CS for CS for SB 1218 - Summary

• Creates Florida Correctional Operations Oversight Council within the Office of Chief Inspector General with nine appointed members to oversee corrections and juvenile justice facilities, conduct inspections, and submit annual reports to state leadership.

• Increases theft thresholds from $300 to $1,000 for grand theft charges and modifies retail theft penalties; allows courts to impose sentences other than mandatory minimums for drug trafficking convictions under specified circumstances.

• Establishes comprehensive criminal justice data collection requirements effective January 1, 2019, requiring clerks of court, state attorneys, public defenders, detention facilities, and the Department of Corrections to report detailed case and offender data monthly to the Department of Law Enforcement for public accessibility.

• Creates supervised bond programs in counties using risk assessment instruments to determine appropriate pretrial release conditions and establishes a 3-year Risk Assessment Pilot Program in Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties to evaluate all felony arrestees.

• Expands conditional medical release eligibility to include inmates with debilitating illnesses and medically frail inmates; creates mandatory conditional medical release for qualifying inmates who have served at least 50 percent of sentence and establishes certificate of achievement and employability program to convert mandatory civil impacts into discretionary ones for licensing and employment purposes.