What happened to the capital sex crime bill?
Here's an update on the other piece of capital punishment-related legislation pending this session--the capital sex crime bill that would expand Florida's death penalty to non-homicide crimes.
The 8-4 capital sentencing legislation has passed and become law. (The post about that can be found here.)
But what about the other piece of legislation pending in which the Florida Legislature approved expanding Florida’s death penalty to non-homicide crimes—despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in Kennedy v. Louisiana, holding that such a punishment violates the Eighth Amendment? (More on that here.)
Article III, section 8(a), of the Florida Constitution states:
Every bill passed by the legislature shall be presented to the governor for approval and shall become a law if the governor approves and signs it, or fails to veto it within seven consecutive days after presentation. If during that period or on the seventh day the legislature adjourns sine die or takes a recess of more than thirty days, the governor shall have fifteen consecutive days from the date of presentation to act on the bill.
The capital sex crime legislation has not yet been presented to the Governor. Based on Article III, section 8, it can be presented to Governor DeSantis at any time until the legislative session ends. Once it is presented, he has seven days to approve it. Or, if “the legislature adjourns sine die” while approval is pending, that period extends to fifteen days from the date the bill was sent to the Governor.
According to a calendar on the Senate website, sine die is on May 5, 2023.
In other words, the legislation hasn’t died yet. It is waiting to be presented to the Governor for approval.