Senate committee advances ‘Tristan Murphy Act’ to expand mental‑health diversion from jails

Senate Bill 168, dubbed the Tristan Murphy Act, was reported favorably by the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee after testimony from family members, law enforcement and mental‑health advocates who said the bill will expand routes for defendants with mental illness to receive treatment instead of incarceration.

The bill ‘‘addresses the intersection between mental health and the criminal justice system,’’ sponsor Senator Bradley told the committee, calling attention to county jails and state prisons that “are struggling with how to manage the mental illness in their population.”

The measure would create a model process for pretrial misdemeanor and felony mental‑health diversion, expand allowable uses of the criminal justice, mental health, and substance abuse reinvestment grant program to include specialized training for 9‑1‑1 operators and EMTs and veteran treatment court programs, and add Hillsborough County to the list of counties eligible for a forensic hospital diversion pilot program. It also requires that county‑jail defendants be assessed so the court may condition release on compliance with treatment, and directs the Department of Corrections to evaluate and document an inmate’s mental‑health suitability before assigning work programs.

Why it matters: Presenters said jails and prisons have become de facto treatment centers without the staffing, design or clinical programs needed for recovery. Sheriff Bill Promell, sheriff of Charlotte County and past chair of the Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder, told the committee that competency restoration is costly and, as currently implemented, does not generally produce long‑term stability: “We spend nearly $200,000,000 a year on competency restoration, which only accounts for 1,600 forensic beds with about 3,300 individuals. That’s about $50,000 per person,” he said, adding that many people return to the community without ongoing treatment and are later rearrested.

Family testimony: Cindy Murphy, whose son Tristan died in custody in 2021 after being sentenced on a misdemeanor littering charge, urged passage and said earlier diversion could have changed the outcome for her son. Her son Cody, identified in committee records as a 17‑year‑old, read a statement describing long delays to restoration and the family’s experience in custody: “What he did was wrong, but he needed medication, not punishment,” Cody said.

Support and safeguards: Advocates from the National Alliance on Mental Illness and local mental‑health coalitions said the bill will allow quicker evaluations in county jails and expand options for treatment. The bill also exempts fiscally constrained counties from matching‑fund requirements for certain grants, and requires documentation and evaluation steps before work assignments in the Department of Corrections.

Action: Committee staff called the roll and recorded a unanimous favorable report for CS for SB 168. By the committee’s vote, CS for SB 168 was reported favorably.

What’s next: The committee recorded the favorable report; the measure will proceed to its next committee/house of referral. The bill’s text and fiscal impacts will determine final implementation timing and any additional funding requests.