Florida Senate - 2014 SB 100
By Senator Soto
14-00050-14 2014100__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to assault or battery on a utility
3 worker; amending s. 784.07, F.S.; defining the term
4 “utility worker”; providing for reclassification of
5 certain offenses committed against a utility worker;
6 amending ss. 901.15, 943.051, 985.11, and 985.644,
7 F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the
8 act; amending s. 921.0022(3)(d), (f), and (g), F.S.,
9 relating to the offense severity ranking chart of the
10 Criminal Punishment Code, to incorporate the amendment
11 made to s. 784.07, F.S., in references thereto;
12 providing an effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Section 784.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to
17 read:
18 784.07 Assault or battery of law enforcement officers,
19 firefighters, emergency medical care providers, public transit
20 employees or agents, or other specified persons officers;
21 reclassification of offenses; minimum sentences.—
22 (1) As used in this section, the term:
23 (a) “Emergency medical care provider” means an ambulance
24 driver, emergency medical technician, paramedic, registered
25 nurse, physician as defined in s. 401.23, medical director as
26 defined in s. 401.23, or any person authorized by an emergency
27 medical service licensed under chapter 401 who is engaged in the
28 performance of his or her duties. The term “emergency medical
29 care provider” also includes physicians, employees, agents, or
30 volunteers of hospitals as defined in chapter 395, who are
31 employed, under contract, or otherwise authorized by a hospital
32 to perform duties directly associated with the care and
33 treatment rendered by the hospital’s emergency department or the
34 security thereof.
35 (b) “Firefighter” means any person employed by any public
36 employer of this state whose duty it is to extinguish fires; to
37 protect life or property; or to enforce municipal, county, and
38 state fire prevention codes, as well as any law pertaining to
39 the prevention and control of fires.
40 (c) “Law enforcement explorer” means any person who is a
41 current member of a law enforcement agency’s explorer program
42 and who is performing functions other than those required to be
43 performed by sworn law enforcement officers on behalf of a law
44 enforcement agency while under the direct physical supervision
45 of a sworn officer of that agency and wearing a uniform that
46 bears at least one patch that clearly identifies the law
47 enforcement agency that he or she represents.
48 (d) “Law enforcement officer” includes a law enforcement
49 officer, a correctional officer, a correctional probation
50 officer, a part-time law enforcement officer, a part-time
51 correctional officer, an auxiliary law enforcement officer, and
52 an auxiliary correctional officer, as those terms are
53 respectively defined in s. 943.10, and any county probation
54 officer; an employee or agent of the Department of Corrections
55 who supervises or provides services to inmates; an officer of
56 the Parole Commission; a federal law enforcement officer as
57 defined in s. 901.1505; and law enforcement personnel of the
58 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or the Department of
59 Law Enforcement.
60 (e) “Public transit employees or agents” means bus
61 operators, train operators, revenue collectors, security
62 personnel, equipment maintenance personnel, or field
63 supervisors, who are employees or agents of a transit agency as
64 described in s. 812.015(1)(l).
65 (f) “Railroad special officer” means a person employed by a
66 Class I, Class II, or Class III railroad and appointed or
67 pending appointment by the Governor pursuant to s. 354.01.
68 (g) “Utility worker” means a person who bears at least one
69 patch or emblem that is visible at all times and that clearly
70 identifies the employing or contracting utility and that clearly
71 identifies the person as a utility worker under contract with or
72 employed by an entity that owns, operates, leases, or controls a
73 plant, property, or facility for the generation, transmission,
74 or furnishing to or for the public of electricity, natural or
75 manufactured gas, water, telephone, or communications service,
76 including two or more utilities rendering joint service.
77 (2) Whenever any person is charged with knowingly
78 committing an assault or battery upon a law enforcement officer,
79 a firefighter, an emergency medical care provider, a railroad
80 special officer, a traffic accident investigation officer as
81 described in s. 316.640, a nonsworn law enforcement agency
82 employee who is certified as an agency inspector, a blood
83 alcohol analyst, or a breath test operator while such employee
84 is in uniform and engaged in processing, testing, evaluating,
85 analyzing, or transporting a person who is detained or under
86 arrest for DUI, a law enforcement explorer, a traffic infraction
87 enforcement officer as described in s. 316.640, a parking
88 enforcement specialist as defined in s. 316.640, a person
89 licensed as a security officer as defined in s. 493.6101 and
90 wearing a uniform that bears at least one patch or emblem that
91 is visible at all times that clearly identifies the employing
92 agency and that clearly identifies the person as a licensed
93 security officer, or a security officer employed by the board of
94 trustees of a community college, or utility worker, while the
95 officer, firefighter, emergency medical care provider, railroad
96 special officer, traffic accident investigation officer, traffic
97 infraction enforcement officer, inspector, analyst, operator,
98 law enforcement explorer, parking enforcement specialist, public
99 transit employee or agent, or security officer, or utility
100 worker is engaged in the lawful performance of his or her
101 duties, the offense for which the person is charged shall be
102 reclassified as follows:
103 (a) In the case of assault, from a misdemeanor of the
104 second degree to a misdemeanor of the first degree.
105 (b) In the case of battery, from a misdemeanor of the first
106 degree to a felony of the third degree.
107 (c) In the case of aggravated assault, from a felony of the
108 third degree to a felony of the second degree. Notwithstanding
109 any other provision of law, any person convicted of aggravated
110 assault upon a law enforcement officer shall be sentenced to a
111 minimum term of imprisonment of 3 years.
112 (d) In the case of aggravated battery, from a felony of the
113 second degree to a felony of the first degree. Notwithstanding
114 any other provision of law, any person convicted of aggravated
115 battery of a law enforcement officer shall be sentenced to a
116 minimum term of imprisonment of 5 years.
117 (3) Any person who is convicted of a battery under
118 paragraph (2)(b) and, during the commission of the offense, such
119 person possessed:
120 (a) A “firearm” or “destructive device” as those terms are
121 defined in s. 790.001, shall be sentenced to a minimum term of
122 imprisonment of 3 years.
123 (b) A semiautomatic firearm and its high-capacity
124 detachable box magazine, as defined in s. 775.087(3), or a
125 machine gun as defined in s. 790.001, shall be sentenced to a
126 minimum term of imprisonment of 8 years.
127
128 Notwithstanding s. 948.01, adjudication of guilt or imposition
129 of sentence shall not be suspended, deferred, or withheld, and
130 the defendant is not eligible for statutory gain-time under s.
131 944.275 or any form of discretionary early release, other than
132 pardon or executive clemency, or conditional medical release
133 under s. 947.149, prior to serving the minimum sentence.
134 Section 2. Subsection (15) of section 901.15, Florida
135 Statutes, is amended to read:
136 901.15 When arrest by officer without warrant is lawful.—A
137 law enforcement officer may arrest a person without a warrant
138 when:
139 (15) There is probable cause to believe that the person has
140 committed assault upon a law enforcement officer, a firefighter,
141 an emergency medical care provider, public transit employees or
142 agents, or other specified persons officers as set forth in s.
143 784.07 or has committed assault or battery upon any employee of
144 a receiving facility as defined in s. 394.455 who is engaged in
145 the lawful performance of his or her duties.
146 Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section
147 943.051, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
148 943.051 Criminal justice information; collection and
149 storage; fingerprinting.—
150 (3)
151 (b) A minor who is charged with or found to have committed
152 the following offenses shall be fingerprinted and the
153 fingerprints shall be submitted electronically to the
154 department, unless the minor is issued a civil citation pursuant
155 to s. 985.12:
156 1. Assault, as defined in s. 784.011.
157 2. Battery, as defined in s. 784.03.
158 3. Carrying a concealed weapon, as defined in s. 790.01(1).
159 4. Unlawful use of destructive devices or bombs, as defined
160 in s. 790.1615(1).
161 5. Neglect of a child, as defined in s. 827.03(1)(e).
162 6. Assault or battery on a law enforcement officer, a
163 firefighter, or other specified persons officers, as defined in
164 s. 784.07(2)(a) and (b).
165 7. Open carrying of a weapon, as defined in s. 790.053.
166 8. Exposure of sexual organs, as defined in s. 800.03.
167 9. Unlawful possession of a firearm, as defined in s.
168 790.22(5).
169 10. Petit theft, as defined in s. 812.014(3).
170 11. Cruelty to animals, as defined in s. 828.12(1).
171 12. Arson, as defined in s. 806.031(1).
172 13. Unlawful possession or discharge of a weapon or firearm
173 at a school-sponsored event or on school property, as provided
174 in s. 790.115.
175 Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
176 985.11, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
177 985.11 Fingerprinting and photographing.—
178 (1)
179 (b) A child who is charged with or found to have committed
180 one of the following offenses shall be fingerprinted, and the
181 fingerprints shall be submitted to the Department of Law
182 Enforcement as provided in s. 943.051(3)(b):
183 1. Assault, as defined in s. 784.011.
184 2. Battery, as defined in s. 784.03.
185 3. Carrying a concealed weapon, as defined in s. 790.01(1).
186 4. Unlawful use of destructive devices or bombs, as defined
187 in s. 790.1615(1).
188 5. Neglect of a child, as defined in s. 827.03(1)(e).
189 6. Assault on a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, or
190 other specified persons officers, as defined in s. 784.07(2)(a).
191 7. Open carrying of a weapon, as defined in s. 790.053.
192 8. Exposure of sexual organs, as defined in s. 800.03.
193 9. Unlawful possession of a firearm, as defined in s.
194 790.22(5).
195 10. Petit theft, as defined in s. 812.014.
196 11. Cruelty to animals, as defined in s. 828.12(1).
197 12. Arson, resulting in bodily harm to a firefighter, as
198 defined in s. 806.031(1).
199 13. Unlawful possession or discharge of a weapon or firearm
200 at a school-sponsored event or on school property as defined in
201 s. 790.115.
202
203 A law enforcement agency may fingerprint and photograph a child
204 taken into custody upon probable cause that such child has
205 committed any other violation of law, as the agency deems
206 appropriate. Such fingerprint records and photographs shall be
207 retained by the law enforcement agency in a separate file, and
208 these records and all copies thereof must be marked “Juvenile
209 Confidential.” These records are not available for public
210 disclosure and inspection under s. 119.07(1) except as provided
211 in ss. 943.053 and 985.04(2), but shall be available to other
212 law enforcement agencies, criminal justice agencies, state
213 attorneys, the courts, the child, the parents or legal
214 custodians of the child, their attorneys, and any other person
215 authorized by the court to have access to such records. In
216 addition, such records may be submitted to the Department of Law
217 Enforcement for inclusion in the state criminal history records
218 and used by criminal justice agencies for criminal justice
219 purposes. These records may, in the discretion of the court, be
220 open to inspection by anyone upon a showing of cause. The
221 fingerprint and photograph records shall be produced in the
222 court whenever directed by the court. Any photograph taken
223 pursuant to this section may be shown by a law enforcement
224 officer to any victim or witness of a crime for the purpose of
225 identifying the person who committed such crime.
226 Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
227 985.644, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
228 985.644 Departmental contracting powers; personnel
229 standards and screening.—
230 (3)(a) All employees of the department and all personnel of
231 contract providers for any program for children, including all
232 owners, operators, employees, persons who have access to
233 confidential juvenile records, and volunteers, must complete:
234 1. A level 2 employment screening pursuant to chapter 435
235 before employment. The security background investigation
236 conducted under this section must ensure that, in addition to
237 the disqualifying offenses listed in s. 435.04, no person
238 subject to the background screening provisions of this section
239 has an arrest awaiting final disposition for, been found guilty
240 of, regardless of adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo
241 contendere or guilty to, or been adjudicated delinquent and the
242 record has not been sealed or expunged for, any offense
243 prohibited under the following provisions of state law or
244 similar laws of another jurisdiction:
245 a. Section 784.07, relating to assault or battery of law
246 enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical care
247 providers, public transit employees or agents, or other
248 specified persons officers.
249 b. Section 817.568, relating to criminal use of personal
250 identification information.
251 2. A national criminal records check by the Federal Bureau
252 of Investigation every 5 years following the date of the
253 person’s employment.
254 Section 6. Paragraphs (d), (f), and (g) of subsection (3)
255 of section 921.0022, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
256 921.0022 Criminal Punishment Code; offense severity ranking
257 chart.—
258 (3) OFFENSE SEVERITY RANKING CHART
259 (d) LEVEL 4
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262 FloridaStatute FelonyDegree Description
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372 (g) LEVEL 7
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500 Section 7. This act shall take effect October 1, 2014.