(1) There is created a Control Release Authority which shall be composed of the members of the Florida Commission on Offender Review and which shall have the same chair as the commission. The authority shall use such commission staff as it determines is necessary to carry out its purposes.
(2) The authority shall implement a system for determining the number and type of inmates who must be released into the community under control release in order to maintain the state prison system between 99 and 100 percent of its total capacity as defined in s. 944.023. No inmate has a right to control release. Control release is an administrative function solely used to manage the state prison population within total capacity. An inmate may not receive an advancement of his or her control release date by an award of control release allotments for any period of time before the date the inmate becomes statutorily eligible for control release or before the subsequent date of establishment of the inmate’s advanceable control release date.
(3) Within 120 days prior to the date the state correctional system is projected pursuant to s. 216.136 to exceed 99 percent of total capacity, the authority shall determine eligibility for and establish a control release date for an appropriate number of parole ineligible inmates committed to the department and incarcerated within the state who have been determined by the authority to be eligible for discretionary early release pursuant to this section. In establishing control release dates, it is the intent of the Legislature that the authority prioritize consideration of eligible inmates closest to their tentative release date. The authority shall rely upon commitment data on the offender information system maintained by the department to initially identify inmates who are to be reviewed for control release consideration. The authority may use a method of objective risk assessment in determining if an eligible inmate should be released. Such assessment shall be a part of the department’s management information system. However, the authority shall have sole responsibility for determining control release eligibility, establishing a control release date, and effectuating the release of a sufficient number of inmates to maintain the inmate population between 99 percent and 100 percent of total capacity. Inmates who are ineligible for control release are inmates who are parole eligible or inmates who:
(a) Are serving a sentence that includes a mandatory minimum provision for a capital offense or drug trafficking offense and have not served the number of days equal to the mandatory minimum term less any jail-time credit awarded by the court;
(b) Are serving the mandatory minimum portion of a sentence enhanced under s. 775.087(2) or (3) or s. 784.07(3);
(c) Are convicted, or have been previously convicted, of committing or attempting to commit sexual battery, incest, or any of the following lewd or indecent assaults or acts: masturbating in public; exposing the sexual organs in a perverted manner; or nonconsensual handling or fondling of the sexual organs of another person;
(d) Are convicted, or have been previously convicted, of committing or attempting to commit assault, aggravated assault, battery, or aggravated battery, and a sex act was attempted or completed during commission of such offense;
(e) Are convicted, or have been previously convicted, of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary, or murder, and the offense was committed with the intent to commit sexual battery or a sex act was attempted or completed during commission of the offense;
(f) Are convicted, or have been previously convicted, of committing or attempting to commit false imprisonment upon a child under the age of 13 and, in the course of committing the offense, the inmate committed aggravated child abuse, sexual battery against the child, or a lewd or lascivious offense committed upon or in the presence of a person less than 16 years of age;
(g) Are sentenced, have previously been sentenced, or have been sentenced at any time under s. 775.084, or have been sentenced at any time in another jurisdiction as a habitual offender;
(h) Are convicted, or have been previously convicted, of committing or attempting to commit assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, kidnapping, manslaughter, or murder against an officer as defined in s. 943.10(1), (2), (3), (6), (7), (8), or (9); against a state attorney or assistant state attorney; or against a justice or judge of a court described in Art. V of the State Constitution; or against an officer, judge, or state attorney employed in a comparable position by any other jurisdiction; or
(i) Are convicted, or have been previously convicted, of committing or attempting to commit murder in the first, second, or third degree under s. 782.04(1), (2), (3), or (4), or have ever been convicted of any degree of murder or attempted murder in another jurisdiction;
(j) Are convicted, or have been previously convicted, of DUI manslaughter under s. 316.193(3)(c)3., and are sentenced, or have been sentenced at any time, as a habitual offender for such offense, or have been sentenced at any time in another jurisdiction as a habitual offender for such offense;
(k)1. Are serving a sentence for an offense committed on or after January 1, 1994, for a violation of s. 775.0823(2), (3), (4), (5), or (6), and the subtotal of the offender’s sentence points is multiplied pursuant to former s. 921.0014 or s. 921.0024;
2. Are serving a sentence for an offense committed on or after October 1, 1995, for a violation of s. 775.0823(2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), or (9), and the subtotal of the offender’s sentence points is multiplied pursuant to former s. 921.0014 or s. 921.0024;
(l) Are serving a sentence for an offense committed on or after January 1, 1994, for possession of a firearm, semiautomatic firearm, or machine gun in which additional points are added to the subtotal of the offender’s sentence points pursuant to former s. 921.0014 or s. 921.0024; or
(m) Are convicted, or have been previously convicted, of committing or attempting to commit manslaughter, kidnapping, robbery, carjacking, home-invasion robbery, or a burglary under s. 810.02(2).
In making control release eligibility determinations under this subsection, the authority may rely on any document leading to or generated during the course of the criminal proceedings, including, but not limited to, any presentence or postsentence investigation or any information contained in arrest reports relating to circumstances of the offense.
(4) Control release dates shall be based upon a system of uniform criteria which shall include, but not be limited to, present offenses for which the person is committed, past criminal conduct, length of cumulative sentences, and age of the offender at the time of commitment, together with any aggravating or mitigating circumstances.
(5) Whenever the inmate population drops below 99 percent of total capacity and remains below 99 percent for 90 consecutive days without requiring the release of inmates under this section, all control release dates shall become void and no inmate shall be eligible for release under any previously established control release date. An inmate shall not have a right to a control release date, nor shall the authority be required to establish or reestablish any additional control release dates except under the provisions of subsection (2).
(6) For purpose of determining eligibility for control release, the mandatory minimum portion of a concurrent sentence will begin on the date the sentence begins to run as provided in s. 921.161. The mandatory minimum portions of consecutive sentences shall be served at the beginning of the maximum sentence as established by the Department of Corrections. With respect to offenders who have more than one sentence with a mandatory minimum portion, each mandatory minimum portion of consecutive sentences shall be served consecutively; provided, that in no case shall a sentence begin to run before the date of imposition of that sentence.
(7) The authority has the power and duty to:
(a) Extend or advance the control release date of any inmate for whom a date has been established pursuant to subsection (2), based upon one or more of the following:
1. Recently discovered information of:
a. Past criminal conduct;
b. Verified threats by inmates provided by victims, law enforcement, or the department;
c. Potential risk to or vulnerability of a victim;
d. Psychological or physical trauma to the victim due to the criminal offense;
e. Court-ordered restitution;
f. History of abuse or addiction to a chemical substance verified by a presentence or postsentence investigation report;
g. The inmate’s ties to organized crime;
h. A change in the inmate’s sentence structure;
i. Cooperation with law enforcement;
j. Strong community support; and
k. A documented mental condition as a factor for future criminal behavior.
2. The recommendation of the department regarding:
a. A medical or mental health-related condition; or
b. Institutional adjustment of the inmate, which may include refusal by the inmate to sign the agreement to the conditions of the release plan.
3. Total capacity of the state prison system.
(b) Authorize an individual commissioner to postpone a control release date for not more than 60 days without a hearing for any inmate who has become the subject of a disciplinary proceeding, a criminal arrest, an information, or an indictment; who has been terminated from work release; or about whom there is any recently discovered information as specified in paragraph (a).
(c) Determine the terms, conditions, and period of time of control release for persons released pursuant to this section.
(d) Determine violations of control release and what actions shall be taken with reference thereto.
(e) Provide for victim input into the decisionmaking process which may be used by the authority as aggravation or mitigation in determining which persons shall be released on control release.
(f) Make such investigations as may be necessary for the purposes of establishing, modifying, or revoking a control release date.
(g) Contract with a public defender or private counsel for representation of indigent persons charged with violating the terms of control release.
(h) Adopt such rules as the authority deems necessary for implementation of the provisions of this section.
(8) The Department of Corrections shall select and contract with public or private organizations for the provision of basic support services for inmates whose term of control release supervision does not exceed 180 days. Basic support services shall include, but not be limited to, substance abuse counseling, temporary housing, family counseling, and employment support programs.
(9) The authority shall examine such records as it deems necessary of the department, the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Law Enforcement, and any other such agency for the purpose of either establishing, modifying, or revoking a control release date. The victim impact statement shall be included in such records for examination. Such agencies shall provide the information requested by the authority for the purposes of fulfilling the requirements of this section.
(10) The authority shall adopt as a standard condition for all persons released pursuant to this section that such persons shall not commit a violation which constitutes a felony. The authority shall determine the appropriate terms, conditions, and lengths of supervision, if any, for persons placed on control release, except that such lengths of supervision shall be determined as provided in s. 947.24 and may not exceed the maximum period for which the person has been sentenced. If the person’s conviction was for a controlled substance violation, the conditions must include a requirement that the person submit to random substance abuse testing intermittently throughout the term of supervision, and, when warranted, a requirement that the person participate in substance abuse assessment and substance abuse treatment services upon the direction of the correctional probation officer as defined in s. 943.10(3). Effective July 1, 1994, and applicable for offenses committed on or after that date, the authority may require, as a condition of control release, that the control releasee make payment of the debt due and owing to a county or municipal detention facility under s. 951.032 for medical care, treatment, hospitalization, or transportation received by the releasee while in that detention facility. The authority, in determining whether to order such repayment and the amount of such repayment, shall consider the amount of the debt, whether there was any fault of the institution for the medical expenses incurred, the financial resources of the releasee, the present and potential future financial needs and earning ability of the releasee, and dependents, and other appropriate factors. If any inmate placed on control release supervision is also subject to probation or community control, the department shall supervise such person according to the conditions imposed by the court, and the authority shall defer to such supervision. If the court revokes the probation or community control, the authority, as the result of the revocation, may vacate the grant of control release and resulting deferred control release supervision or take other action it considers appropriate. If the term of control release supervision exceeds that of the probation or community control, then supervision shall revert to the authority’s conditions upon expiration of the probation or community control.
(11) If an inmate is released on control release supervision subject to a detainer for a pending charge and the pending charge results in a new commitment to incarceration before expiration of the terms of control release supervision, the authority may vacate the grant of control release and the control release supervision or take other action it considers appropriate.
(12) When the authority has reasonable grounds to believe that an offender released under this section has violated the terms and conditions of control release, such offender shall be subject to the provisions of s. 947.141 and shall be subject to forfeiture of gain-time pursuant to s. 944.28(1).
(13) If it is discovered that any control releasee was placed on control release by error or while statutorily ineligible for such release, the order of control release may be vacated and the Control Release Authority may cause a warrant to be issued for the arrest and return of the control releasee to the custody of the Department of Corrections for service of the unserved portion of the sentence or combined sentences.
(14) Effective July 1, 1996, all control release dates established prior to such date become void and no inmate shall be eligible for release under any previously established control release date. Offenders who are under control release supervision as of July 1, 1996, shall be subject to the conditions established by the authority until such offenders have been discharged from supervision. Offenders who have warrants outstanding based on violation of supervision as of July 1, 1996, or who violate the terms of their supervision subsequent to July 1, 1996, shall be subject to the provisions of s. 947.141.
History.—s. 2, ch. 89-526; s. 3, ch. 90-77; s. 2, ch. 90-186; s. 7, ch. 90-211; s. 12, ch. 90-337; s. 11, ch. 91-280; s. 15, ch. 92-310; s. 6, ch. 93-61; s. 27, ch. 93-406; s. 1, ch. 94-111; s. 2, ch. 94-121; s. 2, ch. 94-294; s. 27, ch. 95-184; s. 4, ch. 95-251; s. 19, ch. 96-422; s. 1873, ch. 97-102; s. 31, ch. 97-194; s. 8, ch. 98-417; s. 321, ch. 99-8; s. 3, ch. 99-12; s. 12, ch. 99-201; s. 7, ch. 2001-236; s. 7, ch. 2005-119; s. 3, ch. 2007-212; s. 5, ch. 2010-121; s. 8, ch. 2012-21; s. 330, ch. 2014-19; s. 46, ch. 2014-191; s. 6, ch. 2016-7; s. 28, ch. 2016-24; s. 28, ch. 2017-37; s. 3, ch. 2023-190.
