Chapters
97-238 through 97-298
Very lengthy bill that transfers, reorganizes, and makes technical changes to the "juvenile justice" sections of Chapter 39 and creates new Chapters 984 and 985 that govern the structure and duties of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) as they relate to the Children and Family in Need of Services programs and Juvenile Delinquency programs, respectively.
Section 985.04(6) revises public record information release conditions by allowing law enforcement agencies to release a juvenile offense report to a victim, but the victim (or next of kin of a homicide victim) may not reveal such information to an outside party except as is reasonably necessary to pursue legal remedies or unless the juvenile is being tried in an adult court.
New F.S. 985.203 provides that if a juvenile is transferred to adult court for trial, a nonindigent or indigent-but-able-to-contribute parent or legal guardian is liable for necessary legal fees and costs incident to the prosecution in adult court.
Section 985.205 mandates, with listed exceptions, that hearings concerning delinquency cases be open to the public and that no person may be excluded except on special order of the court. Under F.S. 985.213 a juvenile who is charged with committing an act of domestic violence and does not meet detention criteria may be held in secure detention for up to 48 hours without further court order if the court finds that the charged offense caused physical injury to the victim, respite care is not available, and it is necessary to protect the victim from further injury.
Establishes procedures and conditions in F.S.S. 985.225 through 985.227, inclusive, for indictment of juveniles and waiver of juvenile court jurisdiction for prosecution as adults. Under these provisions when a juvenile is transferred to adult court for criminal prosecution, all other pending juvenile court cases must be transferred to adult court for prosecution.
Establishes procedures in F.S. 985.231 for dealing with violations of aftercare, furlough, or community control orders, including placement in a "consequence unit" for a period of 5 to 15 days or revocation of less restrictive treatment measures. Revised F.S. 985.231 changes sections concerning parental restitution by permitting a court to order a parent or guardian to make restitution in money or kind for any damage or loss caused by a juvenile's offense.
Modifies F.S. 985.233 by amending current law to specify that a court shall impose, as applicable, either an adult sanction or a juvenile sanction on an offender, but it may not combine the sanctions. Specifies minimum boot camp participation of at least 2 months in low-risk residential programs and of at least 4 months in moderate-risk residential programs per F.S. 985.309. Changes to F.S. 984.01 raise the employment screening level pursuant to Chapter 435 for DJJ and Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) applicants from Level One to Level Two.
Renumbers the juvenile escape law, F.S. 39.061 as F.S. 944.401, to clarify that the third degree felony penalty for escaping from a commitment program applies to an escape from a low-risk residential facility.
Amends many of the remaining sections in Chapter 39 by deleting many references relating to delinquency and children or family in need of services cases. Chapter 39 will now primarily cover the duties of DCFS relating to dependent children.
Amends F.S. 775.082 to provide minimum mandatory sentences for certain offenders who have been previously released from prison. Any released prisoner, who within 3 years of release commits any of the specified 21 violent felonies and is proven by a preponderance of the evidence by the state Attorney to be such a releasee, shall be mandatorily sentenced outside the guidelines to the maximum sentence, with no possibility of parole or early release, for whichever of the 21 felonies he or she had been convicted.
Creates new provisions within the statute which lists circumstances under which a releasee reoffender may not be subject to enhanced sentencing. It requires that the releasee meets the criteria and does not receive the minimum mandatory sentence that the assistant state attorney must explain the sentencing deviation in writing, keep the report in the case file, and also file a copy of the report with the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association. that office must keep the reports on file, subject to public records release, for at least ten years.
Creates F.S. 944.705(6) to require the Department of Corrections to advise inmates in writing that inmates may be subject to the enhanced penalties if they commit a specified offense within 3 years of release. Precludes the lack of such a warning from being a defense to such a prosecution and sentencing.
Amends F.S. 948.06(1), to authorize a law enforcement officer to arrest, without a warrant, any probationer or person on probation or community control status who has violated his or her probation or community control conditions.
COMMENT: Unless the offender is being arrested for a new violation, the authority of a law enforcement to make an arrest for a violation of probation or community control will require that the officer know of or confirm the applicable conditions of probation or community control prior to making the arrest.
Amends Chapter 493, regulating the private security, investigative, and recovery industries. Deletes bodyguard services from the definition of private investigation. Provides that Chapter 493 does not apply to persons or firms that solely conduct genealogical research by primarily utilizing public records and historical information or to individuals who are "officers" as defined in F.S. 943.10(14) or federal law enforcement officers when such officers are performing either their official duties or off-duty security activities. Permits the Department of State to waive the firearms training requirement for active law enforcement officers who are certified by the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission or who, within the past 12 months, have completed the training required for certification.
Revises grounds for disciplinary action by allowing the department to deny applications or revoke licenses for persons who have been found to have committed, or have entered a plea to having committed, a felony offense. Provides for compliance with certain subpoenas, including the right to revoke or suspend a license for failure to comply. Provides that certain licensees may perform bodyguard services and that certain licensees may be designated as managers of certain agencies or branch offices.
This bill amends a number of laws as they relate to the solicitation of contributions. These include the regulation of health studios, home solicitation sales, the Dance Studio Act, the Florida Telemarketing Act, the Florida Pawnbrokering Act, the Sale of Business Opportunities Act, the Florida Motor Vehicle Repair Act, and the Sellers of Travel Act. It grants additional powers to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in licensing and regulation and establishes the department's enforcement and rule making authority.
Amends F.S. 501.013 to exempt country clubs from the requirements of health studio laws.
Amends definitions in F.S. 329.001(2) to differentiate between owners and operators of pawn shops and incorporates qualifications for license issuance.
Amends F.S. 559.903, relating to motor vehicle repair regulations, by adding "watercraft" and "aircraft" to the definition of motor vehicles and by mandating that "mobile" motor vehicle repair shops are to be regulated by these sections of law.
Amends F.S. 316.072(3), relating to Obedience to Police and Fire Department Officials, by adding the scene of a "rescue operations" and "other emergencies" as scene/location under which drivers are required to comply with the lawful order or direction of the identified officers or officials. Previously only applied to the scene of a fire. Appears to exempt the operators/operation of rescue type vehicles from this requirement.
As did Chapter 97-43 (SB 152), this law adds "mixture" to the measuring weight of certain Schedule I drugs in revisions to F.S. 893.13. Amends F.S. 893.13(1)(c) by creating enhanced penalties for committing specified drug offenses within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising a child care facility. Provisions relating to child care facilities do not apply unless the owner/operator of the facility posts a sign at least 2 square feet in size in a conspicuous place stating that it is a licensed child care facility.
Revises many sections of Chapter 39 relating to dependent children and the role of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Under amended F.S. 39.01(27), social service agencies are required to initiate a defined "diligent search" for parents, etc., of a dependent child as soon as possible under specified circumstances. The courts and DCFS are given additional duties under revised F.S. 39.401 and new F.S. 39.4053 to attempt to determine the names, addresses, and relationships of all parents, prospective parents, and any newly-defined "next of kin" of dependent children. These sections are especially important in the context of the termination of parental rights proceedings.
Amends F.S. 415.505, concerning child protective investigations, to require DCFS to obtain similar information when a child is taken into custody under that section.
Effective May 30, 1997, amends F.S. 415.5018, concerning written agreements governing child protective investigations, to permit "the jurisdictionally responsible law enforcement entity" to share Florida criminal history information that is not otherwise exempt from F.S. 119.07(1) with the DCFS personnel directly responsible for child protective investigation and emergency child placement. Such information must be provided at no cost and shall be used only for the purposes provided in the interagency agreement.
Effective May 30, 1997, amended F.S. 415.51 allows the name of the person reporting child abuse, abandonment, or neglect to be released to a law enforcement agency without the written consent of the reporting person. Effective Date: July 1, 1998, except as otherwise noted above.
Amends F.S. 784.07 to add "public transit employees or agents" to the category of individuals upon which an assault or battery will result in the offense being reclassified upward by one degree. Defines "public transit employees or agents" as bus operators, train operators, revenue collectors, security personnel, equipment maintenance personnel, or field supervisors, who are employees or agents of a transit agency as described in 812.015(1)(l) - (Transit Agency means any state agency, political subdivision of the state, or municipality which operates mass transit vehicles.)
Amends F.S. 812.015 by adding "transit fare evasion" to retail and farm theft as a criminal offense. Defines "Transit fare evasion" as "the unlawful refusal to pay the appropriate fare for transportation upon a mass transit vehicle, or to evade the payment of such fare, or to enter any mass transit vehicle or facility by any door, passageway, or gate, except as provided for the entry of fare paying passengers, and shall constitute petit theft as proscribed by this chapter." Also provides a definition for mass transit vehicle and also provides for trespass.
Existing provisions relating to arrest on probable cause, increased classification for multiple convictions, resisting detention, arrest on or off premises by law enforcement, and immunity from criminal or civil liability, which apply to retail or farm theft, apply to the new offense.
This act revises numerous procedures in Chapter 39 relating to juveniles, especially those who are deemed to be delinquent or children in need of services.
Amends F.S. 39.0145 to permit a court to order a child in need of services who has been found in contempt of court to be placed in a physically secure facility. Another change in contempt of court situations allows a court to order a child's driver's license or driving privileges be withheld or suspended for up to two years, depending on the number of contempt offenses.
Creates new provision in F.S. 39.426 to permit a parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child in need of services to convene a case staffing committee meeting.
Amends F.S. 39.436 to establish a procedure to permit a parent, guardian, or legal custodian to file a petition with the court alleging that a child is a child in need of services.
Creates F.S. 39.4421 to allow a child in need of services to be placed in a staff-secure shelter for up to 90 days.
Creates a yet-unnumbered statute making it a first degree misdemeanor for a person who is not an authorized agent of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) or the Department of Children and Family Services to knowingly shelter an unmarried minor for more than 24 hours without the consent of the minor's parent or guardian or notifying a law enforcement officer of the child's name and the fact that the child is being provided shelter.
It is also a first degree misdemeanor for a person to knowingly provide aid to an unmarried minor who has run away from home without first contacting the minor's parent or guardian or notifying a law enforcement officer. The aid prohibited in this section includes assisting the minor in obtaining shelter, such as hotel or motel lodging.
DJJ is to publish a packet of information describing how to obtain assistance in child or family in need of service cases. In developing the packet, DJJ is to work with local school district, court, and law enforcement officials to ensure the accuracy of the information and the available services.
This law applies to the Department of Corrections. Revises F.S. 947.16, F.S. 947.174, and F.S. 947.1745 so that any inmates who have been convicted for having attempted or having committed murder or sexual battery, or have been sentenced to a 25-year minimum mandatory, will be reinterviewed for possible parole only once every five years instead of every other year.
Amends F.S. 741.29 by revising domestic violence report writing requirements. Provides guidelines for arrest policies in domestic violence situations, including language that mutual arrests are NOT preferred. An investigating officer with probable cause to believe that two or more persons have committed a domestic violence-related offense, or if two or more people make a complaint to the officer, must determine who is the "primary aggressor." Arrest is the preferred response for the "primary aggressor" and not for a person who has acted in a reasonable manner to defend oneself or another family or household member.
New F.S. 741.29(6) makes it a first degree misdemeanor, with no release from custody until first appearance, for a person to willfully violate a pretrial release condition under F.S. 903.047 if the person had originally been arrested for committing an act of domestic violence.
Creates F.S. 901.15(12), permitting an officer to make a warrantless arrest when there is probable cause to believe that a person had committed an act violating a condition of pretrial release. Amends sentencing guidelines in F.S. 921.0014 by creating a discretionary multiplier for acts of domestic violence committed in the presence of a child 16 years of age or younger when the child is related by blood or marriage to the victim or perpetrator. Requires the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission to develop training on the new policy under revised F.S. 943.171.
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Tim
Burns, Justice Programs Analyst