Florida Senate - 2018                                     SB 226
       
       
        
       By Senator Bracy
       
       
       
       
       
       11-00282-18                                            2018226__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to inmate reentry services; creating
    3         s. 944.8025, F.S.; requiring the Department of
    4         Corrections to allow representatives from nonprofit
    5         organizations to apply to be registered with the
    6         department for the purpose of providing inmate reentry
    7         services; requiring the department to develop and
    8         adopt policies and procedures for screening,
    9         approving, and registering those nonprofit
   10         organizations and their representatives; authorizing
   11         the department to deny approval and registration to an
   12         organization or a representative from an organization
   13         if the department determines that the organization or
   14         representative does not meet the department’s
   15         screening guidelines; authorizing the department and
   16         each of the correctional facilities in this state to
   17         retain the discretion to deny entry into a
   18         correctional facility at any time to a representative
   19         of an organization; requiring the department to post
   20         certain information on its public website for certain
   21         purposes; prohibiting the department from endorsing or
   22         sponsoring any faith-based reentry program or
   23         endorsing any specific religious message; prohibiting
   24         the department from requiring an inmate to participate
   25         in a faith-based program; providing rulemaking
   26         authority; providing an effective date.
   27          
   28  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   29  
   30         Section 1. Section 944.8025, Florida Statutes, is created
   31  to read:
   32         944.8025 Inmate reentry services by nonprofit
   33  organizations.—
   34         (1) Subject to the policies and procedures adopted under
   35  subsection (2) for screening and approving applicants, the
   36  department shall allow representatives from all nonprofit faith
   37  based, business and professional, civic, and community
   38  organizations to apply to be registered with the department
   39  under this section for the purpose of providing inmate reentry
   40  services. Reentry services include, but are not limited to,
   41  counseling, providing information on housing and job placement,
   42  and money management assistance.
   43         (2) The department shall develop and adopt policies and
   44  procedures for screening, approving, and registering
   45  organizations and their representatives that apply to provide
   46  inmate reentry services under subsection (1). The department may
   47  deny approval and registration of an organization or a
   48  representative from an organization if the department determines
   49  that the organization or representative does not meet the
   50  department’s screening guidelines. The department and each of
   51  the correctional facilities in this state retain the discretion
   52  to deny entry to a correctional facility at any time to a
   53  representative of an organization listed under subsection (1)
   54  regardless of whether that representative previously applied to
   55  and was registered with the department to provide inmate reentry
   56  services at a correctional facility.
   57         (3) The department shall post a department telephone number
   58  and provide an application for registration on its public
   59  website. The telephone number and application may be used by
   60  representatives from an organization described in subsection (1)
   61  to obtain information and to begin the application process for
   62  registration with the department to provide inmate reentry
   63  services.
   64         (4) The department may not endorse or sponsor any faith
   65  based reentry program or endorse any specific religious message.
   66  The department may not require an inmate to participate in a
   67  faith-based program.
   68         (5) The department shall adopt rules to implement this
   69  section.
   70         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2018.