Bill seeks to extend misdemeanor probation for substance abuse treatment
Rep. Michelle Rayner
A bipartisan proposal by two Southwest Florida lawmakers would double the length of eligible probation for certain misdemeanors – from six months to a year – to better accommodate alcohol and drug treatment.
Rep. Berny Jacques
HB 91 by St. Petersburg Democrat Michelle Rayner, and Seminole Republican Berny Jacques, both attorneys, would amend subsection (1) of section 948.15 Florida Statutes, “Misdemeanor Probation Services.”
The existing law generally restricts the length of probation for misdemeanor offenses to six months.
The bill would add a single provision that would give a court the authority to sentence a defendant for up to a year of probation for misdemeanors in which “the use of alcohol . . . a controlled substance . . . controlled substance analogue . . . or chemical substance is a significant factor.”
Sponsors note in a bill summary that the measure would allow probation supervision services “to be provided by licensed substance abuse education and intervention programs” for misdemeanors related to possession of controlled substances or drug paraphernalia.
“These programs may offer education, intervention, and other probation terms,” the summary notes.
First elected to the House in 2020, Rayner is a civil rights attorney, Florida Bar Leadership Academy graduate, and ranking Democratic member of the Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee.
A director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, Jacques served as an assistant state attorney in the Sixth Circuit before entering private practice as a civil litigator. First elected to the House in 2022, he chairs the Careers and Workforce Subcommittee and serves on the Justice Budget Subcommittee.
