Florida 2022 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0957 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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10	10	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to revising penalties for criminal 2
16	16	offenses; amending s. 893.13, F.S.; conforming a 3
17	17	provision to changes made by the act; creating s. 4
18	18	893.131, F.S.; providing for civil citations for 5
19	19	possession of small amounts of cannabis and cannabis 6
20	20	paraphernalia offenses in certain circumstances; 7
21	21	providing for civil fines; providing for community 8
22	22	service in lieu of civil fines; limiting the number of 9
23	23	civil citations that a person may receive; providing 10
24	24	that a person who contests the violation waives a 11
25	25	specified civil penalty and may receive a larger 12
26	26	penalty upon a finding of a violation; providing for 13
27	27	entry of default judgment in cases of noncompliance; 14
28	28	amending s. 893.147, F.S.; conforming a provision to 15
29	29	changes made by the act; amending s. 921.002, F.S.; 16
30	30	revising a principle of the Criminal Punishment Code 17
31	31	relating to a prisoner's required minimum term of 18
32	32	imprisonment; amending s. 944.275, F.S.; revising the 19
33	33	incentive gain-time that the Department of Corrections 20
34	34	may grant a prisoner; providing exceptions; providing 21
35	35	an effective date. 22
36	36	23
37	37	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24
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47	47	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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51	51	Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section 26
52	52	893.13, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 27
53	53	893.13 Prohibited acts; penalties. — 28
54	54	(6) 29
55	55	(b) If the offense is the possession of 20 grams or less 30
56	56	of cannabis, as defined in this chapter, the person commits a 31
57	57	misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provi ded in s. 32
58	58	775.082 or s. 775.083 , or the person may be issued a civil 33
59	59	citation under s. 893.131 . As used in this subsection, the term 34
60	60	"cannabis" does not include the resin extracted from the plants 35
61	61	of the genus Cannabis, or any compound manufacture, salt, 36
62	62	derivative, mixture, or preparation of such resin. 37
63	63	Section 2. Section 893.131, Florida Statutes, is created 38
64	64	to read: 39
65	65	893.131 Cannabis offenses; civil citations. — 40
66	66	(1) The following misdemeanor violations are declared 41
67	67	civil infractions, and a person c ommitting such a violation may 42
68	68	be issued a civil citation, at the discretion of a law 43
69	69	enforcement officer, provided that such violation is not charged 44
70	70	in conjunction with any criminal charge: 45
71	71	(a) Possession, by a person 18 years of age or older, of 46
72	72	cannabis in an amount of 20 grams or less, as provided in s. 47
73	73	893.13(6)(b). 48
74	74	(b) Possession, by a person 18 years of age or older, of 49
75	75	drug paraphernalia, as defined in s. 893.145, used in connection 50
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84	84	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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88	88	with the consumption of cannabis. 51
89	89	(2)(a) A person who is iss ued a civil citation pursuant to 52
90	90	this section is subject to a civil fine of $100 plus court 53
91	91	costs. 54
92	92	(b) In lieu of paying the civil fine under paragraph (a), 55
93	93	a person who is issued a civil citation pursuant to this section 56
94	94	may elect to participate in 10 h ours of community service at a 57
95	95	community service agency. The community service agency 58
96	96	supervising the person shall record the number of hours of 59
97	97	community service completed and the date on which the community 60
98	98	service hours were completed. The community ser vice agency shall 61
99	99	submit the data to the clerk of the court on the letterhead of 62
100	100	the community service agency, which must also bear the notarized 63
101	101	signature of the person designated to represent the community 64
102	102	service agency. 65
103	103	(c) A person may not receive m ore than two civil citations 66
104	104	pursuant to this section. 67
105	105	(d) The county court shall have jurisdiction over all 68
106	106	violations of this section. 69
107	107	(e) The clerk of the court shall accept designated fines, 70
108	108	issue receipts for the payment of such fines, and accept proof 71
109	109	of satisfactory completion of community service. 72
110	110	(f) A person issued a civil citation pursuant to 73
111	111	subsection (1) shall comply with all directives on such 74
112	112	citation. 75
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125	125	(g) A person who fails to make payment as provided on the 76
126	126	civil citation, and fail s to satisfactorily complete community 77
127	127	service within the period specified on such citation, is deemed 78
128	128	to have waived his or her right to pay the civil penalty as set 79
129	129	forth on such citation. 80
130	130	(h) A person who elects to appear before the court to 81
131	131	contest the civil citation is deemed to have waived his or her 82
132	132	right to pay the civil penalty. The court, after conducting a 83
133	133	hearing, shall determine whether a violation has occurred and 84
134	134	may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $500 plus court costs. 85
135	135	(i) If a person fails to pay the civil penalty and fails 86
136	136	to satisfactorily complete community service, or fails to appear 87
137	137	in court to contest the civil citation, he or she is deemed to 88
138	138	have waived his or her right to contest such citation, a default 89
139	139	judgment may be entered, and the judge shall impose a civil 90
140	140	fine. If the civil fine is paid, the case shall be disposed of. 91
141	141	If the civil fine is not paid, and no proof of satisfactory 92
142	142	completion of community service is provided, default judgment 93
143	143	shall be entered up to the m aximum civil penalty of $500 plus 94
144	144	court costs. 95
145	145	Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 893.147, Florida 96
146	146	Statutes, is amended to read: 97
147	147	893.147 Use, possession, manufacture, delivery, 98
148	148	transportation, advertisement, or retail sale of drug 99
149	149	paraphernalia, specified machines, and materials. — 100
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158	158	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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162	162	(1) USE OR POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA. —It is 101
163	163	unlawful for any person to use, or to possess with intent to 102
164	164	use, drug paraphernalia: 103
165	165	(a) To plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, 104
166	166	manufacture, compound, convert , produce, process, prepare, test, 105
167	167	analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, or conceal a controlled 106
168	168	substance in violation of this chapter; or 107
169	169	(b) To inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into 108
170	170	the human body a controlled substance in violation of this 109
171	171	chapter. 110
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173	173	A Any person who violates this subsection commits is guilty of a 112
174	174	misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 113
175	175	775.082 or s. 775.083 , or, for violations involving cannabis 114
176	176	paraphernalia, a person who violates this subsection may be 115
177	177	issued a civil citation under s. 893.131 . 116
178	178	Section 4. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section 117
179	179	921.002, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 118
180	180	921.002 The Criminal Punishment Code. —The Criminal 119
181	181	Punishment Code shall apply to all felony offense s, except 120
182	182	capital felonies, committed on or after October 1, 1998. 121
183	183	(1) The provision of criminal penalties and of limitations 122
184	184	upon the application of such penalties is a matter of 123
185	185	predominantly substantive law and, as such, is a matter properly 124
186	186	addressed by the Legislature. The Legislature, in the exercise 125
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195	195	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
196	196
197	197
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199	199	of its authority and responsibility to establish sentencing 126
200	200	criteria, to provide for the imposition of criminal penalties, 127
201	201	and to make the best use of state prisons so that violent 128
202	202	criminal offenders ar e appropriately incarcerated, has 129
203	203	determined that it is in the best interest of the state to 130
204	204	develop, implement, and revise a sentencing policy. The Criminal 131
205	205	Punishment Code embodies the principles that: 132
206	206	(e) The sentence imposed by the sentencing judge r eflects 133
207	207	the length of actual time to be served, shortened only by the 134
208	208	application of incentive and meritorious gain -time as provided 135
209	209	by law, and may not be shortened if the defendant would 136
210	210	consequently serve less than 75 percent of his or her term of 137
211	211	imprisonment as provided in s. 944.275(4)(b)3.a. or less than 85 138
212	212	percent of his or her term of imprisonment as provided in s. 139
213	213	944.275(4). The provisions of chapter 947 , relating to parole 140
214	214	do, shall not apply to persons sentenced under the Criminal 141
215	215	Punishment Code. 142
216	216	Section 5. Paragraphs (b) and (f) of subsection (4) of 143
217	217	section 944.275, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 144
218	218	944.275 Gain-time.— 145
219	219	(4) 146
220	220	(b) For each month in which an inmate works diligently, 147
221	221	participates in training, uses time constructively, or otherwise 148
222	222	engages in positive activities, the department may grant 149
223	223	incentive gain-time in accordance with this paragraph. The rate 150
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232	232	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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236	236	of incentive gain-time in effect on the date the inmate 151
237	237	committed the offense that which resulted in his or her 152
238	238	incarceration shall be the inmate's rate of eligibility to earn 153
239	239	incentive gain-time throughout the period of incarceration and 154
240	240	may shall not be altered by a subsequent change in the severity 155
241	241	level of the offense for which the inmate was sentenced. 156
242	242	1. For sentences imposed for offenses committed before 157
243	243	prior to January 1, 1994, up to 20 days of incentive gain -time 158
244	244	may be granted. If granted, such gain -time shall be credited and 159
245	245	applied monthly. 160
246	246	2. For sentences imposed for offenses committed on or 161
247	247	after January 1, 1994, and before October 1, 1995: 162
248	248	a. For offenses ranked in offense severity levels 1 163
249	249	through 7, under former s. 921.0012 or former s. 921.0013, up to 164
250	250	25 days of incentive gain -time may be granted. If granted, such 165
251	251	gain-time shall be credited and applie d monthly. 166
252	252	b. For offenses ranked in offense severity levels 8, 9, 167
253	253	and 10, under former s. 921.0012 or former s. 921.0013, up to 20 168
254	254	days of incentive gain -time may be granted. If granted, such 169
255	255	gain-time shall be credited and applied monthly. 170
256	256	3. For sentences imposed for offenses, regardless of the 171
257	257	date committed, up to 20 days per month of incentive gain -time 172
258	258	may be granted, except that: 173
259	259	a. If the offense is a nonviolent felony, as defined in s. 174
260	260	948.08(6)(a), the prisoner is not eligible to earn any t ype of 175
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269	269	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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273	273	gain-time in an amount that would cause the prisoner's sentence 176
274	274	to expire, end, or terminate, or that would result in the 177
275	275	prisoner's release, before he or she serves a minimum of 75 178
276	276	percent of the sentence imposed. For purposes of this sub -179
277	277	subparagraph, credits awarded by the court for time physically 180
278	278	incarcerated must be credited toward satisfaction of 75 percent 181
279	279	of the sentence imposed. A prisoner who is granted incentive 182
280	280	gain-time pursuant to this sub -subparagraph may not accumulate 183
281	281	further gain-time awards at any point when the prisoner's 184
282	282	tentative release date is the same as that date at which the 185
283	283	prisoner will have served 75 percent of the sentence imposed. 186
284	284	State prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment must be 187
285	285	incarcerated for the rest of their natural lives unless granted 188
286	286	pardon or clemency. 189
287	287	b. If the offense is not a nonviolent felony, as defined 190
288	288	in s. 948.08(6)(a), the prisoner is not eligible to earn any 191
289	289	type of gain-time in an amount that would cause the prisoner's 192
290	290	sentence to expire, end , or terminate, or that would result in 193
291	291	the prisoner's release, before he or she serves a minimum of 85 194
292	292	percent of the sentence imposed. For purposes of this sub -195
293	293	subparagraph, credits awarded by the court for time physically 196
294	294	incarcerated must be credited t oward satisfaction of 85 percent 197
295	295	of the sentence imposed. A prisoner who is granted incentive 198
296	296	gain-time pursuant to this sub -subparagraph may not accumulate 199
297	297	further gain-time awards at any point when the prisoner's 200
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306	306	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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310	310	tentative release date is the same as tha t date at which the 201
311	311	prisoner will have served 85 percent of the sentence imposed. 202
312	312	State prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment must be 203
313	313	incarcerated for the rest of their natural lives unless granted 204
314	314	pardon or clemency For sentences imposed for offenses c ommitted 205
315	315	on or after October 1, 1995, the department may grant up to 10 206
316	316	days per month of incentive gain -time. 207
317	317	(f) An inmate who is subject to subparagraph (b)3. is not 208
318	318	eligible to earn or receive gain -time under paragraph (a), 209
319	319	paragraph (b), paragraph ( c), or paragraph (d) or any other type 210
320	320	of gain-time in an amount that would cause a sentence to expire, 211
321	321	end, or terminate, or that would result in a prisoner's release, 212
322	322	before prior to serving a minimum of 85 percent of the sentence 213
323	323	imposed. For purposes o f this paragraph, credits awarded by the 214
324	324	court for time physically incarcerated shall be credited toward 215
325	325	satisfaction of 85 percent of the sentence imposed. Except as 216
326	326	provided by this section, a prisoner may not accumulate further 217
327	327	gain-time awards at any p oint when the tentative release date is 218
328	328	the same as that date at which the prisoner will have served 85 219
329	329	percent of the sentence imposed. State prisoners sentenced to 220
330	330	life imprisonment shall be incarcerated for the rest of their 221
331	331	natural lives, unless grante d pardon or clemency. 222
332	332	Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 223