Bill Text: FL S1334 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Sexual Misconduct/Students/Authority Figures [SPSC]

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Criminal Justice [S1334 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-S1334-Introduced.html

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Florida Senate - 2010                                    SB 1334 
 
By Senator Lynn 
7-01315-10                                            20101334__ 
1                        A bill to be entitled 
2         An act relating to sexual misconduct with students by 
3         authority figures; creating s. 775.0862, F.S.; 
4         providing definitions; providing for reclassification 
5         of specified sexual offenses committed against 
6         students by authority figures; providing for severity 
7         ranking of offenses; amending s. 921.0022, F.S.; 
8         providing for application of the severity ranking 
9         chart of the Criminal Punishment Code; providing an 
10         effective date. 
11 
12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
13 
14         Section 1. Section 775.0862, Florida Statutes, is created 
15  to read: 
16         775.0862 Sexual battery offenses against students by 
17  authority figures; reclassification.— 
18         (1) For purposes of this section, the term: 
19         (a) “Authority figure” means a school officer, a teacher or 
20  other instructional person, an administrator or other school 
21  administrative person, a school volunteer, an educational 
22  support employee, or an education service provider who is 
23  employed by, under contract with, working at, or providing 
24  volunteer services to an educational institution. 
25         (b) “Educational institution” means an entity providing 
26  instructional programs of study by means of regular classes, 
27  activities, or courses, including virtual courses, to students 
28  in early learning programs or in prekindergarten through grade 
29  12. 
30         (c) “Student” means any early learning or prekindergarten 
31  through grade 12 child who is enrolled in an educational 
32  institution. 
33         (2) The felony degree of any violation of: 
34         (a) Any offense listed in s. 775.21(4)(a)1.; or 
35         (b) Any offense listed in s. 943.0435(1)(a)1.a. 
36 
37  shall be, unless the offense falls within s. 794.011(4)(g), 
38  reclassified as provided in this section if the offense is 
39  committed by an authority figure of any educational institution 
40  against a student of any educational institution. 
41         (3)(a) In the case of a felony of the third degree, the 
42  offense is reclassified to a felony of the second degree. 
43         (b) In the case of a felony of the second degree, the 
44  offense is reclassified to a felony of the first degree. 
45         (c) In the case of a felony of the first degree, the 
46  offense is reclassified to a life felony. 
47 
48  For purposes of sentencing under chapter 921 and determining 
49  incentive gain-time eligibility under chapter 944, a felony 
50  offense that is reclassified under this subsection is ranked one 
51  level above the ranking under s. 921.0022 or s. 921.0023 of the 
52  offense committed. 
53         Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 921.0022, Florida 
54  Statutes, is amended to read: 
55         921.0022 Criminal Punishment Code; offense severity ranking 
56  chart.— 
57         (2) The offense severity ranking chart has 10 offense 
58  levels, ranked from least severe, which are level 1 offenses, to 
59  most severe, which are level 10 offenses, and each felony 
60  offense is assigned to a level according to the severity of the 
61  offense. For purposes of determining which felony offenses are 
62  specifically listed in the offense severity ranking chart and 
63  which severity level has been assigned to each of these 
64  offenses, the numerical statutory references in the left column 
65  of the chart and the felony degree designations in the middle 
66  column of the chart are controlling; the language in the right 
67  column of the chart is provided solely for descriptive purposes. 
68  Reclassification of the degree of the felony through the 
69  application of s. 775.0845, s. 775.0861, s. 775.0862, s. 
70  775.087, s. 775.0875, s. 794.023, or any other law that provides 
71  an enhanced penalty for a felony offense, to any offense listed 
72  in the offense severity ranking chart in this section shall not 
73  cause the offense to become unlisted and is not subject to the 
74  provisions of s. 921.0023. 
75         Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2010.