Florida Senate - 2011 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1398
Barcode 439898
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RE .
05/18/2011 .
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The Committee on Judiciary (Bogdanoff) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment to Amendment (332504) (with title
2 amendment)
3
4 Delete line 254
5 and insert:
6 Section 25. Eligibility criteria for government-funded
7 pretrial release.—
8 (1) It is the policy of this state that only defendants who
9 are indigent and therefore qualify for representation by the
10 public defender are eligible for government-funded pretrial
11 release. Further, it is the policy of this state that, to the
12 greatest extent possible, the resources of the private sector be
13 used to assist in the pretrial release of defendants. It is the
14 intent of the Legislature that this section not be interpreted
15 to limit the discretion of courts with respect to ordering
16 reasonable conditions for pretrial release for any defendant.
17 However, it is the intent of the Legislature that government
18 funded pretrial release be ordered only as an alternative to
19 release on a defendant’s own recognizance or release by the
20 posting of a surety bond.
21 (2) A pretrial release program established by an ordinance
22 of the county commission, an administrative order of the court,
23 or by any other means in order to assist in the release of
24 defendants from pretrial custody is subject to the eligibility
25 criteria set forth in this section. These eligibility criteria
26 supersede and preempt all conflicting local ordinances, orders,
27 or practices. Each pretrial release program shall certify
28 annually, in writing, to the chief circuit court judge, that it
29 has complied with the reporting requirements of s. 907.043(4),
30 Florida Statutes.
31 (3) A defendant is eligible to receive government-funded
32 pretrial release only by order of the court after the court
33 finds in writing upon consideration of the defendant’s affidavit
34 of indigence that the defendant is indigent or partially
35 indigent as set forth in Rule 3.111, Florida Rules of Criminal
36 Procedure, and that the defendant has not previously failed to
37 appear at any required court proceeding. A defendant may not
38 receive a government-funded pretrial release if the defendant’s
39 income is above 300 percent of the then-current federal poverty
40 guidelines prescribed for the size of the household of the
41 defendant by the United States Department of Health and Human
42 Services, unless the defendant is receiving Temporary Assistance
43 for Needy Families-Cash Assistance, poverty-related veterans’
44 benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), food stamps, or
45 Medicaid.
46 (4) If a defendant seeks to post a surety bond pursuant to
47 a bond schedule established by administrative order as an
48 alternative to government-funded pretrial release, the defendant
49 shall be permitted to do so without any interference or
50 restriction by a pretrial release program.
51 (5) This section does not prohibit the court from:
52 (a) Releasing a defendant on the defendant’s own
53 recognizance.
54 (b) Imposing upon the defendant any additional reasonable
55 condition of release as part of release on the defendant’s own
56 recognizance or the posting of a surety bond upon a finding of
57 need in the interest of public safety, including, but not
58 limited to, electronic monitoring, drug testing, substance abuse
59 treatment, or attending a batterers’ intervention program.
60 (6) In lieu of using a government-funded program to ensure
61 the court appearance of any defendant, a county may reimburse a
62 licensed surety agent for the premium costs of a surety bail
63 bond that secures the appearance of an indigent defendant at all
64 court proceedings if the court establishes a bail bond amount
65 for the indigent defendant.
66 (7) A defendant who is not otherwise eligible for
67 government-funded pretrial release under subsection (3) is
68 eligible for government-funded pretrial release 48 hours after
69 the defendant’s arrest.
70 (8) The income eligibility limitations applicable to
71 government-funded pretrial release programs apply only to those
72 counties with a population equal to or greater than 350,000
73 persons.
74 (9) This section does not prohibit a law enforcement
75 officer or a code enforcement officer authorized under s.
76 162.23, Florida Statutes, from issuing a notice to appear in
77 lieu of jail.
78 Section 26. (1) Sections 1 through 24 of this act shall
79 take effect January 1, 2012.
80 (2) Section 25 of this act pertaining to government-funded
81 pretrial release shall take effect October 1, 2011.
82 Section 27. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
83 act, this act shall take effect October 1, 2011.
84
85 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
86 And the title is amended as follows:
87 Delete lines 323 - 324
88 and insert:
89 provisions to changes made by the act; providing state
90 policy and legislative intent; requiring each pretrial
91 release program established by ordinance of a county
92 commission, by administrative order of a court, or by
93 any other means in order to assist in the release of a
94 defendant from pretrial custody to conform to the
95 eligibility criteria set forth in the act; preempting
96 any conflicting local ordinances, orders, or
97 practices; requiring that the defendant satisfy
98 certain eligibility criteria in order to be assigned
99 to a pretrial release program; providing that the act
100 does not prohibit a court from releasing a defendant
101 on the defendant’s own recognizance or imposing any
102 other reasonable condition of release on the
103 defendant; authorizing a county to reimburse a
104 licensed surety agent for the premium costs of a bail
105 bond for the pretrial release of an indigent defendant
106 under certain circumstances; providing that a
107 defendant who is not otherwise eligible for
108 government-funded pretrial release becomes eligible
109 for government-funded pretrial release 48 hours after
110 the defendant’s arrest; providing that the income
111 eligibility limitations applicable to government
112 funded pretrial release programs apply only to certain
113 specified counties; providing that the act does not
114 prohibit a law enforcement officer or a code
115 enforcement officer from issuing a notice to appear in
116 certain conditions; providing effective dates.