(1) There is created a Control Release Authority which shall be composed of the members of the Parole Commission and which shall have the same chairman as the commission. The authority shall utilize such commission staff as it determines is necessary to carry out its purposes.

(2) The authority has as its primary purpose the implementation of a system of uniform criteria for the determination of 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 control release date by an award of control release award 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 his advanceable control release date.

(3) A panel of no fewer than two members of the authority shall establish a control release date for each parole ineligible inmate committed to the department and incarcerated within the state, within 90 days following notification by the department of receipt of the inmate or within 90 days following the completion of proceedings revoking an offender's release and notification by the department of receipt of the inmate, except an inmate who:

(a) Is serving a sentence that includes a mandatory minimum provision for a capital offense or drug trafficking offense and has not served the number of days equal to the mandatory minimum term less any jail-time credit awarded by the court;

(b) Is serving the mandatory minimum portion of a sentence enhanced under s. 775.087(2) or (3), or s. 784.07(3);

(c) Is convicted, or has 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) Is convicted, or has 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) Is convicted, or has 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) Is convicted, or has 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, lascivious, or indecent assault or act upon or in the presence of the child;

(g) Is sentenced, has previously been sentenced, or has been sentenced at any time under s. 775.084, or has been sentenced at any time in another jurisdiction as a habitual offender;

(h) Is convicted, or has 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) Is convicted, or has 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 has ever been convicted of any degree of murder or attempted murder in another jurisdiction;

(j) Is convicted, or has been previously convicted, of DUI manslaughter under s. 316.193(3)(c)3., and is sentenced, or has been sentenced at any time, as a habitual offender for such offense, or has been sentenced at any time in another jurisdiction as a habitual offender for such offense;

(k) 1. Is serving a sentence for an offense committed on or after January 1, 1994, for a violation of the Law Enforcement Protection Act under s. 775.0823(2), (3), (4), or (5), and the subtotal of the offender's sentence points is multiplied pursuant to s. 921.0014; 2. Is serving a sentence for an offense committed on or after October 1, 1995, for a violation of the Law Enforcement Protection Act under s. 775.0823(2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), or (8), and the subtotal of the offender's sentence points is multiplied pursuant to s. 921.0014;

(l) Is 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 s. 921.0014; or

(m) Is convicted, or has 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. The 90-day requirement for the establishment of a control release date for all eligible inmates for control release consideration does not apply to a person sentenced as a habitual felony offender.

(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) 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.

(6) 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, 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) Create a periodic review process for inmates whose original control release dates are established at the maximum category.

(i) Adopt such rules as the authority deems necessary for implementation of the provisions of this section.

(7) 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.

(8) The authority shall examine such records as it deems necessary of the department, the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, 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.

(9) 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.

(10) 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.

(11) 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).

(12) 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. 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.