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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to compensation for wrongfully 2
incarcerated persons; amending s. 961.03, F.S.; 3
revising requirements for when a petition seeking 4
compensation must be filed; providing that a deceased 5
person's heirs, successors, or assigns do not have 6
standing to file such a petition; amending s. 961.04, 7
F.S.; revising compensation eligibility requirements; 8
amending s. 961.06, F.S.; revising requirem ents for 9
awarding compensation; amending s. 961.07, F.S.; 10
revising requirements for continuing appropriations; 11
specifying that certain payments are subject to 12
specific appropriation; providing an effective date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
16
Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 17
961.03, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (c) is added 18
to that subsection, to read: 19
961.03 Determination of status as a wrongfully 20
incarcerated person; determination of eligibility for 21
compensation.— 22
(1) 23
(b) The person must file the petition with the court: 24
1. Within 2 years 90 days after the order vacating a 25
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conviction and sentence becomes final and the criminal charges 26
against the person are dismissed or the per son is retried and 27
acquitted if the person's conviction and sentence is vacated on 28
or after July 1, 2023 2008. 29
2. By July 1, 2025 2010, if the person's conviction and 30
sentence was vacated and the criminal charges against the person 31
were dismissed or the person was retried and acquitted on or 32
after January 1, 2006, but before July 1, 2023, and he or she 33
previously filed a petition under this section that was 34
dismissed or he or she did not file a petition under this 35
section because: 36
a. The date on which t he criminal charges against the 37
person were dismissed or the date on which the person was 38
acquitted upon retrial occurred more than 90 days after the date 39
on which the final order vacating the conviction and sentence; 40
or 41
b. The person was convicted of an unrelated felony before 42
or during his or her wrongful conviction and incarceration and 43
was ineligible for compensation under s. 961.04 as it existed 44
before July 1, 2023. 45
(c) A deceased person's heirs, successors, or assigns do 46
not have standing to file a petition on the deceased person's 47
behalf under this section by an order that became final prior to 48
July 1, 2008. 49
Section 2. Section 961.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to 50
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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
read: 51
961.04 Eligibility for compensation for wrongful 52
incarceration.—A wrongfully incarcerated person is not eligible 53
for compensation under the act for any period of incarceration 54
during which the person was concurrently serving a sentence for 55
a conviction of another crime for which such person was lawfully 56
incarcerated if: 57
(1) Before the person's wrongful conviction and 58
incarceration, the person was convicted of, or pled guilty or 59
nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, any violent 60
felony, or a crime committed in another jurisdiction the 61
elements of which would constit ute a violent felony in this 62
state, or a crime committed against the United States which is 63
designated a violent felony, excluding any delinquency 64
disposition; 65
(2) Before the person's wrongful conviction and 66
incarceration, the person was convicted of, or pled guilty or 67
nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, more than one 68
felony that is not a violent felony, or more than one crime 69
committed in another jurisdiction, the elements of which would 70
constitute a felony in this state, or more than one cri me 71
committed against the United States which is designated a 72
felony, excluding any delinquency disposition; 73
(3) During the person's wrongful incarceration, the person 74
was convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to, 75
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regardless of adjudication, any violent felony; 76
(4) During the person's wrongful incarceration, the person 77
was convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to, 78
regardless of adjudication, more than one felony that is not a 79
violent felony; or 80
(5) During the person's wrongful incar ceration, the person 81
was also serving a concurrent sentence for another felony for 82
which the person was not wrongfully convicted . 83
Section 3. Section 961.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to 84
read: 85
961.06 Compensation for wrongful incarceration. — 86
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this act and subject 87
to the limitations and procedures prescribed in this section, a 88
person who is found to be entitled to compensation under the 89
provisions of this act is entitled to all of the following : 90
(a) Monetary compensation for wrongful incarceration, 91
which shall be calculated at a rate of $50,000 for each year of 92
wrongful incarceration, prorated as necessary to account for a 93
portion of a year. For persons found to be wrongfully 94
incarcerated after December 31, 2005 2008, the Chief Financial 95
Officer may adjust the annual rate of compensation for inflation 96
using the change in the December -to-December "Consumer Price 97
Index for All Urban Consumers" of the Bureau of Labor Statistics 98
of the Department of Labor .; 99
(b) A waiver of tuition and fees for up to 120 hours of 100
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instruction at any career center established under s. 1001.44, 101
any Florida College System institution as defined in s. 102
1000.21(3), or any state university as defined in s. 1000.21(6) , 103
if the wrongfully incarc erated person meets and maintains the 104
regular admission requirements of such career center, Florida 105
College System institution, or state university; remains 106
registered at such educational institution; and makes 107
satisfactory academic progress as defined by the educational 108
institution in which the claimant is enrolled .; 109
(c) The amount of any fine, penalty, or court costs 110
imposed and paid by the wrongfully incarcerated person .; 111
(d) The amount of any reasonable attorney attorney's fees 112
and expenses incurred and paid by the wrongfully incarcerated 113
person in connection with all criminal proceedings and appeals 114
regarding the wrongful conviction, to be calculated by the 115
department based upon the supporting documentation submitted as 116
specified in s. 961.05 .;and 117
(e) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in s. 118
943.0583 or s. 943.0585, immediate administrative expunction of 119
the person's criminal record resulting from his or her wrongful 120
arrest, wrongful conviction, and wrongful incarceration. The 121
Department of Legal Affairs and the Department of Law 122
Enforcement shall, upon a determination that a claimant is 123
entitled to compensation, immediately take all action necessary 124
to administratively expunge the claimant's criminal record 125
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arising from his or her wrongf ul arrest, wrongful conviction, 126
and wrongful incarceration. All fees for this process shall be 127
waived. 128
129
The total compensation awarded under paragraphs (a), (c), and 130
(d) may not exceed $2 million. No further award for attorney 131
attorney's fees, lobbying fees, costs, or other similar expenses 132
shall be made by the state. 133
(2) In calculating monetary compensation under paragraph 134
(1)(a), a wrongfully incarcerated person who is placed on parole 135
or community supervision while serving the sentence resulting 136
from the wrongful conviction and who commits no more than one 137
felony that is not a violent felony which results in revocation 138
of the parole or community supervision is eligible for 139
compensation for the total number of years incarcerated. A 140
wrongfully incarcerate d person who commits one violent felony or 141
more than one felony that is not a violent felony that results 142
in revocation of the parole or community supervision is 143
ineligible for any compensation under subsection (1). 144
(2)(3) Except as provided in subsectio n (9), within 15 145
calendar days after issuing notice to the claimant that his or 146
her claim satisfies all of the requirements under this act, the 147
department shall notify the Chief Financial Officer to draw a 148
warrant from the General Revenue Fund or another source 149
designated by the Legislature in law for the purchase of an 150
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annuity for the claimant based on the total amount determined by 151
the department under this act. 152
(3)(4) The Chief Financial Officer shall i ssue payment in 153
the amount determined by the department to an insurance company 154
or other financial institution admitted and authorized to issue 155
annuity contracts in this state to purchase an annuity or 156
annuities, selected by the wrongfully incarcerated per son, for a 157
term of not less than 10 years. The Chief Financial Officer is 158
directed to execute all necessary agreements to implement this 159
act and to maximize the benefit to the wrongfully incarcerated 160
person. The terms of the annuity or annuities shall: 161
(a) Provide that the annuity or annuities may not be sold, 162
discounted, or used as security for a loan or mortgage by the 163
wrongfully incarcerated person. 164
(b) Contain beneficiary provisions for the continued 165
disbursement of the annuity or annuities in the e vent of the 166
death of the wrongfully incarcerated person. 167
(4)(5) If, when monetary compensation is determined under 168
paragraph (1)(a), a court has previously entered a monetary 169
judgment in favor of the claimant in a civil action related to 170
the claimant's wrongful incarceration, or the claimant has 171
entered into a settlement agreement with the state or any 172
political subdivision thereof related to the claimant's wrongful 173
incarceration, the amount of the damages in the civil action or 174
settlement agreement, less any sums paid for attorney fees or 175
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costs incurred in litigating the civil action or obtaining the 176
settlement agreement, shall be deducted from the total monetary 177
compensation to which the claimant is entitled under this 178
section Before the department appro ves the application for 179
compensation, the wrongfully incarcerated person must sign a 180
release and waiver on behalf of the wrongfully incarcerated 181
person and his or her heirs, successors, and assigns, forever 182
releasing the state or any agency, instrumentalit y, or any 183
political subdivision thereof, or any other entity subject to s. 184
768.28, from all present or future claims that the wrongfully 185
incarcerated person or his or her heirs, successors, or assigns 186
may have against such entities arising out of the facts in 187
connection with the wrongful conviction for which compensation 188
is being sought under the act . 189
(5)(a) If subsection (4) does not apply and if, after 190
monetary compensation is determined under paragraph (1)(a): 191
1. The court enters a monetary judgment in favor of the 192
claimant in a civil action related to the claimant's wrongful 193
incarceration; or 194
2. The claimant enters into a settlement agreement with 195
the state or any political subdivision thereof related to the 196
claimant's wrongful incarceration, 197
198
the claimant shall reimburse the state for the monetary 199
compensation paid under paragraph (1)(a), less any sums paid for 200
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attorney fees or costs incurred in litigating the civil action 201
or obtaining the settlement agreement. 202
(b) A reimbursement required under this subsection may not 203
exceed the amount of the monetary award the claimant received 204
for damages in a civil action or settlement agreement. 205
(c) In the order of judgment, the court shall award to the 206
state any amount required to be deducted under this s ubsection. 207
(6)(a) The claimant shall notify the department upon 208
filing a civil action against the state or any political 209
subdivision thereof in which the claimant is seeking monetary 210
damages related to the claimant's wrongful incarceration for 211
which he or she previously received or is applying to receive 212
compensation under paragraph (1)(a). 213
(b) Upon notice of the claimant's civil action, the 214
department shall file in the case a notice of payment of 215
monetary compensation to the claimant under paragraph (1 )(a). 216
The notice shall constitute a lien upon any monetary judgment or 217
settlement recovered under the civil action which is equal to 218
the sum of monetary compensation paid to the claimant under 219
paragraph (1)(a), less any attorney fees and costs incurred in 220
litigating the civil action or obtaining the settlement 221
agreement A wrongfully incarcerated person may not submit an 222
application for compensation under this act if the person has a 223
lawsuit pending against the state or any agency, 224
instrumentality, or any po litical subdivision thereof, or any 225
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other entity subject to the provisions of s. 768.28, in state or 226
federal court requesting compensation arising out of the facts 227
in connection with the claimant's conviction and incarceration . 228
(7)(a)(b) A wrongfully incarcerated person may not submit 229
an application for compensation under this act if the person is 230
the subject of a claim bill pending for claims arising out of 231
the facts in connection with the claimant's conviction and 232
incarceration. 233
(b)(c) Once an application is filed under this act, a 234
wrongfully incarcerated person may not pursue recovery under a 235
claim bill until the final disposition of the application. 236
(c)(d) Any amount awarded under this act is intended to 237
provide the sole compensati on for any and all present and future 238
claims arising out of the facts in connection with the 239
claimant's conviction and incarceration. Upon notification by 240
the department that an application meets the requirements of 241
this act, a wrongfully incarcerated pers on may not recover under 242
a claim bill. 243
(d)(e) Any compensation awarded under a claim bill shall 244
be the sole redress for claims arising out of the facts in 245
connection with the claimant's conviction and incarceration and, 246
upon any award of compensation to a wrongfully incarcerated 247
person under a claim bill, the person may not receive 248
compensation under this act. 249
(8)(7) Any payment made under this act does not constitute 250
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a waiver of any defense of sovereign immunity or an increase in 251
the limits of liabilit y on behalf of the state or any person 252
subject to the provisions of s. 768.28 or any other law. 253
(9)(a) The Chief Financial Officer may not draw a warrant 254
to purchase an annuity for a claimant who is currently 255
incarcerated: 256
1. In a county, city, or fede ral jail or other 257
correctional facility or an institution operated by the 258
Department of Corrections for a felony conviction other than a 259
crime for which the claimant was wrongfully convicted; or 260
2. Due to the revocation of parole or probation for a 261
felony conviction other than a crime for which the claimant was 262
wrongfully convicted. 263
(b) After a term of imprisonment described in subparagraph 264
(a)1. or subparagraph (a)2. has concluded, the Chief Financial 265
Officer shall commence with the drawing of a warran t as 266
described in this section. 267
Section 4. Section 961.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to 268
read: 269
961.07 Continuing appropriation. — 270
(1) Beginning in the 2023-2024 2008-2009 fiscal year and 271
continuing each fiscal year thereafter, a sum sufficient to pay 272
the approved payments under s. 961.03(1)(b)1. this act is 273
appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Chief 274
Financial Officer, which sum is further appropriated for 275
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expenditure pursuant to the provisions of this act. 276
(2) Payments for petitions filed pursuant to s. 277
961.03(1)(b)2. are subject to specific appropriation. 278
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 279