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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. 961.02, F.S.; 3
deleting an obsolete definition; amending s. 961.03, 4
F.S.; revising requirements for when a petition 5
seeking compensation must be filed; requiring the 6
prosecuting authority to petition the Governor to 7
appoint a substitute prosecuting authority under 8
certain circumstances; providing that a deceased 9
person's heirs, successors, or assigns do not have 10
standing to file such a petition; amending s. 961.04, 11
F.S.; revising compensation eligibility requirements; 12
amending s. 961.06, F.S.; revising requirements for 13
awarding compensation; amending s. 961.07, F.S.; 14
revising requirements for continuing appropriations; 15
providing an effective date. 16
17
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18
19
Section 1. Subsection (6) of section 961.02, Florida 20
Statutes, is amended to read: 21
961.02 Definitions. —As used in ss. 961.01-961.07, the 22
term: 23
(6) "Violent felony" means a felony listed in s. 24
775.084(1)(c)1. or s. 948.06(8)(c). 25
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Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and subsection 26
(2) of section 961.03, Florida Statutes, are amended, and 27
paragraph (c) is added to subsection (1) of that section, to 28
read: 29
961.03 Determination of status as a wrongfully 30
incarcerated person; determination of eligibility for 31
compensation.— 32
(1) 33
(b) The person must file the petition with the court: 34
1. Within 2 years 90 days after the order vacating a 35
conviction and sentence becomes final and the criminal charges 36
against the person are dismissed or the person is retried and 37
acquitted if the person's conviction and sentence is vacated on 38
or after July 1, 2023 2008. 39
2. By July 1, 2025 2010, if the person's conviction and 40
sentence was vacated and the criminal charges against the person 41
were dismissed or the person was retried and acquitted on or 42
after January 1, 2006, but before July 1, 2023, and he or she 43
previously filed a petitio n under this section that was 44
dismissed or he or she did not file a petition under this 45
section because: 46
a. The date on which the criminal charges against the 47
person were dismissed or the date on which the person was 48
acquitted upon retrial occurred more than 90 days after the date 49
of the final order vacating the conviction and sentence; or 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
b. The person was convicted of an unrelated felony before 51
or during his or her wrongful conviction and incarceration and 52
was ineligible for compensation under s. 961. 04 as it existed 53
before July 1, 2023. 54
(c) A deceased person's heirs, successors, or assigns do 55
not have standing to file a petition on the deceased person's 56
behalf under this section by an order that became final prior to 57
July 1, 2008. 58
(2) The prosecuting authority must respond to the petition 59
within 30 days. If the prosecuting authority moved to vacate the 60
person's conviction and sentence in the original sentencing 61
court, or otherwise did not object to the original sentencing 62
court vacating the person' s conviction and sentence, the 63
prosecuting authority must petition the Governor within 15 days 64
after the filing of a petition under subsection (1) to appoint a 65
prosecuting authority from another judicial circuit to be 66
substituted as the prosecuting authori ty for the purposes of 67
complying with the requirements of this section. Within 10 days 68
after the filing of a petition under this subsection, the 69
Governor must appoint a substitute prosecuting authority who is 70
responsible for complying with the requirements of this section. 71
If a petition is filed under this subsection, the time period in 72
which the prosecuting authority must respond to a petition filed 73
under subsection (1) is tolled until the date the Governor 74
appoints a substitute prosecuting authority. The prosecuting 75
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authority may respond: 76
(a) By certifying to the court that, based upon the 77
petition and verifiable and substantial evidence of actual 78
innocence, no further criminal proceedings in the case at bar 79
can or will be initiated by the prosecuting authority, that no 80
questions of fact remain as to the petitioner's wrongful 81
incarceration, and that the petitioner is not ineligible from 82
seeking compensation under the provisions of s. 961.04; or 83
(b) By contesting the nature, significance, or effect of 84
the evidence of actual innocence, the facts related to the 85
petitioner's alleged wrongful incarceration, or whether the 86
petitioner is ineligible from seeking compensation under the 87
provisions of s. 961.04. 88
Section 3. Section 961.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to 89
read: 90
961.04 Eligibility for compensation for wrongful 91
incarceration.—A wrongfully incarcerated person is not eligible 92
for compensation under the act for any period of incarceration 93
during which the person was concurrently serving a sentence for 94
a conviction of another felony for which such person was 95
lawfully incarcerated if: 96
(1) Before the person's wrongful conviction and 97
incarceration, the person was convicted of, or pled guilty or 98
nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, any violent 99
felony, or a crime committed in ano ther jurisdiction the 100
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elements of which would constitute a violent felony in this 101
state, or a crime committed against the United States which is 102
designated a violent felony, excluding any delinquency 103
disposition; 104
(2) Before the person's wrongful convicti on and 105
incarceration, the person was convicted of, or pled guilty or 106
nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, more than one 107
felony that is not a violent felony, or more than one crime 108
committed in another jurisdiction, the elements of which would 109
constitute a felony in this state, or more than one crime 110
committed against the United States which is designated a 111
felony, excluding any delinquency disposition; 112
(3) During the person's wrongful incarceration, the person 113
was convicted of, or pled guilty o r nolo contendere to, 114
regardless of adjudication, any violent felony; 115
(4) During the person's wrongful incarceration, the person 116
was convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to, 117
regardless of adjudication, more than one felony that is not a 118
violent felony; or 119
(5) During the person's wrongful incarceration, the person 120
was also serving a concurrent sentence for another felony for 121
which the person was not wrongfully convicted . 122
Section 4. Section 961.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to 123
read: 124
961.06 Compensation for wrongful incarceration. — 125
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(1) Except as otherwise provided in this act and subject 126
to the limitations and procedures prescribed in this section, a 127
person who is found to be entitled to compensation under the 128
provisions of this act is entitled to all of the following : 129
(a) Monetary compensation for wrongful incarceration, 130
which shall be calculated at a rate of $50,000 for each year of 131
wrongful incarceration, prorated as necessary to account for a 132
portion of a year. For persons found t o be wrongfully 133
incarcerated after December 31, 2005 2008, the Chief Financial 134
Officer may adjust the annual rate of compensation for inflation 135
using the change in the December -to-December "Consumer Price 136
Index for All Urban Consumers" of the Bureau of Lab or Statistics 137
of the Department of Labor .; 138
(b) A waiver of tuition and fees for up to 120 hours of 139
instruction at any career center established under s. 1001.44, 140
any Florida College System institution as defined in s. 141
1000.21(3), or any state university as defined in s. 1000.21(6) , 142
if the wrongfully incarcerated person meets and maintains the 143
regular admission requirements of such career center, Florida 144
College System institution, or state university; remains 145
registered at such educational institution; an d makes 146
satisfactory academic progress as defined by the educational 147
institution in which the claimant is enrolled .; 148
(c) The amount of any fine, penalty, or court costs 149
imposed and paid by the wrongfully incarcerated person .; 150
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(d) The amount of any reas onable attorney attorney's fees 151
and expenses incurred and paid by the wrongfully incarcerated 152
person in connection with all criminal proceedings and appeals 153
regarding the wrongful conviction, to be calculated by the 154
department based upon the supporting doc umentation submitted as 155
specified in s. 961.05 .;and 156
(e) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in s. 157
943.0583 or s. 943.0585, immediate administrative expunction of 158
the person's criminal record resulting from his or her wrongful 159
arrest, wrongful conviction, and wrongful incarceration. The 160
Department of Legal Affairs and the Department of Law 161
Enforcement shall, upon a determination that a claimant is 162
entitled to compensation, immediately take all action necessary 163
to administratively expunge the clai mant's criminal record 164
arising from his or her wrongful arrest, wrongful conviction, 165
and wrongful incarceration. All fees for this process shall be 166
waived. 167
168
The total compensation awarded under paragraphs (a), (c), and 169
(d) may not exceed $2 million. No fur ther award for attorney 170
attorney's fees, lobbying fees, costs, or other similar expenses 171
shall be made by the state. 172
(2) In calculating monetary compensation under paragraph 173
(1)(a), a wrongfully incarcerated person who is placed on parole 174
or community supervision while serving the sentence resulting 175
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from the wrongful conviction and who commits no more than one 176
felony that is not a violent felony which results in revocation 177
of the parole or community supervision is eligible for 178
compensation for the total number of years incarcerated. A 179
wrongfully incarcerated person who commits one violent felony or 180
more than one felony t hat is not a violent felony that results 181
in revocation of the parole or community supervision is 182
ineligible for any compensation under subsection (1). 183
(2)(3) Except as provided in subsection (4), within 15 184
calendar days after issuing notice to the claima nt that his or 185
her claim satisfies all of the requirements under this act, the 186
department shall notify the Chief Financial Officer to draw a 187
warrant from the General Revenue Fund or another source 188
designated by the Legislature in law for the purchase of an 189
annuity for the claimant based on the total amount determined by 190
the department under this act. 191
(3)(4) The Chief Financial Officer shall issue payment in 192
the amount determined by the department to an insurance company 193
or other financial institution admi tted and authorized to issue 194
annuity contracts in this state to purchase an annuity or 195
annuities, selected by the wrongfully incarcerated person, for a 196
term of not less than 10 years. The Chief Financial Officer is 197
directed to execute all necessary agreeme nts to implement this 198
act and to maximize the benefit to the wrongfully incarcerated 199
person. The terms of the annuity or annuities shall: 200
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(a) Provide that the annuity or annuities may not be sold, 201
discounted, or used as security for a loan or mortgage by the 202
wrongfully incarcerated person. 203
(b) Contain beneficiary provisions for the continued 204
disbursement of the annuity or annuities in the event of the 205
death of the wrongfully incarcerated person. 206
(4)(a) The Chief Financial Officer may not draw a warran t 207
to purchase an annuity for a claimant who is currently 208
incarcerated: 209
1. In a county, city, or federal jail or other 210
correctional facility or an institution operated by the 211
Department of Corrections for a felony conviction other than a 212
crime for which the claimant was wrongfully convicted; or 213
2. Due to the revocation of parole or probation for a 214
felony conviction other than a crime for which the claimant was 215
wrongfully convicted. 216
(b) After a term of incarceration described in 217
subparagraph (a)1. or su bparagraph (a)2. has concluded, the 218
Chief Financial Officer shall commence with the drawing of a 219
warrant as described in this section. 220
(5) Before the department approves the application for 221
compensation, the wrongfully incarcerated person must sign a 222
release and waiver on behalf of the wrongfully incarcerated 223
person and his or her heirs, successors, and assigns, forever 224
releasing the state or any agency, instrumentality, or any 225
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political subdivision thereof, or any other entity subject to s. 226
768.28, from all present or future claims that the wrongfully 227
incarcerated person or his or her heirs, successors, or assigns 228
may have against such entities arising out of the facts in 229
connection with the wrongful conviction for which compensation 230
is being sought under the act. 231
(6)(a) A wrongfully incarcerated person may not submit an 232
application for compensation under this act if the person has a 233
lawsuit pending against the state or any agency, 234
instrumentality, or any political subdivision thereof, or any 235
other entity subject to the provisions of s. 768.28, in state or 236
federal court requesting compensation arising out of the facts 237
in connection with the claimant's conviction and incarceration. 238
(b) A wrongfully incarcerated person may not submit an 239
application for compensation under this act if the person is the 240
subject of a claim bill pending for claims arising out of the 241
facts in connection with the claimant's conviction and 242
incarceration. 243
(c) Once an application is filed under this act, a 244
wrongfully incarcerated person may not pursue recovery under a 245
claim bill until the final disposition of the application. 246
(d) Any amount awarded under this act is intended to 247
provide the sole compensation for any and all present and future 248
claims arising out of the facts i n connection with the 249
claimant's conviction and incarceration. Upon notification by 250
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the department that an application meets the requirements of 251
this act, a wrongfully incarcerated person may not recover under 252
a claim bill. 253
(e) Any compensation awarded u nder a claim bill shall be 254
the sole redress for claims arising out of the facts in 255
connection with the claimant's conviction and incarceration and, 256
upon any award of compensation to a wrongfully incarcerated 257
person under a claim bill, the person may not re ceive 258
compensation under this act. 259
(7) Any payment made under this act does not constitute a 260
waiver of any defense of sovereign immunity or an increase in 261
the limits of liability on behalf of the state or any person 262
subject to the provisions of s. 768.28 or any other law. 263
Section 5. Section 961.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to 264
read: 265
961.07 Continuing appropriation. —Beginning in the 2023-266
2024 2008-2009 fiscal year and continuing each fiscal year 267
thereafter, a sum sufficient to pay the approved pay ments under 268
s. 961.03(1)(b) this act is appropriated from the General 269
Revenue Fund to the Chief Financial Officer, which sum is 270
further appropriated for expenditure pursuant to the provisions 271
of this act. 272
Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 273