Bill Text: FL S0940 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Crimes Evidencing Prejudice

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Failed) 2019-05-03 - Died in Criminal Justice [S0940 Detail]

Download: Florida-2019-S0940-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2019                                     SB 940
       
       
        
       By Senator Rader
       
       
       
       
       
       29-00190A-19                                           2019940__
    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 any person;
    6         specifying that the reclassification occurs if the
    7         crime was based in whole or in part on the race,
    8         color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual
    9         orientation, national origin, homeless status,
   10         advanced age, gender, or gender identity of any
   11         person; defining the term “gender identity”; amending
   12         s. 775.0863, F.S.; replacing the term “mental or
   13         physical disability” with the term “disability”;
   14         defining the term “disability”; specifying that the
   15         reclassification occurs if the crime was based in
   16         whole or in part on a disability of any person;
   17         reenacting s. 921.0022(2), F.S., relating to the
   18         Criminal Punishment Code and the offense severity
   19         ranking chart, to incorporate the amendments made to
   20         ss. 775.085 and 775.0863, F.S., in references thereto;
   21         providing an effective date.
   22          
   23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   24  
   25         Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 775.085, Florida
   26  Statutes, is amended to read:
   27         775.085 Evidencing prejudice while committing offense;
   28  reclassification.—
   29         (1)(a) The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be
   30  reclassified as provided in this subsection if the commission of
   31  such felony or misdemeanor evidences prejudice based in whole or
   32  in part on the race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion,
   33  sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status, or
   34  advanced age, gender, or gender identity of any person the
   35  victim:
   36         1. A misdemeanor of the second degree is reclassified to a
   37  misdemeanor of the first degree.
   38         2. A misdemeanor of the first degree is reclassified to a
   39  felony of the third degree.
   40         3. A felony of the third degree is reclassified to a felony
   41  of the second degree.
   42         4. A felony of the second degree is reclassified to a
   43  felony of the first degree.
   44         5. A felony of the first degree is reclassified to a life
   45  felony.
   46         (b) As used in paragraph (a), the term:
   47         1. “Advanced age” means that the person victim is older
   48  than 65 years of age.
   49         2. “Gender identity” means a person’s gender-related
   50  identity, appearance, or behavior, regardless of whether such
   51  gender-related identity, appearance, or behavior is different
   52  from that traditionally associated with the person’s physiology
   53  or assigned sex at birth.
   54         3.2. “Homeless status” means that the person victim:
   55         a. Lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime
   56  residence; or
   57         b. Has a primary nighttime residence that is:
   58         (I) A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter
   59  designed to provide temporary living accommodations; or
   60         (II) A public or private place not designed for, or
   61  ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human
   62  beings.
   63         Section 2. Section 775.0863, Florida Statutes, is amended
   64  to read:
   65         775.0863 Evidencing prejudice while committing offense
   66  against person with mental or physical disability;
   67  reclassification.—
   68         (1)(a) The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be
   69  reclassified as provided in this subsection if the commission of
   70  such felony or misdemeanor evidences prejudice based in whole or
   71  in part on a mental or physical disability of any person the
   72  victim:
   73         1. A misdemeanor of the second degree is reclassified to a
   74  misdemeanor of the first degree.
   75         2. A misdemeanor of the first degree is reclassified to a
   76  felony of the third degree.
   77         3. A felony of the third degree is reclassified to a felony
   78  of the second degree.
   79         4. A felony of the second degree is reclassified to a
   80  felony of the first degree.
   81         5. A felony of the first degree is reclassified to a life
   82  felony.
   83         (b) As used in paragraph (a), the term “disability” “mental
   84  or physical disability” means a physical or mental impairment
   85  that substantially limits one or more of a person’s major life
   86  activities a condition of mental or physical incapacitation due
   87  to a developmental disability, organic brain damage, or mental
   88  illness, and one or more mental or physical limitations that
   89  restrict a person’s ability to perform the normal activities of
   90  daily living.
   91         (2) A person or organization that establishes by clear and
   92  convincing evidence that it has been coerced, intimidated, or
   93  threatened in violation of this section has a civil cause of
   94  action for treble damages, an injunction, or any other
   95  appropriate relief in law or in equity. Upon prevailing in such
   96  civil action, the plaintiff may recover reasonable attorney fees
   97  and costs.
   98         (3) It is an essential element of this section that the
   99  record reflect that the defendant perceived, knew, or had
  100  reasonable grounds to know or perceive that the person victim
  101  was within the class delineated in this section.
  102         Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendments
  103  made by this act to sections 775.085 and 775.0863, Florida
  104  Statutes, in references thereto, subsection (2) of section
  105  921.0022, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  106         921.0022 Criminal Punishment Code; offense severity ranking
  107  chart.—
  108         (2) The offense severity ranking chart has 10 offense
  109  levels, ranked from least severe, which are level 1 offenses, to
  110  most severe, which are level 10 offenses, and each felony
  111  offense is assigned to a level according to the severity of the
  112  offense. For purposes of determining which felony offenses are
  113  specifically listed in the offense severity ranking chart and
  114  which severity level has been assigned to each of these
  115  offenses, the numerical statutory references in the left column
  116  of the chart and the felony degree designations in the middle
  117  column of the chart are controlling; the language in the right
  118  column of the chart is provided solely for descriptive purposes.
  119  Reclassification of the degree of the felony through the
  120  application of s. 775.0845, s. 775.085, s. 775.0861, s.
  121  775.0862, s. 775.0863, s. 775.087, s. 775.0875, s. 794.023, or
  122  any other law that provides an enhanced penalty for a felony
  123  offense, to any offense listed in the offense severity ranking
  124  chart in this section shall not cause the offense to become
  125  unlisted and is not subject to the provisions of s. 921.0023.
  126         Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 2019.