Bill Text: FL S0588 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Crimes Evidencing Prejudice
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2018-03-10 - Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice [S0588 Detail]
Download: Florida-2018-S0588-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2018 SB 588 By Senator Rader 29-00347-18 2018588__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to crimes evidencing prejudice; 3 amending s. 775.085, F.S.; expanding grounds for the 4 reclassification of crimes to include prejudice based 5 on the gender or gender identity of the victim; 6 defining the term “gender identity”; amending s. 7 775.0863, F.S.; expanding grounds for reclassification 8 of crimes to include prejudice based on a disability 9 of the victim; redefining the term “disability”; 10 reenacting s. 921.0022(2), F.S., relating to the 11 Criminal Punishment Code and the offense severity 12 ranking chart, to incorporate the amendments made to 13 ss. 775.085 and 775.0863, F.S., in references thereto; 14 providing an effective date. 15 16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17 18 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 775.085, Florida 19 Statutes, is amended to read: 20 775.085 Evidencing prejudice while committing offense; 21 reclassification.— 22 (1)(a) The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be 23 reclassified as provided in this subsection if the commission of 24 such felony or misdemeanor evidences prejudice based in whole or 25 in part on the race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, 26 sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status,or27 advanced age, gender, or gender identity of the victim: 28 1. A misdemeanor of the second degree is reclassified to a 29 misdemeanor of the first degree. 30 2. A misdemeanor of the first degree is reclassified to a 31 felony of the third degree. 32 3. A felony of the third degree is reclassified to a felony 33 of the second degree. 34 4. A felony of the second degree is reclassified to a 35 felony of the first degree. 36 5. A felony of the first degree is reclassified to a life 37 felony. 38 (b) As used in paragraph (a), the term: 39 1. “Advanced age” means that the victim is older than 65 40 years of age. 41 2. “Gender identity” means a person’s gender-related 42 identity, appearance, or behavior, regardless of whether such 43 gender-related identity, appearance, or behavior is different 44 from that traditionally associated with the person’s physiology 45 or assigned sex at birth. 46 3.2.“Homeless status” means that the victim: 47 a. Lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime 48 residence; or 49 b. Has a primary nighttime residence that is: 50 (I) A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter 51 designed to provide temporary living accommodations; or 52 (II) A public or private place not designed for, or 53 ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human 54 beings. 55 Section 2. Section 775.0863, Florida Statutes, is amended 56 to read: 57 775.0863 Evidencing prejudice while committing offense 58 against person withmental or physicaldisability; 59 reclassification.— 60 (1)(a) The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be 61 reclassified as provided in this subsection if the commission of 62 such felony or misdemeanor evidences prejudice based in whole or 63 in part on amental or physicaldisability of the victim: 64 1. A misdemeanor of the second degree is reclassified to a 65 misdemeanor of the first degree. 66 2. A misdemeanor of the first degree is reclassified to a 67 felony of the third degree. 68 3. A felony of the third degree is reclassified to a felony 69 of the second degree. 70 4. A felony of the second degree is reclassified to a 71 felony of the first degree. 72 5. A felony of the first degree is reclassified to a life 73 felony. 74 (b) As used in paragraph (a), the term “disability”“mental75or physical disability”means a physical or mental impairment 76 that substantially limits one or more of a person’s major life 77 activitiesa condition of mental or physical incapacitation due78to a developmental disability, organic brain damage, or mental79illness, and one or more mental or physical limitations that80restrict a person’s ability to perform the normal activities of81daily living. 82 (2) A person or organization that establishes by clear and 83 convincing evidence that it has been coerced, intimidated, or 84 threatened in violation of this section has a civil cause of 85 action for treble damages, an injunction, or any other 86 appropriate relief in law or in equity. Upon prevailing in such 87 civil action, the plaintiff may recover reasonable attorney fees 88 and costs. 89 (3) It is an essential element of this section that the 90 record reflect that the defendant perceived, knew, or had 91 reasonable grounds to know or perceive that the victim was 92 within the class delineated in this section. 93 Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendments 94 made by this act to sections 775.085 and 775.0863, Florida 95 Statutes, in references thereto, subsection (2) of section 96 921.0022, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 97 921.0022 Criminal Punishment Code; offense severity ranking 98 chart.— 99 (2) The offense severity ranking chart has 10 offense 100 levels, ranked from least severe, which are level 1 offenses, to 101 most severe, which are level 10 offenses, and each felony 102 offense is assigned to a level according to the severity of the 103 offense. For purposes of determining which felony offenses are 104 specifically listed in the offense severity ranking chart and 105 which severity level has been assigned to each of these 106 offenses, the numerical statutory references in the left column 107 of the chart and the felony degree designations in the middle 108 column of the chart are controlling; the language in the right 109 column of the chart is provided solely for descriptive purposes. 110 Reclassification of the degree of the felony through the 111 application of s. 775.0845, s. 775.085, s. 775.0861, s. 112 775.0862, s. 775.0863, s. 775.087, s. 775.0875, s. 794.023, or 113 any other law that provides an enhanced penalty for a felony 114 offense, to any offense listed in the offense severity ranking 115 chart in this section shall not cause the offense to become 116 unlisted and is not subject to the provisions of s. 921.0023. 117 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.