HB 1041 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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to review of juvenile sentences; 2
amending s. 921.1402, F.S.; revising the definition of 3
the term "juvenile offender"; revising eligibility 4
requirements for review of sentences for offenses 5
committed while a juvenile; revising duties of the 6
Department of Corrections concerning such reviews; 7
revising procedures for initiating a review; providing 8
for appointment of counsel for indigent offenders ; 9
providing requirements for hearings; requiring a court 10
to render a written ruling within a specified period; 11
requiring a court to consider specified additional 12
factors in reviewing a sentence; requiring concurrent 13
and consecutive sentences to be treated as a single 14
sentence; providing legislative intent; requiring an 15
annual report concerning sentence reviews; providing 16
requirements for the report; providing for retroactive 17
application; providing an effective date. 18
19
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 20
21
Section 1. Section 921.1402, Florida Statutes, is amended 22
to read: 23
921.1402 Review of sentences for persons convicted of 24
specified offenses committed while under the age of 18 years. — 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
(1) As used in For purposes of this section, the term 26
"juvenile offender" means a person sentenced to imprisonment in 27
the custody of the Department of Corrections for an offense 28
committed on or after July 1, 2014, and committed before he or 29
she attained 18 years of age. 30
(2)(a) A juvenile offend er sentenced under s. 31
775.082(1)(b)1. is entitled to a review of his or her sentence 32
after 25 years. However, a juvenile offender sentenced under s. 33
775.082(1)(b)1. is not entitled to review of his or her sentence 34
if he or she has previously been convicted of one of the 35
following offenses, or conspiracy to commit one of the following 36
offenses, if the offense for which the person was previously 37
convicted was part of a separate criminal transaction or episode 38
than that which resulted in the sentence under s. 39
775.082(1)(b)1.: 40
1. Murder; 41
2. Manslaughter; 42
3. Sexual battery; 43
4. Armed burglary; 44
5. Armed robbery; 45
6. Armed carjacking; 46
7. Home-invasion robbery; 47
8. Human trafficking for commercial sexual activity with a 48
child under 18 years of age; 49
9. False imprisonment under s. 787.02(3)(a); 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
10. Kidnapping. 51
(b) A juvenile offender sentenced to a term of more than 52
25 years under s. 775.082(3)(a)5.a. or s. 775.082(3)(b)2.a. is 53
entitled to a review of his or her sentence after 25 years. 54
(c) A juvenile offender sentenced to a term of more than 55
15 years under s. 775.082(1)(b)2., s. 775.082(3)(a)5.b., or s. 56
775.082(3)(b)2.b. is entitled to a review of his or her sentence 57
after 10 15 years. 58
(d) A juvenile offender sentenced to a term of 20 years or 59
more under s. 775.082(3)(c) is entitled to a review of his or 60
her sentence after 10 20 years. If the juvenile offender is not 61
resentenced at the initial review hearing, he or she is eligible 62
for one subsequent review hearing 2 10 years after the initial 63
review hearing. 64
(3) The Department of Corrections shall : 65
(a) Notify a juvenile offender of his or her eligibility 66
to request a sentence review hearing 18 months before the 67
juvenile offender is entitled to a sentence review hearing under 68
this section. 69
(b) Include time spent in county jail before custody in 70
the Department of Corrections when calculating a juvenile 71
offender's eligibility date for sentence review. 72
(c) Update the juvenile offender's classification records 73
to reflect the potential for earl y release. 74
(d) Ensure that the juvenile offender has access to 75
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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
transitional programming, with the aim of reducing recidivism. 76
(4)(a) A juvenile offender seeking sentence review 77
pursuant to subsection (2) must submit an application under Rule 78
3.996, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, to the court of 79
original jurisdiction requesting that a sentence review hearing 80
be held. The juvenile offender may submit the application at any 81
time following the notice under subsection (3), but no more than 82
18 months before the judicial review eligibility date. 83
(b) The juvenile offender must submit a new application to 84
the court of original jurisdiction to request subsequent 85
sentence review hearings pursuant to paragraph (2)(d). The 86
sentencing court shall retain origin al jurisdiction for the 87
duration of the sentence for this purpose. 88
(5)(a) A juvenile offender who is eligible for a sentence 89
review hearing under this section is entitled to be represented 90
by counsel, and the court shall appoint a public defender to 91
represent the juvenile offender if the juvenile offender cannot 92
afford an attorney. The juvenile offender may file a request for 93
appointment of counsel, if indigent, to prepare for the judicial 94
review at any time following the notice under subsection (3), 95
but no more than 18 months before the judicial review 96
eligibility date. 97
(b) At a hearing under this section, the juvenile offender 98
shall be present unless the juvenile offender waives the right 99
to be present in writing. This requirement may be satisfied by 100
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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
the juvenile offender appearing by video teleconference. The 101
hearing shall be recorded and transcribed. 102
(6) Upon receiving an application from an eligible 103
juvenile offender, the court of original sentencing jurisdiction 104
shall hold a sentence review hearin g within 120 days to 105
determine whether the juvenile offender's sentence should be 106
modified. When determining if it is appropriate to modify the 107
juvenile offender's sentence, the court shall consider any 108
factor it deems appropriate, including all of the fol lowing: 109
(a) Whether the juvenile offender demonstrates maturity 110
and rehabilitation and the current age of the juvenile offender . 111
(b) Whether the juvenile offender remains at the same 112
level of risk to society as he or she did at the time of the 113
initial sentencing. 114
(c) The opinion of the victim or the victim's next of kin. 115
The absence of the victim or the victim's next of kin from the 116
sentence review hearing may not be a factor in the determination 117
of the court under this section. The court shall permit the 118
victim or victim's next of kin to be heard, in person, in 119
writing, or by electronic means. If the victim or the victim's 120
next of kin chooses not to participate in the hearing, the court 121
may consider previous statements made by the victim or the 122
victim's next of kin during the trial, initial sentencing phase, 123
or subsequent sentencing review hearings. 124
(d) Whether the juvenile offender was a relatively minor 125
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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
participant in the criminal offense or acted under extreme 126
duress or the domination of another p erson. 127
(e) Whether the juvenile offender has shown sincere and 128
sustained remorse for the criminal offense. 129
(f) Whether the juvenile offender's age, maturity, and 130
psychological development at the time of the offense affected 131
his or her behavior. 132
(g) Whether the juvenile offender has successfully 133
obtained a high school equivalency diploma or completed another 134
educational, technical, work, vocational, or self -rehabilitation 135
program, if such a program is available. 136
(h) Whether the juvenile offender was a victim of sexual, 137
physical, or emotional abuse before he or she committed the 138
offense. 139
(i) The results of any mental health assessment, risk 140
assessment, or evaluation of the juvenile offender as to 141
rehabilitation. 142
(j) The nature of the offense, inclu ding changing societal 143
attitudes regarding the propriety of criminalizing the offense 144
and the appropriate sentence for the offense. 145
(7) If the court determines at a sentence review hearing 146
that the juvenile offender has been rehabilitated and is 147
reasonably believed to be fit to reenter society, the court 148
shall modify the sentence and impose a term of probation of at 149
least 5 years, which can be terminated early for compliance with 150
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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
probation guidelines pursuant to s. 948.04 . If the court 151
determines that the juvenile offender has not demonstrated 152
rehabilitation or is not fit to reenter society, the court shall 153
issue a written order stating the reasons why the sentence is 154
not being modified. 155
(8) If the court does not render a ruling during the 156
judicial review hearing, the court shall have 90 days to issue a 157
written ruling on whether the court finds the juvenile offender 158
has been rehabilitated and is reasonably believed to be fit to 159
reenter society. 160
(9) Concurrent and consecutive sentences shall be treated 161
as a single sentence. 162
(10) It is the intent of the Legislature that: 163
(a) All persons sentenced for a crime committed while 164
under the age of 18 are entitled to periodic case reviews, 165
ensuring consistent consideration of their evolving 166
circumstances and the chance to show maturity and rehabilitation 167
before their sentence ends. The Legislature emphasizes that 168
juvenile sentencing should align with the lowest permissible 169
punishment as detailed in Rule 3.992, Florida Rules of Criminal 170
Procedure, Criminal Puni shment Code scoresheet, reflecting the 171
distinct nature of juvenile offenses and the potential for 172
rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. 173
(b) Juvenile offenders serving lengthy sentences, with 174
judicial review hearings on the horizon, are provided with 175
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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
transitional programming by the Department of Corrections. 176
(11)(a) By July 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the 177
State Courts Administrator shall submit to the President of the 178
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a report 179
on requests for sentence reductions under this section and make 180
the report available to the public. 181
(b) Each report shall include, for the 1 -year period 182
preceding the report: 183
1. The number of incarcerated juveniles granted and denied 184
sentence reductions under this sect ion. 185
2. The number of incarcerated juveniles released from 186
prison under this section. 187
3. The demographic characteristics, including race and 188
gender, and the location, categorized by circuit and county, of: 189
a. Those who applied for sentence reductions under this 190
section. 191
b. Those granted sentence reductions under this section. 192
c. Those released from prison under this section. 193
d. Those denied release from prison under this section. 194
e. The initial sentencing term, including any prior 195
resentencing proceedings, of each incarcerated juvenile in 196
subparagraphs 1. and 2. 197
f. The applicable Criminal Punishment Code scoresheet 198
total and mandatory minimums imposed on each incarcerated 199
juvenile in subparagraphs 1. and 2. 200
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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
Section 2. This act shall apply retroactively to all 201
persons serving a sentence for offenses committed while under 202
the age of 18. 203
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 204