview each |
| 59 | and every fee that will be assessed for his or her supervision. |
| 60 | (5) This section does not prohibit the court from: |
| 61 | (a) Releasing a defendant on the defendant's own |
| 62 | recognizance. |
| 63 | (b) Imposing upon the defendant any reasonable condition |
| 64 | of release, including, but not limited to, electronic |
| 65 | monitoring, drug testing, substance abuse treatment, and |
| 66 | domestic violence counseling. |
| 67 | (6) In lieu of using a governmental program to ensure the |
| 68 | court appearance of a defendant, a county may reimburse a |
| 69 | licensed surety agent for the premium costs of a surety bail |
| 70 | bond that secures the appearance of an indigent defendant at all |
| 71 | court proceedings if the court establishes a bail bond amount |
| 72 | for the indigent defendant. |
| 73 | Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2011. |