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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 restorative justice; amending s. 2
945.71, F.S.; revising the intent of specified 3
provisions; amending s. 945.73, F.S.; requiring the 4
Department of Corrections to develop and implement 5
training programs for eligible inmates which include 6
training about restorative justice practices; amending 7
s. 960.001, F.S.; revising a guideline for providing 8
information concerning services available to victims 9
of crime to include restorative justice; amending s. 10
960.03, F.S.; defining the term "restorative justice"; 11
providing an effective date. 12
13
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14
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Section 1. Section 945.71, Florida Statute s, is amended to 16
read: 17
945.71 Inmate training programs; intent and purposes. —It 18
is the intent of ss. 945.71 -945.74 to authorize the 19
establishment of structured disciplinary training programs 20
within the Department of Corrections expressly intended to 21
instill self-discipline, improve work habits, increase 22
accountability and reparative behavior, and improve self-23
confidence for inmates. 24
Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 945.73, Florida 25
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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
Statutes, is amended to read: 26
945.73 Inmate training program oper ation.— 27
(1) The department shall, subject to specific legislative 28
appropriation, develop and implement training programs for 29
eligible inmates which include, but are not limited to, marching 30
drills, calisthenics, a rigid dress code, work assignments, 31
physical training, training in decisionmaking and personal 32
development, drug counseling, education, training about 33
restorative justice practices, and rehabilitation. 34
Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 35
960.001, Florida Statutes, is amende d to read: 36
960.001 Guidelines for fair treatment of victims and 37
witnesses in the criminal justice and juvenile justice systems. — 38
(1) The Department of Legal Affairs, the state attorneys, 39
the Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile 40
Justice, the Florida Commission on Offender Review, the State 41
Courts Administrator and circuit court administrators, the 42
Department of Law Enforcement, and every sheriff's department, 43
police department, or other law enforcement agency as defined in 44
s. 943.10(4) shall develop and implement guidelines for the use 45
of their respective agencies, which guidelines are consistent 46
with the purposes of this act and s. 16(b), Art. I of the State 47
Constitution and are designed to implement s. 16(b), Art. I of 48
the State Constitution and to achieve the following objectives: 49
(a) Information concerning services available to victims 50
HB 881 2024
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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
of adult and juvenile crime. —As provided in s. 27.0065, state 51
attorneys and public defenders shall gather information 52
regarding the following services in the geographic boundaries of 53
their respective circuits and shall provide such information to 54
each law enforcement agency with jurisdiction within such 55
geographic boundaries. Law enforcement personnel shall ensure, 56
through distribution of a victim's rig hts information card or 57
brochure at the crime scene, during the criminal investigation, 58
and in any other appropriate manner, that victims are given, as 59
a matter of course at the earliest possible time, information 60
about: 61
1. The availability of crime vict im compensation, if 62
applicable; 63
2. Crisis intervention services, supportive or bereavement 64
counseling, social service support referrals, and community -65
based victim treatment programs and restorative justice 66
programs; 67
3. The role of the victim in the cr iminal or juvenile 68
justice process, including what the victim may expect from the 69
system as well as what the system expects from the victim; 70
4. The stages in the criminal or juvenile justice process 71
which are of significance to the victim and the manner in which 72
information about such stages can be obtained; 73
5. The right of a victim, who is not incarcerated, 74
including the victim's parent or guardian if the victim is a 75
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minor, the lawful representative of the victim or of the 76
victim's parent or guardian if the victim is a minor, and the 77
next of kin of a homicide victim, upon request, to be informed, 78
to be present, and to be heard at all stages of a criminal or 79
juvenile proceeding as provided by s. 16(b), Art. I of the State 80
Constitution; 81
6. In the case of incarcerated victims, the right, upon 82
request, to be informed and to submit written statements at all 83
stages of the criminal proceedings, parole proceedings, or 84
juvenile proceedings; 85
7. The right of a victim to a prompt and timely 86
disposition of the case in order to minimize the period during 87
which the victim must endure the responsibilities and stress 88
involved; and 89
8. The right of a victim to employ private counsel. The 90
Florida Bar is encouraged to develop a registry of a ttorneys who 91
are willing to serve on a pro bono basis as advocates for crime 92
victims; and 93
9. The right of a victim to pursue restorative justice as 94
defined in s. 960.03, if available . 95
Section 4. Present subsections (13) and (14) of section 96
960.03, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (14) 97
and (15), respectively, and a new subsection (13) is added to 98
that section, to read: 99
960.03 Definitions; ss. 960.01 -960.28.—As used in ss. 100
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960.01-960.28, unless the context otherwise requires, the term : 101
(13) "Restorative justice" means a victim -centered 102
response to crime that enables those most impacted by an 103
offense, the victim, the offender, their families, and community 104
members, to meet and participate directly in addressing the 105
resulting harm through a voluntary process that prioritizes 106
accountability, repair, and the safety of participants. The term 107
includes restorative justice processes, which include, but are 108
not limited to, victim -offender dialogues, family group 109
conferences, restorative circle s, community conferences, and 110
other similar victim -centered processes. 111
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 112