Drew Dixon
The House backed off proposed amendments Friday for a measure designed to provide mental health treatment to detainees in Florida jails and prisons who suffer from mental illness.
The House had approved the “Tristin Murphy Act” Thursday and adopted the Senate’s original bill (SB 168) as crafted by Sen. Jennifer Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican. But Rep. Nan Cobb, a Eustis Republican, added three amendments.
The Senate reviewed the amended measure Friday afternoon. Bradley motioned to drop all three amendments and said the chamber “refuses to concur.” with all three. She was supported by her fellow Senators, forcing the issue back to the House one more time.
When Cobb addressed the House floor about 7:30 p.m., without dispute or debate, she agreed to recede and the amendments were removed. The House then unanimously passed the final measure in agreement with the Senate just hours before Session’s end.
The bill is named after Tristin Murphy, who committed suicide in a Florida prison in 2021.
Cobb expressed no disappointment in removing the amendments and instead focused on the fact that the final measure will increase treatment for the mentally ill who end up behind bars.
“Tristin is smiling down on us today,” an emotional Cobb said as she was addressing her fellow Representatives. “Today as a body we have the ability to change lives. So let all of us be up for Tristin Murphy.”
The overall bill calls for the state to establish probation conditions for defendants with mental illness, sets requirements for work assignments for those detainees and expands training options under the criminal justice, mental health and substance abuse grant programs.
The original Senate bill gained momentum as Senate President Ben Albritton, a Wauchula Republican, threw his support behind the measure.
“Tristin’s parents and his son, Cody, have been so brave to tell his story and advocate for improvements to the way offenders with a mental health challenge are treated within the criminal justice system,” Albritton said as the measure worked its way through the Senate. “Learning about Tristin’s story and spending time with his parents had a profound impact on me.”
The measure now heads to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis for final consideration.
