CS/HB 201 2023
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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 criminal defendants adjudicated 2
incompetent to proceed; amending s. 916.13, F.S.; 3
requiring the Department of Children and Families to 4
complete and submit a competency evaluation report to 5
the circuit court to determine if a defendant 6
adjudicated incompetent to proceed meets the criteria 7
for involuntary civil commitment if it is determined 8
that the defendant will not or is unlikely to reg ain 9
competency; requiring a qualified professional to sign 10
such report under penalty of perjury; providing 11
requirements for such report; providing an effective 12
date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
16
Section 1. Paragraph ( c) of subsection (2) of section 17
916.13, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph (d), and 18
a new paragraph (c) is added to that subsection to read: 19
916.13 Involuntary commitment of defendant adjudicated 20
incompetent.— 21
(2) A defendant who has been c harged with a felony and who 22
has been adjudicated incompetent to proceed due to mental 23
illness, and who meets the criteria for involuntary commitment 24
under this chapter, may be committed to the department, and the 25
CS/HB 201 2023
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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
department shall retain and treat the defe ndant. 26
(c)1. If the department determines at any time that a 27
defendant will not or is unlikely to regain competency to 28
proceed, the department shall, within 30 days after the 29
determination, complete and submit a competency evaluation 30
report to the circui t court to determine if the defendant meets 31
the criteria for involuntary civil commitment under the Baker 32
Act. A qualified professional, as defined in s. 394.455, must 33
sign the competency evaluation report for the circuit court 34
under penalty of perjury. A copy of the report shall be 35
provided, at a minimum, to the court, state attorney, and 36
counsel for the defendant before initiating any transfer of the 37
defendant back to the committing jurisdiction. 38
2. For purposes of this paragraph, the term "competency 39
evaluation report to the circuit court" means a report by the 40
department regarding a defendant's incompetence to proceed in a 41
criminal proceeding due to mental illness as set forth in this 42
section. The report shall include, at a minimum, the following 43
regarding the defendant: 44
a. A description of mental, emotional, and behavioral 45
disturbances. 46
b. An explanation to support the opinion of incompetence 47
to proceed. 48
c. The rationale to support why the defendant is unlikely 49
to gain competence to proceed in th e foreseeable future. 50
CS/HB 201 2023
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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
d. A clinical opinion regarding whether the defendant no 51
longer meets the criteria for involuntary forensic commitment 52
pursuant to this section. 53
e. A recommendation on whether the defendant meets the 54
criteria for involuntary exami nation pursuant to s. 394.463. 55
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 56