20.315 Department of Corrections.—There is created a Department of Corrections.
(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Department of Corrections is to protect the public through the incarceration and supervision of offenders and to rehabilitate offenders through the application of work, programs, and services. The goals of the department shall be:
(a) To protect society by providing incarceration that will support the intentions of established criminal law.
(b) To ensure that inmates work while they are incarcerated and that the department makes every effort to collect restitution and other monetary assessments from inmates while they are incarcerated or under supervision.
(c) To work in partnerships with local communities to further efforts toward crime prevention.
(d) To provide a safe and humane environment for offenders and staff in which rehabilitation is possible. This should include the protection of the offender from victimization within the institution and the development of a system of due process, where applicable.
(e) To provide appropriate supervision for offenders released on community supervision, based on public safety risks and offender needs, and, in conjunction with the judiciary, public safety agencies, and local communities, develop safe, community-based alternatives.
(f) To provide programs, which may include academic, vocational, and treatment, to incarcerated offenders and supervised offenders which will prepare them for occupations available in the community.
(g) To provide library services at correctional institutions, which includes general and law library services.
(h) To provide judges with effective evaluative tools and information for use in sentencing decisions.
(i) To provide the level of security in institutions commensurate with the custody requirements and management needs of inmates.
(j) To ensure that the rights and needs of crime victims are recognized and met, including the need for the victim to be timely notified of the release or escape of an inmate.
(2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature that:
(a) The department focus its attention on the removal of barriers that could prevent the inmate’s successful return to society while supervising and incarcerating offenders at a level of security commensurate with the danger they present to the public.
(b) The department work in partnership with communities in the construction of facilities and the development of programs to offenders.
(c) The department develop a comprehensive program for the treatment of youthful offenders and other special needs offenders committed to the department, including female, elderly, and disabled offenders.
(d) The department pursue partnerships with other governmental entities and private industry for the purpose of furthering mutual goals and expanding work and educational opportunities for offenders.
(3) SECRETARY OF CORRECTIONS.—The head of the Department of Corrections is the Secretary of Corrections. The secretary is appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate, and shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The secretary is responsible for planning, coordinating, and managing the corrections system of the state. The secretary shall ensure that the programs and services of the department are administered in accordance with state and federal laws, rules, and regulations, with established program standards, and consistent with legislative intent. The secretary shall identify the need for and recommend funding for the secure and efficient operation of the state correctional system.
(a) The secretary shall appoint a deputy secretary. The deputy secretary shall be directly responsible to the secretary and shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary.
(b) The secretary shall appoint a general counsel and an inspector general, who are exempt from part II of chapter 110 and are included in the Senior Management Service.
(c) The secretary may appoint assistant secretaries, directors, or other such persons that he or she deems are necessary to accomplish the mission and goals of the department, including, but not limited to, the following areas of program responsibility:
1. Security and institutional operations, which shall provide inmate work programs, offender programs, security administration, emergency operations response, and operational oversight of the regions.
2. Health services, which shall be headed by a physician licensed under chapter 458 or an osteopathic physician licensed under chapter 459, or a professionally trained health care administrator with progressively responsible experience in health care administration. This individual shall be responsible for the delivery of health services to offenders within the system and shall have direct professional authority over such services.
3. Community corrections, which shall provide for coordination of community alternatives to incarceration and operational oversight of community corrections regions.
4. Administrative services, which shall provide budget and accounting services within the department, including the construction and maintenance of correctional institutions, human resource management, research, planning and evaluation, and technology.
5. Program, transition, and postrelease services, which shall provide for the direct management and supervision of all departmental programs, including the coordination and delivery of education and job training to the offenders in the custody of the department. In addition, this program shall provide for the direct management and supervision of all programs that furnish transition assistance to inmates who are or have recently been in the custody of the department, including the coordination, facilitation, and contract management of prerelease and postrelease transition services provided by governmental and private providers, including faith-based service groups.
(4) REGIONS.—The department shall plan and administer its program of services for community corrections, security, and institutional operations through regions.
(5) ANNUAL REPORTING.—The department shall report annually to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives recounting its activities and making recommendations for improvements to the performance of the department. The annual report shall include information published under s. 945.041.
(6) DEPARTMENTAL BUDGETS.—
(a) The secretary shall develop and submit annually to the Legislature a comprehensive departmental budget request.
(b) The department, consistent with chapter 216, may transfer, as necessary, funds and positions among budget entities to realign appropriations with the revised budget entity designations. Such authorized revisions must be consistent with the intent of the approved operating budget. The department shall periodically review the appropriateness of the budget entity designations and the adequacy of its delegated authority to transfer funds between entities and submit the reviews to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget. To fulfill this responsibility, the secretary shall have the authority to review, amend, and approve the annual budget requests of all departmental activities.
(7) PLACEMENT OF OFFENDERS.—The department shall classify its programs according to the character and range of services available for its clients. The department shall place each offender in the program or facility most appropriate to the offender’s needs, subject to budgetary limitations and the availability of space.
(8) DISCHARGE FROM COMMITMENT.—When the law grants to an agent, officer, or administrator of the Department of Corrections the authority to make a discharge from commitment, such authority shall be vested in the Secretary of Corrections or in any agent who, in his or her discretion, the secretary may authorize.
(9) FORM OF COMMITMENT; NOTICE OF PAROLE VIOLATION.—All commitments shall state the statutory authority therefor. The Secretary of Corrections shall have the authority to prescribe the form to be used for commitments. This act does not abridge the authority and responsibility of the Florida Commission on Offender Review with respect to the granting and revocation of parole. The Department of Corrections shall notify the Florida Commission on Offender Review of all violations of parole conditions and provide reports connected thereto as may be requested by the commission. The commission shall have the authority to issue orders dealing with supervision of specific parolees, and such orders shall be binding on all parties.
(10) SINGLE INFORMATION AND RECORDS SYSTEM.—Only one offender-based information and records computer system shall be maintained by the Department of Corrections for the joint use of the department and the Florida Commission on Offender Review. The data system shall be managed through the department’s office of information technology. The department shall develop and maintain, in consultation with the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Information Systems Council under s. 943.08, such offender-based information, including clemency administration information and other computer services to serve the needs of both the department and the Florida Commission on Offender Review. The department shall notify the commission of all violations of parole and the circumstances thereof.
(11) TRANSFER OF AUTHORITY.—All statutory functions of the department not otherwise herein assigned to a specific unit of the department are assigned generally to the department and may be allocated and reallocated by the secretary to an authorized unit of the department.
(12) PURCHASE OF SERVICES.—Whenever possible, the department, in accordance with the established program objectives and performance criteria, may contract for the provision of services by counties, municipalities, nonprofit corporations, and other entities capable of providing needed services, if services so provided are more cost-efficient, cost-effective, or timely than those provided by the department or available to it under existing law.
Cited 534 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
...Here, "the inquiry into causation must be a directed one, focusing on the duties and responsibilities of each of the individual defendants whose acts or omissions are alleged to have resulted in a constitutional deprivation." Williams, 689 F.2d at 1381 . 14 Fla.Stat. Sec. 20.315(4)(a) (1985) provides that the Secretary of the Department of Corrections shall have the "responsibility to plan, direct, coordinate, and execute the powers, duties, and responsibilities assigned to the department." Fla.Stat. Sec. 20.315(1) (1985) outlines the goals of the department. These include "the protection of the offender from victimization within the institution," Fla.Stat. Sec. 20.315(1)(c) (1985), and the provision of "the necessary level of security in institutions," Fla.Stat. Sec. 20.315(1)(g) (1985). Finally, Fla.Stat. Sec. 20.315(17) (1985) provides: 15 PLACEMENT OF OFFENDERS.--The department shall classify its programs according to the character and range of services available for its clients....
...ate Rule 33-3.13. Department of Corrections v. Roseman, 390 So.2d 394, 397 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1980), petition for rev. denied sub nom., Holden v. Florida Department of Corrections, 397 So.2d 778 (Fla. 1981). The Roseman opinion relies on Fla. StatAnn. § 20.315 (West Supp.1982) (creation of the Department of Corrections) and Fla.Stat.Ann....
Cited 36 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 1999 WL 756012
...§ 40-23-114 (Supp. 1998). [39] See § 922.105(1), Fla. Stat. (Supp.1998) ("If electrocution is held to be unconstitutional... all persons sentenced to death for a capital crime shall be executed by lethal injection."). [40] See supra note 19. [41] See § 20.315(6), Fla....
Cited 30 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 1997 WL 652073
...I write to add that I find the Florida Corrections Commission's analysis of the electric chair compelling. The Florida Corrections Commission is the body responsible for analyzing the status of the state correctional system and recommending improvements therein to the Governor and Legislature. *82 § 20.315(4)(b)2, Fla....
Cited 21 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida
...This matter comes to us on direct appeal from the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit in and for Leon County, Florida. We have jurisdiction of the appeal pursuant to Article V, Section 3(b)(1), Florida Constitution, in that the trial court declared unconstitutional Subsection 20.315(6), Florida Statutes, which was enacted by Chapter 75-49, Laws of Florida....
...of the complaint. Upon appropriate motion, the court entered an order permitting the State of Florida on the relation of Attorney General Shevin to intervene fully as to the papers, pleadings and orders dealing directly with the constitutionality of Section 20.315(6), Florida Statutes, as enacted by Chapter 75-49, Laws of Florida. Appellees then filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. Appellants responded with a motion for judgment on the pleadings declaring that Section 20.315(6), Florida Statutes, is a constitutionally valid enactment....
...in that order. This appeal ensued. The issues presented for our determination are (i) whether the trial court erred in finding that appellees, as plaintiffs below, have standing to maintain this suit and (ii) whether the trial court erred in finding Section 20.315(6), Florida Statutes, enacted by Chapter 75-49, Laws of Florida, to be unconstitutional....
...See Rawls v. D'Alemberte, 41 Fla. Supp. 130 (Leon Cty. Cir.Ct. 1974). We also concur in the trial court's finding that the allegations of the complaint were not specific as to any unlawful expenditures of public monies arising from the asserted invalidity of Section 20.315(6), Florida Statutes....
Cited 12 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 1991 WL 247965
...upon the executive clemency power. Clearly this is not true. On its face, the statute does no more than direct DOC to recommend a commutation of sentence. This is entirely within the legislative prerogative, since DOC was created by the legislature. § 20.315, Fla....
Cited 9 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 1992 WL 246494
...ed Copy: Victim Committee Note 1980 Amendment. The proposed changes to Rule 3.986 are housekeeping in nature. References to the Department of Offender Rehabilitation have been changed to Department of Corrections to reflect a legislative change. See section 20.315, Florida Statutes (Supp....
Cited 9 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal
...needs and policies of the Florida Department of Corrections." Id. Though the issue has never been properly brought before this Court, we believe the contention that the Commission is powerless in its dealings with the Department to be without merit. § 20.315(20), Fla....
Cited 8 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 2365
...h discretion to exercise that discretion in a given manner", Graham v. Vann, 394 So.2d 180, 182 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), we agree with Hall that section 944.34 clearly compels a prison superintendent to not permit certain types of *789 punishment. Also, Section 20.315(1)(c), Florida Statutes (1983), though not cited in Hall's petition, requires the Department of Corrections (DOC) to have as a goal the following: To provide an environment for incarcerated persons in which rehabilitation is possible. This should include the protection of the offender from victimization within the institution and the development of a system of due process and internal legality in institutions. See Vann, 394 So.2d at 183, where this court held that pursuant to section 20.315(1), DOC has a clear legal duty to provide inmates with incarceration "where they are free from victimization by other inmates." Hall's petition, however, was justifiably dismissed because of its vague and conclusory allegations....
...83, 30 L.Ed.2d 110 (1971). 220. Under Florida law, as Superintendent at GCI, Defendant Turner was required to protect "the offender from victimization within the institution" and to develop "a system of due process and internal legality in the institution." 20.315(1)(c), Florida Statutes (1983) (emphasis added). [60] 221. The Florida statutory requirement contained in Section 20.315 provides Plaintiffs with "a clear legal right to be confined in an institution where they are free from victimization by other inmates" and places upon Defendant Turner "an equally clear legal duty to [have provided Plaintiffs] with such incarceration." Graham v....
...[7] The Magistrate alternatively found section 1983 liability based on Turner's breach of a duty imposed by state law which caused plaintiffs' constitutional injury. See Williams, 689 F.2d at 1381. The parties agree, however, that Turner could not have breached a duty imposed by Fla.Stat.Ann. § 20.315(1)(c) (West 1987 Supp.), the statute relied on by the Magistrate, because that statute on its face applies only to the DOC and not to individual superintendents....
...isolated incident has thus, sub silentio, repudiated the principle that an "isolated incident," by its very nature could never rise to the level of "callous indifference" rendering a prison official liable for acts that offend the constitution. [60] Section 20.315(1)(c) provides as follows: 20.315....
Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2004 WL 1562359
...IV, § 8, Fla. Const.; Parole Comm'n v. Lockett, 620 So.2d 153, 157 (Fla.1993); Randall v. F.D.L.E., 791 So.2d 1238, 1241 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001), rev. dismissed, 845 So.2d 892 (Fla.2003). However, the Department is a creature of the Florida Legislature, see § 20.315, Florida Statutes (2002), and the Legislature has directed the Department to help offenders with their applications through section 944.293....
...ernor, the Secretary "shall ensure that the programs and services of the department are administered in accordance with state and federal laws, rules, and regulations, with established program standards, and consistent with legislative intent. " See § 20.315(3), Fla....
...declared invalid on grounds that the challenged portions of the rule exceed the Legislature's grant of rulemaking authority to the Department. In support of their request for declaratory relief, appellant and Wells specifically alleged that neither section 20.315 *639 nor section 945.04 of the Florida Statutes, cited by the Department as authority for the challenged rule, "contain any provision authorizing the DOC to make any assessment against inmates for copying costs or even any general ru...
...Section four describes how inmates may not be denied copies if they are unable to pay for them, and sets forth the process to be followed to place a hold on an inmate's account to compensate the institution for making the copies. Id. at 1241. The only statutes ever cited as authority for the rule were sections 20.315 and 945.04, Florida Statutes; however, in April 2004, after the conclusion of the declaratory judgment action below, an amendment to the rule became effective which deleted the reference to section 945.04 as authority for the rule, and replaced it with a citation to section 944.09, Florida Statutes....
...1st DCA 1993) (analyzing arguments concerning the reasonableness of a particular DOC rule, in terms of whether it was "related to the purpose of the enabling legislation" and whether the rule was "arbitrary and capricious," only after first determining that there existed specific statutory authority for the rule). Section 20.315, Florida Statutes, creates the Department of Corrections and defines its organizational structure and purpose....
...Among the listed goals of the Department, as set forth in this statute, is the duty "[t]o ensure that inmates work while they are incarcerated and that the department make[] every effort to collect restitution and other monetary assessments from inmates while they are incarcerated or under supervision." § 20.315(1)(b), Fla....
...t, this provision does not in any way authorize the Department to make *642 monetary assessments; it simply authorizes the Department to collect monetary assessments. Such an interpretation of this provision is in keeping with legislative intent. If section 20.315(1)(b) were interpreted in the manner set forth by the Department, the Department would have unbridled discretion to charge an inmate for any and all services rendered by the Department. While one may argue that this is appropriate public policy, such a policy decision should be made by the Legislature rather than the executive branch. Further, were section 20.315(1)(b) to be interpreted as authorizing the Department to make monetary assessments like the copy cost assessments authorized by the challenged portions of the rule in this case, there would have been no need for the Legislature to have...
..."[A] basic rule of statutory construction provides that the Legislature does not intend to enact useless provisions, and courts should avoid readings that would render part of a statute meaningless." State v. Goode, 830 So.2d 817, 824 (Fla.2002). As such, the language in section 20.315, relied on by both the Department and the circuit court as providing statutory authority for the challenged provisions of Rule 33-501.302, does not appear to contain a specific grant of legislative authority for those provisions under the standard set forth in section 120.52(8) as interpreted in Save the Manatee....
...Committee Note
1980 Amendment. The proposed changes to rule 3.986 are housekeeping in nature. References
to the Department of Offender Rehabilitation have been changed to Department of Corrections to
reflect a legislative change. See section 20.315, Florida Statutes (Supp....
...The proposed changes to rule 3.986 are housekeeping in nature. References
to the Department of Offender Rehabilitation have been changed to Department of Corrections to
- 44 -
reflect a legislative change. See section 20.315, Florida Statutes (Supp....
...[5] On this appeal, Whipple acknowledges that his Dade sentence should have initially been made to run concurrent and coterminous with his St. Johns sentence. [6] Whipple's negligence claim was not adjudicated by the trial court in the summary judgment and remains pending before the court below. [7] Pursuant to section 20.315, DOC was created as an executive agency. § 20.315, Fla....
immediate support of the commissioners. . . . Section 20.315(22), supra, must be presumed to be valid and
This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.
