Florida Senate - 2025                                     SB 964
       
       
        
       By Senator Bernard
       
       
       
       
       
       24-01586-25                                            2025964__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to objective parole guidelines;
    3         amending s. 947.165, F.S.; revising requirements for
    4         objective parole guidelines; requiring the Commission
    5         on Offender Review to submit a specified statistical
    6         analysis to the Legislature; providing an effective
    7         date.
    8          
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Section 947.165, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   12  read:
   13         947.165 Objective parole guidelines.—
   14         (1) The commission shall develop and implement objective
   15  parole guidelines which shall be the criteria upon which parole
   16  decisions are made. The objective parole guidelines shall be
   17  developed according to an acceptable research method and shall
   18  be based on the seriousness of offense and the likelihood of
   19  favorable parole outcome by identifying an inmate’s use of
   20  vocational, education, and self-betterment programs and courses
   21  in the department. The guidelines shall require the commission
   22  to aggravate or aggregate each consecutive sentence in
   23  establishing the presumptive parole release date. Factors used
   24  in arriving at the salient factor score and the severity of
   25  offense behavior category may shall not be applied as
   26  aggravating circumstances. If the sentencing judge files a
   27  written objection to the parole release of an inmate as provided
   28  for in s. 947.1745(6), such objection may be used by the
   29  commission as a basis to extend the presumptive parole release
   30  date.
   31         (2) At least once a year, the commission shall review the
   32  objective parole guidelines and make any revisions considered
   33  necessary by virtue of statistical analysis of commission
   34  actions, which analysis uses acceptable research and
   35  methodology. The statistical analysis shall be submitted to the
   36  President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
   37  Representatives upon completion.
   38         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.