Florida's reliance on court fees could limit felons in restoration of voting rights

Since the mid-90s, Florida has largely relied on fines and fees to pay for its court system often with little regard to a defendant’s ability to pay.

That reliance now could impact just how many of the one and half million felons in Florida get their right to vote back.

Last month a Florida House panel approved a bill that would require former felons to pay all fines and fees prior to having their voting rights restored.

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Critics have pointed out that many felons have their fines and fees converted to civil liens after release, and those civil liens should not stand in the way of full implementation of Amendment 4.

But, legislators point at what attorney Jon Mills said before the Florida Supreme Court in March of 2017 when he presented the restoration of rights amendment before the court in an exchange with Justice Ricky Polston.

In that exchange, Mills said completion would include anything that a judge puts into a sentence, prompting Justice Polston to ask, “so that would include any fines?  Mills responded with, “yes sir.”

Meanwhile, an amendment filed to the Senate version of the Amendment 4 implantation bill (SB 7089) would allow felons to get their right to vote back, provided their fines and fees have been converted by a judge to a civil lien.

Cox Media Group