THE BILL ITSELF
HB 61
Objective Parole Guidelines
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A bill to be entitled
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An act relating to objective parole guidelines;
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amending s. 947.165, F.S.; providing additional
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requirements for objective parole guidelines;
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requiring a specified statistical analysis to be
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provided to the Legislature; providing an effective
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date.
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Section 1. Section 947.165, Florida Statutes, is amended
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to read:
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947.165 Objective parole guidelines.—
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(1) The commission shall develop and implement objective
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parole guidelines which shall be the criteria upon which parole
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decisions are made. The objective parole guidelines shall be
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developed according to an acceptable research method and shall
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be based on the seriousness of offense and the likelihood of
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favorable parole outcome by identifying an inmate's use of
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vocation, education, and self-betterment programs and courses in
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the department. The guidelines shall require the commission to
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not aggravate or aggregate each consecutive sentence in
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establishing the presumptive parole release date. Factors used
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in arriving at the salient factor score and the severity of
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offense behavior category may shall not be applied as
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aggravating circumstances. If the sentencing judge files a
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written objection to the parole release of an inmate as provided
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for in s. 947.1745(6), such objection may be used by the
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commission as a basis to extend the presumptive parole release
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date.
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(2) At least once a year, the commission shall review the
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objective parole guidelines and make any revisions considered
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necessary by virtue of statistical analysis of commission
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actions, which analysis uses acceptable research and
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methodology. The statistical analysis shall be provided to the
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President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
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Representatives upon completion.
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Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.