Proposed Legislation

Florida Capital Resource Center's Legislative Initiatives

As Florida Capital Resource Center grows, so does our voice in Tallahassee, and Executive Director Jenny Greenberg leads the charge as we lobby for important legislative change in the areas of capital justice and criminal procedure to protect the rights of Florida's indigent defendants.

The following is a list of bills we were watching for the Spring 2011 Legislative Session and their results:

Eyewitness Identification Reform Act: Addresses the problem of witness misidentification by requiring state, county, municipal, and other law enforcement agencies to follow certain specified procedures to ensure that lineups are conducted fairly and without influence by law enforcement. Florida Capital Resource Center SUPPORTS this act.

Senate Bill: S 1206
House Bill: H 821
RESULTS: Senate Bill 1206 was passed on 4/29/2011 with a vote of 34-5. It was immediately sent to the House where it died in messages on 5/07/2011. House Bill 821 was severely amended in the House Judiciary Committee before it was approved, removing from the bill most of the protocols it was designed to require of law enforcement agencies conducting eyewitness identifications. The new version of the bill was referred to the House calendar on 4/18/2011, where it officially died on 5/07/2011.

Unanimous Sentencing in Capital Felonies: Requires that an advisory sentence of death come from a unanimous jury rather than the current "majority" rule. Florida Capital Resource Center SUPPORTS this act.

Senate Bill: S 1066
House Bill: H 979
RESULTS: Senate Bill 1066 died in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on 5/07/2011. House Bill 979 died in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on 5/07/2011.

Intellectual Disabilities: Provides that the term "Intellectual Disabilities" be considered synonimous with "Mental Retardation" for purposes of imposition of the death penalty. Florida Capital Resource Center SUPPORTS this act.

Senate Bill: S 1104
RESULTS: Senate Bill 1104 died on 5/07/2011 in Children, Families, and Elder Affairs.

State Judicial System: Provides that capital attorney fees will be paid out of Justice Administrative Commission budget only up to a certain threshold; fees requested exceeding that amount would then be paid out of budget allocated to state court system in General Appropriations Act. Florida Capital Resource Center OPPOSES this act.

Senate Bill: S 2116
RESULTS: Senate Bill 2116 passed through the Senate with a vote of 36-3 on 5/06/2011. It was then passed by the House with a vote of 114-4 on 5/07/2011. However, on 5/26/2011, this bill was vetoed by Governor Rick Scott.

Repeal of Supreme Court Rule by General Law: Part of the effort to remove rule-making authority from the Florida Supreme Court and instead place such authority with the Florida Legislature; Allows the Florida Legislature to repeal Supreme Court Rules by passing General Laws. Florida Capital Resource Center OPPOSES this act.

Senate Bill: S 2084
RESULTS: Senate Bill 2084 was Laid on Table 4/28/2011. However, a companion version of the bill, House Bill 7111, passed through the House on 5/03/2011 with a vote of 80-38. House Bill 7111 was then passed by the Senate on 5/05/2011 with a vote of 24-11. On 6/21/2011, HB 7111 was signed by officers and filed with the Secretary of State. Language from this bill will appear on the ballot at the next general election as a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution. The amendment would make it much easier for the Florida Legislature to repeal Supreme Court Rules as it will be permitted to do so simply by passing General Laws rather than needing a 2/3 vote of each house as the Florida Constitution currently requires. It will also make it more difficult for the Supreme Court to readopt such repealed rules. Further, if the Supreme Court does readopt, and the legislature again votes to repeal, the amendment provides that the twice repealed rule may not be readopted again without the "prior approval of the legislature." Click here to read the full text of passed House Bill 7111. This is a dangerous rule that would allow Florida Legislators to have greater influence over how justice is administered in our court system. Florida Capital Resource Center urges voters to VOTE AGAINST THIS AMENDMENT when it appears on the ballot.

Repeal of Death Penalty: Would repeal all provisions of Florida Statutes that relate to or provide for the imposition of the death penalty. Florida Capital Resource Center SUPPORTS this act.

Senate Bill: S 1898
House Bill: H 4189
Results: Senate Bill 1898 died in Criminal Justice on 5/07/2011. House Bill 4189 died in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on 5/07/2011.

Be sure to keep up with the legislative session by visiting the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate on the web! We encourage you to write your representatives to express the importance of the above bills. To find out who your representatives are in each house, click here: