BRONSON UNDECIDED ABOUT RESTORING FELONS' RIGHTS

TALLAHASSEE - Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson said Tuesday
that he has qualms about automatically restoring civil rights to most
felons who have finished their sentences, but the Florida Cabinet's
swing voter remains undecided on the issue.

Gov. Charlie Crist and the three Cabinet members are set to vote
Thursday on the governor's proposal to lift a Jim Crow-era ban on
felons voting, serving on juries, holding public office and obtaining
professional licenses.

The governor and Cabinet members have the power to restore those
rights in their capacity as the state's Executive Clemency Board.

Under current rules, criminals convicted of lesser felonies can get
their rights restored immediately, but others must wait at least five
years after completing their sentences before applying for a hearing
before the board.

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink supports Crist's proposal to also
immediately restore the rights for most remaining ex-felons - as long
as they also have paid all court-ordered fines and costs - while
Attorney General Bill McCollum is against it. That leaves the decision
in Bronson's hands.

"I'm really going to listen to whatever debate we have on it," Bronson
said, but he added, "You can't turn away from the fact that violent
criminals have victims out there."

Bronson said he has let the governor's staff know he thinks violent
criminals should continue to be required to go before the Clemency
Board if they want to get their rights restored.

"It's a little bit like the issue of carjacking," Bronson said.
"Carjacking can be someone jumping into a running vehicle and taking
off because it was an opportunistic crime, or somebody could jerk
somebody out of a car and beat them half to death and steal their car."

Sink agrees murderers and sexual predators should be excluded, but
other felons should get their rights back once they've done their time.

"We're not putting guns in their hands," Sink said. "We're giving
them the right to vote. We're giving them the right to gain employment
so that they can support their families."

Crist said Bronson's worries would be addressed, but the populist
Republican governor did not offer any specifics.

"We'll talk about it Thursday, and I think we're in good shape," Crist
said. "All of us share a concern as it relates to violent offenders
and sexual offenders, and so I think what you will see on Thursday
will probably reflect that."

As for McCollum, who rounds out the four-member board, Crist said only
that "we need three votes."

McCollum's office distributed copies of his recent opinion article
calling Crist's proposal "reckless and irresponsible" and letters from
the Fraternal Order of Police and Florida Police Chiefs Association
opposing it.

The article notes Department of Corrections statistics show about 45
percent of released prisoners commit another crime within five years.

"The revolving door effect of restoring felons' rights only to revoke
them due to a new criminal offense would diminish the integrity of our
democratic government and the rule of law," McCollum wrote.

He acknowledged the Clemency Board has a backlog of rights cases but
reiterated a previous suggestion to increase Parole Commission
staffing and hold monthly rather than quarterly meetings to accelerate
the investigation and hearing processes.