CS/HB 157 Summary

• Creates section 950.021, Florida Statutes, authorizing courts to sentence certain offenders to county jail for up to 24 months if the county has a contract with the Department of Corrections, effective for offenses committed on or after July 1, 2017.

• Establishes eligibility criteria requiring offenders have sentence point scores between 45-60 points, primary offenses that are not forcible felonies (with exception for third-degree theft felonies), and primary offenses not punishable by minimum mandatory sentences exceeding 24 months.

• Prohibits offenders from receiving gain-time or sentence credits that would allow them to serve less than 85 percent of their imposed sentence.

• Requires county jails to contract with the Department of Corrections, with per diem reimbursement not exceeding $60 per inmate based on the county's actual custody per diem rates.

• Makes contracts contingent on specific appropriations in the General Appropriations Act, with contracts awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, and requires the Auditor General to validate all per diem rates before payments are made.