Bill Text: FL S0756 | 2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsels
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2021-04-30 - Died in Judiciary [S0756 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S0756-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2021 SB 756 By Senator Baxley 12-00076C-21 2021756__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to criminal conflict and civil 3 regional counsels; amending s. 27.0065, F.S.; 4 specifying the responsibilities of regional counsels 5 regarding witness coordination; amending s. 27.341, 6 F.S.; revising legislative intent regarding electronic 7 filing and receipt of court documents; amending s. 8 27.511, F.S.; removing the requirement that regional 9 counsel employees be governed by Justice 10 Administrative Commission classification and salary 11 and benefits plans; modifying procedures for the 12 Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission to 13 nominate candidates to the Governor for regional 14 counsel positions; specifying requirements for the 15 manner of access to court facilities for regional 16 counsels; amending s. 27.53, F.S.; revising 17 requirements for the classification and pay plan 18 developed by the regional counsels; amending s. 19 39.0132, F.S.; authorizing the release of certain 20 confidential information relating to proceedings 21 involving children to regional counsels under 22 specified circumstances; amending s. 92.153, F.S.; 23 providing a limitation on costs for documents produced 24 in response to a subpoena or records request by a 25 regional counsel; amending s. 112.19, F.S.; redefining 26 the term “law enforcement, correctional, or 27 correctional probation officer” to include regional 28 counsel investigators for purposes of eligibility for 29 certain death benefits; amending s. 393.12, F.S.; 30 waiving an education requirement for the appointment 31 of attorneys from regional counsel offices to 32 represent a person with a developmental disability; 33 amending s. 394.916, F.S.; requiring a court to 34 appoint a regional counsel or other counsel to 35 represent an allegedly sexually violent predator in 36 the event of a conflict; amending s. 744.331, F.S.; 37 waiving a certain training requirement for the 38 appointment of attorneys from regional counsel offices 39 to represent an alleged incapacitated person; amending 40 s. 790.25, F.S.; providing exceptions from 41 unauthorized uses of firearms and other weapons for 42 regional counsel investigators who meet certain 43 criteria; amending s. 943.053, F.S.; specifying that a 44 regional counsel may not be charged a fee for 45 accessing certain criminal justice information; 46 requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to provide 47 regional counsels online access to certain 48 information; amending s. 945.10, F.S.; authorizing the 49 release of certain records and information to regional 50 counsels; amending s. 945.48, F.S.; authorizing the 51 appointment of a regional counsel to represent an 52 inmate subject to involuntary mental health treatment 53 if certain conditions exist; amending s. 985.045, 54 F.S.; requiring that regional counsels have access to 55 official records of juveniles whom they represent; 56 providing an effective date. 57 58 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 59 60 Section 1. Section 27.0065, Florida Statutes, is amended to 61 read: 62 27.0065 Witness coordination.—Each state attorney,and63 public defender, and criminal conflict and civil regional 64 counsel isshall beresponsible for: 65 (1) Coordinating court appearances, including pretrial 66 conferences and depositions, for all witnesses who are 67 subpoenaed in criminal cases, including law enforcement 68 personnel. 69 (2) Contacting witnesses and securing information necessary 70 to place a witness on an on-call status with regard to his or 71 her court appearance. 72 (3) Contacting witnesses to advise them not to report to 73 court in the event the case for which they have been subpoenaed 74 has been continued or has had a plea entered, or in the event 75 there is any other reason why their attendance is not required 76 on the dates they have been ordered to report. 77 (4) Contacting the employer of a witness, when necessary, 78 to confirm that the employee has been subpoenaed to appear in 79 court as a witness. 80 81 In addition, the state attorney,orpublic defender, or criminal 82 conflict and civil regional counsel may provide additional 83 services to reduce time and wage losses to a minimum for all 84 witnesses. 85 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 27.341, Florida 86 Statutes, is amended to read: 87 27.341 Electronic filing and receipt of court documents.— 88 (2) It is further the expectation of the Legislature that 89 each office of the state attorney consult with the office of the 90 public defender for the same circuit served by the office of the 91 state attorney, the office of criminal conflict and civil 92 regional counsel assigned to that circuit, the clerks of court 93 for the circuit, the Florida Court Technology Commission, and 94 any authority that governs the operation of a statewide portal 95 for the electronic filing and receipt of court documents. 96 Section 3. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 27.511, 97 Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (10) is added to 98 that section, to read: 99 27.511 Offices of criminal conflict and civil regional 100 counsel; legislative intent; qualifications; appointment; 101 duties.— 102 (2) Each office of criminal conflict and civil regional 103 counsel shall be assigned to the Justice Administrative 104 Commission for administrative purposes. The commission shall 105 provide administrative support and service to the offices to the 106 extent requested by each regional counsel within the available 107 resources of the commission. The regional counsel and the 108 offices are not subject to control, supervision, or direction by 109 the commission in the performance of their duties, but the110employees of the offices shall be governed by the classification111plan and the salary and benefits plan for the commission. 112 (3)(a) Each regional counsel must be, and must have been 113 for the preceding 5 years, a member in good standing of The 114 Florida Bar. Each regional counsel shall be appointed by the 115 Governor and is subject to confirmation by the Senate. The 116 Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, in addition to the117current regional counsel,shall nominaterecommendto the 118 Governor the currently serving regional counsel, if he or she 119 seeks reappointment, and may also nominate up to threenot fewer120than two or more than fiveadditional qualified candidates for 121 appointment to each of the five regional counsel positions for 122 consideration by the Governor. The Governor shall appoint the 123 regional counsel for the five regions from among the 124 commission’s nominationsrecommendations, or, if it is in the 125 best interest of the fair administration of justice, the 126 Governor may reject the nominations and request that the Supreme 127 Court Judicial Nominating Commission submit three new nominees. 128 The regional counsel shall be appointed to a term of 4 years, 129 the term beginning on October 1, 2015. Vacancies shall be filled 130 in the manner provided in paragraph (b). 131 (b) If for any reason a regional counsel is unable to 132 complete a full term in office, the Governor may immediately 133 appoint an interim regional counsel who meets the qualifications 134 to be a regional counsel to serve as regional counsel for that 135 regiondistrictuntil a new regional counsel is appointed in the 136 manner provided in paragraph (a). TheFloridaSupreme Court 137 Judicial Nominating Commission shall provide the Governor with a 138 list of nominees for appointment within 6 months after the date 139 of the vacancy. A temporary vacancy in office does not affect 140 the validity of any matters or activities of the office of 141 regional counsel. 142 (10) Each court shall allow for the ingress and egress to 143 its facilities for criminal conflict and civil regional counsels 144 and assistant regional counsels in the same manner as is 145 provided to public defenders and assistant public defenders, 146 subject to the security requirements of each courthouse. 147 Section 4. Subsection (4) of section 27.53, Florida 148 Statutes, is amended to read: 149 27.53 Appointment of assistants and other staff; method of 150 payment.— 151 (4) The five criminal conflict and civil regional counsels 152counselmay employ and establish, in the numbers authorized by 153 the General Appropriations Act, assistant regional counsel and 154 other staff and personnel in each judicial district pursuant to 155 s. 29.006, who shall be paid from funds appropriated for that 156 purpose. Notwithstanding s. 790.01, s. 790.02, or s. 157 790.25(2)(a), an investigator employed by an office of criminal 158 conflict and civil regional counsel, while actually carrying out 159 official duties, is authorized to carry concealed weapons if the 160 investigator complies with s. 790.25(3)(o). However, such 161 investigators are not eligible for membership in the Special 162 Risk Class of the Florida Retirement System. The five regional 163 counselscounselshall jointly develop a coordinatedrecommended164modifications to theclassification and pay plan for submission 165 toand the salary and benefits plan forthe Justice 166 Administrative Commission, the President of the Senate, and the 167 Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 1 of each 168 year. The plan mustrecommendations shall be submitted to the169commission, the office of the President of the Senate, and the170office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives before171January 1 of each year. Such recommendations shallbe developed 172 in accordance with policies and procedures of the Executive 173 Office of the Governor established in s. 216.181. Each assistant 174 regional counsel appointed by the regional counsel under this 175 section shall serve at the pleasure of the regional counsel. 176 Each investigator employed by the regional counsel shall have 177 full authority to serve any witness subpoena or court order 178 issued by any court or judge in a criminal case in which the 179 regional counsel has been appointed to represent the accused. 180 Section 5. Subsection (3) and paragraph (a) of subsection 181 (4) of section 39.0132, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 182 39.0132 Oaths, records, and confidential information.— 183 (3) The clerk shall keep all court records required by this 184 chapter separate from other records of the circuit court. All 185 court records required by this chapter shall not be open to 186 inspection by the public. All records shall be inspected only 187 upon order of the court by persons deemed by the court to have a 188 proper interest therein, except that, subject to the provisions 189 of s. 63.162, a child and the parents of the child and their 190 attorneys, the guardian ad litem, criminal conflict and civil 191 regional counsels, law enforcement agencies, and the department 192 and its designees shall always have the right to inspect and 193 copy any official record pertaining to the child. The Justice 194 Administrative Commission may inspect court dockets required by 195 this chapter as necessary to audit compensation of court 196 appointed attorneys. If the docket is insufficient for purposes 197 of the audit, the commission may petition the court for 198 additional documentation as necessary and appropriate. The court 199 may permit authorized representatives of recognized 200 organizations compiling statistics for proper purposes to 201 inspect and make abstracts from official records, under whatever 202 conditions upon their use and disposition the court may deem 203 proper, and may punish by contempt proceedings any violation of 204 those conditions. 205 (4)(a)1. All information obtained pursuant to this part in 206 the discharge of official duty by any judge, employee of the 207 court, authorized agent of the department, correctional 208 probation officer, or law enforcement agent is confidential and 209 exempt from s. 119.07(1) and may not be disclosed to anyone 210 other than the authorized personnel of the court, the department 211 and its designees, correctional probation officers, law 212 enforcement agents, the guardian ad litem, criminal conflict and 213 civil regional counsels, and others entitled under this chapter 214 to receive that information, except upon order of the court. 215 2.a. The following information held by a guardian ad litem 216 is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. 217 I of the State Constitution: 218 (I) Medical, mental health, substance abuse, child care, 219 education, law enforcement, court, social services, and 220 financial records. 221 (II) Any other information maintained by a guardian ad 222 litem which is identified as confidential information under this 223 chapter. 224 b. Such confidential and exempt information may not be 225 disclosed to anyone other than the authorized personnel of the 226 court, the department and its designees, correctional probation 227 officers, law enforcement agents, guardians ad litem, and others 228 entitled under this chapter to receive that information, except 229 upon order of the court. 230 Section 6. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 231 92.153, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 232 92.153 Production of documents by witnesses; reimbursement 233 of costs.— 234 (2) REIMBURSEMENT OF A DISINTERESTED WITNESS.— 235 (a) In any proceeding, a disinterested witness shall be 236 paid for any costs the witness reasonably incurs either directly 237 or indirectly in producing, searching for, reproducing, or 238 transporting documents pursuant to a summons; however, the cost 239 of documents produced pursuant to a subpoena or records request 240 by a state attorney, aorpublic defender, or a criminal 241 conflict and civil regional counsel may not exceed 15 cents per 242 page and $10 per hour for research or retrieval. 243 Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 244 112.19, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 245 112.19 Law enforcement, correctional, and correctional 246 probation officers; death benefits.— 247 (1) As used in this section, the term: 248 (b) “Law enforcement, correctional, or correctional 249 probation officer” means any officer as defined in s. 943.10(14) 250 or employee of the state or any political subdivision of the 251 state, including any law enforcement officer, correctional 252 officer, correctional probation officer, state attorney 253 investigator,orpublic defender investigator, or criminal 254 conflict and civil regional counsel investigator, whose duties 255 require such officer or employee to investigate, pursue, 256 apprehend, arrest, transport, or maintain custody of persons who 257 are charged with, suspected of committing, or convicted of a 258 crime; and the term includes any member of a bomb disposal unit 259 whose primary responsibility is the location, handling, and 260 disposal of explosive devices. The term also includes any full 261 time officer or employee of the state or any political 262 subdivision of the state, certified pursuant to chapter 943, 263 whose duties require such officer to serve process or to attend 264 a session of a circuit or county court as bailiff. 265 Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section 266 393.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 267 393.12 Capacity; appointment of guardian advocate.— 268 (5) COUNSEL.—Within 3 days after a petition has been filed, 269 the court shall appoint an attorney to represent a person with a 270 developmental disability who is the subject of a petition to 271 appoint a guardian advocate. The person with a developmental 272 disability may substitute his or her own attorney for the 273 attorney appointed by the court. 274 (a) The court shall initially appoint a private attorney 275 who shall be selected from the attorney registry compiled 276 pursuant to s. 27.40. Such attorney must have completed a 277 minimum of 8 hours of education in guardianship. The court may 278 waive this requirement for an attorney who has served as a 279 court-appointed attorney in guardian advocate proceedings or as 280 an attorney of record for guardian advocates for at least 3 281 years. This education requirement does not apply to a court 282 appointed attorney who is employed by an office of criminal 283 conflict and civil regional counsel. 284 Section 9. Subsection (3) of section 394.916, Florida 285 Statutes, is amended to read: 286 394.916 Trial; counsel and experts; indigent persons; 287 jury.— 288 (3) At all adversarial proceedings under this act, the 289 person subject to this act is entitled to the assistance of 290 counsel, and, if the person is indigent, the court shall appoint 291 the public defender or, if a conflict exists, the court shall 292 appoint a criminal conflict and civil regional counsel or other 293 counsel to assist the person. 294 Section 10. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 295 744.331, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 296 744.331 Procedures to determine incapacity.— 297 (2) ATTORNEY FOR THE ALLEGED INCAPACITATED PERSON.— 298 (d) An attorney seeking to be appointed by a court for 299 incapacity and guardianship proceedings must have completed a 300 minimum of 8 hours of education in guardianship. A court may 301 waive the initial training requirement for an attorney who has 302 served as a court-appointed attorney in incapacity proceedings 303 or as an attorney of record for guardians for not less than 3 304 years. This requirement does not apply to a court-appointed 305 attorney who is employed by an office of criminal conflict and 306 civil regional counsel. 307 Section 11. Paragraph (o) of subsection (3) of section 308 790.25, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 309 790.25 Lawful ownership, possession, and use of firearms 310 and other weapons.— 311 (3) LAWFUL USES.—The provisions of ss. 790.053 and 790.06 312 do not apply in the following instances, and, despite such 313 sections, it is lawful for the following persons to own, 314 possess, and lawfully use firearms and other weapons, 315 ammunition, and supplies for lawful purposes: 316 (o) Investigators employed bythe severalpublic defenders 317 and criminal conflict and civil regional counselsof the state, 318 while in the performance ofactually carrying outofficial 319 duties, ifprovidedsuch investigators: 320 1. Are employed full time; 321 2. Meet the official training standards for firearms 322 established by the Criminal Justice Standards and Training 323 Commission as provided in s. 943.12(5) and the requirements of 324 ss. 493.6108(1)(a) and 943.13(1)-(4); and 325 3. Are individually designated by an affidavit of consent 326 signed by the employing public defender or regional counsel and 327 filed with the clerk of the circuit court in the county in which 328 the employing public defender or regional counsel resides. 329 Section 12. Paragraph (e) of subsection (3) and subsection 330 (7) of section 943.053, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 331 943.053 Dissemination of criminal justice information; 332 fees.— 333 (3) 334 (e) The fee per record for criminal history information 335 provided pursuant to this subsection and s. 943.0542 is $24 per 336 name submitted, except that the fee for the guardian ad litem 337 program and vendors of the Department of Children and Families, 338 the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Agency for Persons with 339 Disabilities, and the Department of Elderly Affairs isshall be340 $8 for each name submitted; the fee for a state criminal history 341 provided for application processing as required by law to be 342 performed by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 343 isshall be$15 for each name submitted; and the fee for 344 requests under s. 943.0542, which implements the National Child 345 Protection Act, isshall be$18 for each volunteer name 346 submitted. Neither an officeThe state officesof the public 347 defender nor an office of criminal conflict and civil regional 348 counsel mayshallnotbe assessed a fee for Florida criminal 349 history information or wanted person information. 350 (7) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 351 department shall provide to each office of the public defender 352 and each criminal conflict and civil regional counsel online 353 access to criminal records of this state which are not exempt 354 from disclosure under chapter 119 or confidential under law. 355 Such access shall be used solely in support of the duties of a 356 public defender as provided in s. 27.51, a criminal conflict and 357 civil regional counsel as provided in s. 27.511, orofany 358 attorney specially assigned as authorized in s. 27.53 in the 359 representation of any person who is determined indigent as 360 provided in s. 27.52. The costs of establishing and maintaining 361 such online access mustshallbe borne by the office to which 362 the access has been provided. 363 Section 13. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 364 945.10, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 365 945.10 Confidential information.— 366 (2) The records and information specified in paragraphs 367 (1)(a)-(i) may be released as follows unless expressly 368 prohibited by federal law: 369 (d) Information specified in paragraph (1)(b) to a public 370 defender or a criminal conflict and civil regional counsel 371 representing a defendant, except those portions of the records 372 containing a victim’s statement or address, or the statement or 373 address of a relative of the victim. A request for records or 374 information pursuant to this paragraph need not be in writing. 375 376 Records and information released under this subsection remain 377 confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and 378 s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution when held by the 379 receiving person or entity. 380 Section 14. Subsection (3) of section 945.48, Florida 381 Statutes, is amended to read: 382 945.48 Rights of inmates provided mental health treatment; 383 procedure for involuntary treatment.— 384 (3) PROCEDURE FOR INVOLUNTARY TREATMENT OF INMATES. 385 Involuntary mental health treatment of an inmate who refuses 386 treatment that is deemed to be necessary for the appropriate 387 care of the inmate and the safety of the inmate or others may be 388 provided at a mental health treatment facility. The warden of 389 the institution containing the mental health treatment facility 390 shall petition the circuit court serving the county in which the 391 mental health treatment facility is located for an order 392 authorizing the treatment of the inmate. The inmate shall be 393 provided with a copy of the petition along with the proposed 394 treatment; the basis for the proposed treatment; the names of 395 the examining experts; and the date, time, and location of the 396 hearing. The inmate may have an attorney represent him or her at 397 the hearing, and, if the inmate is indigent, the court shall 398 appoint the office of the public defender to represent the 399 inmate at the hearing. If the office of the public defender must 400 withdraw from the appointment due to a conflict, the court must 401 appoint the criminal conflict and civil regional counsel or 402 private counsel pursuant to s. 27.40(1) to represent the inmate 403at the hearing. An attorney representing the inmate shall have 404 access to the inmate and any records, including medical or 405 mental health records, which are relevant to the representation 406 of the inmate. 407 Section 15. Subsection (2) of section 985.045, Florida 408 Statutes, is amended to read: 409 985.045 Court records.— 410 (2) The clerk shall keep all official records required by 411 this section separate from other records of the circuit court, 412 except those records pertaining to motor vehicle violations, 413 which shall be forwarded to the Department of Highway Safety and 414 Motor Vehicles. Except as provided in ss. 943.053 and 415 985.04(6)(b) and (7), official records required by this chapter 416 are not open to inspection by the public, but may be inspected 417 only upon order of the court by persons deemed by the court to 418 have a proper interest therein, except that a child and the 419 parents, guardians, or legal custodians of the child and their 420 attorneys, law enforcement agencies, the Department of Juvenile 421 Justice and its designees, the Florida Commission on Offender 422 Review, the Department of Corrections, and the Justice 423 Administrative Commission shall always have the right to inspect 424 and copy any official record pertaining to the child. Offices of 425 the public defender and criminal conflict and civil regional 426 counselofficesshall have access to official records of 427 juveniles on whose behalf they are expected to appear in 428 detention or other hearings before an appointment of 429 representation. The court may permit authorized representatives 430 of recognized organizations compiling statistics for proper 431 purposes to inspect, and make abstracts from, official records 432 under whatever conditions upon the use and disposition of such 433 records the court may deem proper and may punish by contempt 434 proceedings any violation of those conditions. 435 Section 16. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.