DeSantis and Cabinet end 5-year clemency wait for Florida felons

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet approved major changes to the state’s clemency process on Wednesday that automatically restore the right to hold office and serve on a jury for Floridians with felony convictions who have completed their sentence and paid off their court debts.

The changes, proposed by DeSantis on Tuesday, also remove a minimum five-year waiting period for those with felony convictions to apply to have their rights restored, eliminating a measure imposed by Gov. Rick Scott a decade ago.

“I believe that those who have had their voting rights restored, it makes sense to restore the other civil rights,” DeSantis said Wednesday.

The changes were long-sought by civil rights advocates, including the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which led the successful 2018 change to the Florida Constitution known as Amendment 4. That amendment restored the right to vote to nearly all felons who completed “all terms” of their sentence, wiping out a Jim Crow-era law meant to keep Black Floridians off the voter rolls.

But like Amendment 4, Monday’s changes have a major catch: people with felonies must still pay back all court fees, fines and restitution to victims before having their rights automatically restored. That’s the majority of people with felony convictions in the state, who are often saddled with hundreds or thousands of dollars in court user fees that they will never repay.

Those with court debts can still petition the clemency board to have their rights restored, however.

In Florida, a felony conviction loses you the right to vote, serve on a jury, run for office and own or possess a firearm. DeSantis’ changes would not automatically restore the right to carry a firearm, and it does not apply to those convicted of murder or sex offenses.