| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to military veterans convicted of criminal |
| 3 | offenses; creating s. 921.00242, F.S.; providing that |
| 4 | persons convicted of criminal offenses who allege that the |
| 5 | offenses resulted from posttraumatic stress disorder, |
| 6 | substance abuse, or psychological problems stemming from |
| 7 | service in a combat theater in the United States military |
| 8 | may have a hearing on that issue before sentencing; |
| 9 | providing that defendants found to have committed offenses |
| 10 | due to such causes and who are otherwise eligible for |
| 11 | probation or community control may be placed in treatment |
| 12 | programs for an equal period of time in certain |
| 13 | circumstances; providing for sentence credit for such |
| 14 | defendants placed in treatment; providing a preference for |
| 15 | treatment programs with histories of successfully treating |
| 16 | such combat veterans; providing an effective date. |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Section 1. Section 921.00242, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 21 | to read: |
| 22 | 921.00242 Convicted military veterans; posttraumatic |
| 23 | stress disorder, substance abuse, or psychological problems from |
| 24 | service; treatment services.- |
| 25 | (1) In the case of any person convicted of a criminal |
| 26 | offense who would otherwise be sentenced to county jail or the |
| 27 | state correctional system and who alleges that he or she |
| 28 | committed the offense as a result of posttraumatic stress |
| 29 | disorder, substance abuse, or psychological problems stemming |
| 30 | from service in a combat theater in the United States military, |
| 31 | the court shall, before sentencing, hold a hearing to determine |
| 32 | whether the defendant was a member of the military forces of the |
| 33 | United States who served in combat and shall assess whether the |
| 34 | defendant suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder, substance |
| 35 | abuse, or psychological problems as a result of that service. |
| 36 | (2) If the court concludes that a defendant convicted of a |
| 37 | criminal offense is a person described in subsection (1), and if |
| 38 | the defendant is otherwise eligible for probation or community |
| 39 | control and the court places the defendant on probation or |
| 40 | community control, the court may order the defendant into a |
| 41 | local, state, federal, or private nonprofit treatment program |
| 42 | for a period not to exceed that which the defendant would have |
| 43 | served in the state correctional system or county jail, provided |
| 44 | the defendant agrees to participate in the program and the court |
| 45 | determines that an appropriate treatment program exists. |
| 46 | (3) A defendant granted probation or community control |
| 47 | under this section and committed to a residential treatment |
| 48 | program shall earn sentence credits for the actual time he or |
| 49 | she served in residential treatment. |
| 50 | (4) The court, in making an order under this section to |
| 51 | commit a defendant to an established treatment program, shall |
| 52 | give preference to a treatment program that has a history of |
| 53 | successfully treating combat veterans who suffer from |
| 54 | posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or psychological |
| 55 | problems as a result of that service. |
| 56 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |