Florida HB 297: Attorney Fees

Bill Text

HB 297 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb297-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to criminal rehabilitation; amending 2
s. 921.002, F.S.; revising the legislative intent of 3
the Criminal Punishment Code; specifying that to 4
rehabilitate the offender to transition back to the 5
community successfully is one of the primary purposes 6
of sentencing; reducing the minimum sentence that must 7
be served by a defendant from 85 percent of the 8
sentence to 72 percent; amending s. 944.275, F.S.; 9
revising provisions concerning gain-time to provide 10
for outstanding deed gain-time, good behavior time, 11
and rehabilitation credits; providing requirements for 12
such gain-time and credits; providing for amounts to 13
be awarded; revising limits on the award of gain-time; 14
reducing the minimum sentence that must be served by a 15
defendant from 85 percent of the sentence to 72 16
percent; amending ss. 316.027, 316.1935, 381.004, 17
775.084, 775.0845, 775.0847, 775.0861, 775.0862, 18
775.087, 775.0875, 777.03, 777.04, 784.07, 794.011, 19
794.0115, 794.0116, 794.023, 810.145, 812.081, 20
817.568, 831.032, 843.22, 874.04, 944.281, 944.473, 21
944.70, 944.801, and 947.005, F.S.; conforming 22
provisions to changes made by the act; providing an 23
effective date. 24
25

HB 297 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb297-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 26
27
Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 921.002, Florida 28
Statutes, is amended to read: 29
921.002 The Criminal Punishment Code.—The Criminal 30
Punishment Code shall apply to all felony offenses, except 31
capital felonies, committed on or after October 1, 1998. 32
(1) The provision of criminal penalties and of limitations 33
upon the application of such penalties is a matter of 34
predominantly substantive law and, as such, is a matter properly 35
addressed by the Legislature. The Legislature, in the exercise 36
of its authority and responsibility to establish sentencing 37
criteria, to provide for the imposition of criminal penalties, 38
and to make the best use of state prisons so that violent 39
criminal offenders are appropriately punished and rehabilitated 40
incarcerated, has determined that it is in the best interest of 41
the state to develop, implement, and revise a sentencing policy. 42
The Criminal Punishment Code embodies the principles that: 43
(a) Sentencing is neutral with respect to race, gender, 44
and social and economic status. 45
(b) The dual purposes primary purpose of sentencing in the 46
criminal justice system are is to punish the offender and 47
rehabilitate the offender to transition back to the community 48
successfully. Rehabilitation is a desired goal of the criminal 49
justice system but is subordinate to the goal of punishment. 50

HB 297 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb297-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

(c) The penalty imposed is commensurate with the severity 51
of the primary offense and the circumstances surrounding the 52
primary offense. 53
(d) The severity of the sentence increases with the length 54
and nature of the offender's prior record. 55
(e) The sentence imposed by the sentencing judge reflects 56
the length of actual time to be served, shortened only by the 57
application of outstanding deed incentive and meritorious gain-58
time, good behavior time, and rehabilitation credits as provided 59
by law, and may not be shortened if the defendant would 60
consequently serve less than 72 85 percent of his or her term of 61
imprisonment as provided in s. 944.275(4). The provisions of 62
Chapter 947, relating to parole, does shall not apply to persons 63
sentenced under the Criminal Punishment Code. 64
(f) Departures below the lowest permissible sentence 65
established by the code must be articulated in writing by the 66
trial court judge and made only when circumstances or factors 67
reasonably justify the mitigation of the sentence. The level of 68
proof necessary to establish facts that support a departure from 69
the lowest permissible sentence is a preponderance of the 70
evidence. 71
(g) The trial court judge may impose a sentence up to and 72
including the statutory maximum for any offense, including an 73
offense that is before the court due to a violation of probation 74
or community control. 75

HB 297 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb297-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

(h) A sentence may be appealed on the basis that it 76
departs from the Criminal Punishment Code only if the sentence 77
is below the lowest permissible sentence or as enumerated in s. 78
924.06(1). 79
(i) Use of incarc