Florida Senate - 2020                                     SB 572
       
       
        
       By Senator Brandes
       
       
       
       
       
       24-00768A-20                                           2020572__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to extension of confinement; amending
    3         s. 944.275, F.S.; specifying that an inmate is not
    4         eligible to receive specified incentive gain-time if
    5         such gain-time would result in the prisoner’s release
    6         from the care, custody, supervision, or control of the
    7         Department of Corrections; requiring that
    8         participation in specified programs be credited toward
    9         satisfaction of specified portions of a sentence;
   10         amending s. 945.091, F.S.; authorizing the department
   11         to extend the limits of confinement to allow an inmate
   12         to participate in supervised community release,
   13         subject to certain requirements, as prescribed by the
   14         department by rule; providing that an inmate
   15         participating in such supervised community release is
   16         considered to be in the custody, care, supervision,
   17         and control of the department; authorizing the
   18         department to terminate the inmate’s supervised
   19         community release under certain circumstances;
   20         providing that an inmate participating in supervised
   21         community release is eligible to earn or lose gain
   22         time, subject to certain restrictions; prohibiting the
   23         inmate from being counted in the population of the
   24         prison system; prohibiting the inmate’s approved
   25         community-based housing location from being counted in
   26         the capacity figures for the prison system; reenacting
   27         ss. 775.084(4)(k) and 921.002(1)(e), F.S., relating to
   28         violent criminals and habitual offenders and the
   29         Criminal Punishment Code, respectively, to incorporate
   30         the amendment made to s. 944.275, F.S., in references
   31         thereto; reenacting s. 946.503(2), F.S., relating to
   32         the definition of the term “correctional work program”
   33         to incorporate the amendment made to s. 945.091, F.S.,
   34         in a reference thereto; providing an effective date.
   35          
   36  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   37  
   38         Section 1. Paragraph (f) of subsection (4) of section
   39  944.275, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (b) of that
   40  subsection is republished, to read:
   41         944.275 Gain-time.—
   42         (4)
   43         (b) For each month in which an inmate works diligently,
   44  participates in training, uses time constructively, or otherwise
   45  engages in positive activities, the department may grant
   46  incentive gain-time in accordance with this paragraph. The rate
   47  of incentive gain-time in effect on the date the inmate
   48  committed the offense which resulted in his or her incarceration
   49  shall be the inmate’s rate of eligibility to earn incentive
   50  gain-time throughout the period of incarceration and shall not
   51  be altered by a subsequent change in the severity level of the
   52  offense for which the inmate was sentenced.
   53         1. For sentences imposed for offenses committed prior to
   54  January 1, 1994, up to 20 days of incentive gain-time may be
   55  granted. If granted, such gain-time shall be credited and
   56  applied monthly.
   57         2. For sentences imposed for offenses committed on or after
   58  January 1, 1994, and before October 1, 1995:
   59         a. For offenses ranked in offense severity levels 1 through
   60  7, under former s. 921.0012 or former s. 921.0013, up to 25 days
   61  of incentive gain-time may be granted. If granted, such gain
   62  time shall be credited and applied monthly.
   63         b. For offenses ranked in offense severity levels 8, 9, and
   64  10, under former s. 921.0012 or former s. 921.0013, up to 20
   65  days of incentive gain-time may be granted. If granted, such
   66  gain-time shall be credited and applied monthly.
   67         3. For sentences imposed for offenses committed on or after
   68  October 1, 1995, the department may grant up to 10 days per
   69  month of incentive gain-time.
   70         (f) An inmate who is subject to subparagraph (b)3. is not
   71  eligible to earn or receive gain-time under paragraph (a),
   72  paragraph (b), paragraph (c), or paragraph (d) or any other type
   73  of gain-time in an amount that would cause a sentence to expire,
   74  end, or terminate, or that would result in a prisoner’s release
   75  from the department’s care, custody, supervision, or control,
   76  prior to serving a minimum of 85 percent of the sentence
   77  imposed. For purposes of this paragraph, credits awarded by the
   78  court for time physically incarcerated or time spent in the
   79  department’s care, custody, supervision, or control through
   80  participation in a program under s. 945.091 shall be credited
   81  toward satisfaction of 85 percent of the sentence imposed.
   82  Except as provided by this section, a prisoner may not
   83  accumulate further gain-time awards at any point when the
   84  tentative release date is the same as that date at which the
   85  prisoner will have served 85 percent of the sentence imposed.
   86  State prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment shall be
   87  incarcerated for the rest of their natural lives, unless granted
   88  pardon or clemency.
   89         Section 2. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (1) of
   90  section 945.091, Florida Statutes, to read:
   91         945.091 Extension of the limits of confinement; restitution
   92  by employed inmates.—
   93         (1) The department may adopt rules permitting the extension
   94  of the limits of the place of confinement of an inmate as to
   95  whom there is reasonable cause to believe that the inmate will
   96  honor his or her trust by authorizing the inmate, under
   97  prescribed conditions and following investigation and approval
   98  by the secretary, or the secretary’s designee, who shall
   99  maintain a written record of such action, to leave the confines
  100  of that place unaccompanied by a custodial agent for a
  101  prescribed period of time to:
  102         (d) Participate in supervised community release as
  103  prescribed by the department by rule. An inmate who has a
  104  sentence of 2 years or more may begin participation in
  105  supervised community release 365 days before his or her
  106  provisional or tentative release date. The supervised community
  107  release may include active electronic monitoring and community
  108  control as defined in s. 948.001. An inmate participating in
  109  such supervised community release is considered to be in the
  110  custody, care, supervision, and control of the department for
  111  purposes of ss. 921.002 and 944.275 and must be assigned to the
  112  caseload of a community control officer. The department must
  113  administer a risk assessment instrument to appropriately
  114  determine an inmate’s ability to be released pursuant to this
  115  paragraph.
  116         1. If a participating inmate fails to comply with the
  117  conditions prescribed in the department’s rule for supervised
  118  community release, the department may terminate the inmate’s
  119  supervised community release and return him or her to the same
  120  or another institution designated by the department. A law
  121  enforcement officer or a probation officer may arrest the inmate
  122  without a warrant in accordance with s. 948.06, if there are
  123  reasonable grounds to believe he or she has violated the terms
  124  and conditions of supervised community release. The law
  125  enforcement officer must report the inmate’s alleged violations
  126  to the supervising probation office or the department’s
  127  emergency action center for disposition of disciplinary charges
  128  as prescribed by the department by rule.
  129         2. An inmate participating in supervised community release
  130  under this paragraph remains eligible to earn or lose gain-time
  131  in accordance with s. 944.275 and department rule, but may not
  132  receive gain-time or other sentence credit in an amount that
  133  would cause his or her sentence to expire, end, or terminate, or
  134  that would result in his or her release before serving a minimum
  135  of 85 percent of the sentence imposed. The inmate may not be
  136  counted in the population of the prison system, and the inmate’s
  137  approved community-based housing location may not be counted in
  138  the capacity figures for the prison system.
  139         Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  140  made by this act to section 944.275, Florida Statutes, in a
  141  reference thereto, paragraph (k) of subsection (4) of section
  142  775.084, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  143         775.084 Violent career criminals; habitual felony offenders
  144  and habitual violent felony offenders; three-time violent felony
  145  offenders; definitions; procedure; enhanced penalties or
  146  mandatory minimum prison terms.—
  147         (4)
  148         (k)1. A defendant sentenced under this section as a
  149  habitual felony offender, a habitual violent felony offender, or
  150  a violent career criminal is eligible for gain-time granted by
  151  the Department of Corrections as provided in s. 944.275(4)(b).
  152         2. For an offense committed on or after October 1, 1995, a
  153  defendant sentenced under this section as a violent career
  154  criminal is not eligible for any form of discretionary early
  155  release, other than pardon or executive clemency, or conditional
  156  medical release granted pursuant to s. 947.149.
  157         3. For an offense committed on or after July 1, 1999, a
  158  defendant sentenced under this section as a three-time violent
  159  felony offender shall be released only by expiration of sentence
  160  and shall not be eligible for parole, control release, or any
  161  form of early release.
  162         Section 4. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  163  made by this act to section 944.275, Florida Statutes, in a
  164  reference thereto, paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section
  165  921.002, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  166         921.002 The Criminal Punishment Code.—The Criminal
  167  Punishment Code shall apply to all felony offenses, except
  168  capital felonies, committed on or after October 1, 1998.
  169         (1) The provision of criminal penalties and of limitations
  170  upon the application of such penalties is a matter of
  171  predominantly substantive law and, as such, is a matter properly
  172  addressed by the Legislature. The Legislature, in the exercise
  173  of its authority and responsibility to establish sentencing
  174  criteria, to provide for the imposition of criminal penalties,
  175  and to make the best use of state prisons so that violent
  176  criminal offenders are appropriately incarcerated, has
  177  determined that it is in the best interest of the state to
  178  develop, implement, and revise a sentencing policy. The Criminal
  179  Punishment Code embodies the principles that:
  180         (e) The sentence imposed by the sentencing judge reflects
  181  the length of actual time to be served, shortened only by the
  182  application of incentive and meritorious gain-time as provided
  183  by law, and may not be shortened if the defendant would
  184  consequently serve less than 85 percent of his or her term of
  185  imprisonment as provided in s. 944.275(4). The provisions of
  186  chapter 947, relating to parole, shall not apply to persons
  187  sentenced under the Criminal Punishment Code.
  188         Section 5. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  189  made by this act to section 945.091, Florida Statutes, in a
  190  reference thereto, subsection (2) of section 946.503, Florida
  191  Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  192         946.503 Definitions to be used with respect to correctional
  193  work programs.—As used in this part, the term:
  194         (2) “Correctional work program” means any program presently
  195  a part of the prison industries program operated by the
  196  department or any other correctional work program carried on at
  197  any state correctional facility presently or in the future, but
  198  the term does not include any program authorized by s. 945.091
  199  or s. 946.40.
  200         Section 6. This act shall take effect October 1, 2020.