Text of FL H 211 (2018)

HB 211 2018 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb0211-00 Page 1 of 5 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S A bill to be entitled 1 An act relating to crimes evidencing prejudice; 2 amending s. 775.085, F.S.; providing for 3 reclassification of offenses if the commission of the 4 offenses evidences prejudice towards the victim in 5 whole or in part on specified grounds; providing for 6 reclassification of offenses evidencing prejudice 7 based on the gender or gender identity of the victim; 8 defining the term "gender identity"; amending s. 9 775.0863, F.S.; requiring grounds for reclassification 10 of crimes to include prejudice based on a disability 11 of the victim; revising the definition of the term 12 "disability"; reenacting s. 921.0022(2), F.S., 13 relating to the Criminal Punishment Code and the 14 offense severity ranking chart, to incorporate the 15 amendments made by the act in cross-references to 16 amended provisions; providing an effective date. 17 18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19 20 Section 1. Section 775.085, Florida Statutes, is amended 21 to read: 22 775.085 Evidencing prejudice while committing offense; 23 reclassification.— 24 (1)(a) The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be 25 HB 211 2018 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb0211-00 Page 2 of 5 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S reclassified as provided in this subsection if the commission of 26 such felony or misdemeanor evidences prejudice in whole or in 27 part based on the race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, 28 sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status, or 29 advanced age, gender, or gender identity of the victim: 30 1. A misdemeanor of the second degree is reclassified to a 31 misdemeanor of the first degree. 32 2. A misdemeanor of the first degree is reclassified to a 33 felony of the third degree. 34 3. A felony of the third degree is reclassified to a 35 felony of the second degree. 36 4. A felony of the second degree is reclassified to a 37 felony of the first degree. 38 5. A felony of the first degree is reclassified to a life 39 felony. 40 (b) As used in paragraph (a), the term: 41 1. "Advanced age" means that the victim is older than 65 42 years of age. 43 2. "Gender identity" means gender-related identity, 44 appearance, or behavior, regardless of whether such gender- 45 related identity, appearance, or behavior is different from that 46 traditionally associated with the person's physiology or 47 assigned sex at birth. 48 3.2. "Homeless status" means that the victim: 49 a. Lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime 50 HB 211 2018 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb0211-00 Page 3 of 5 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S residence; or 51 b. Has a primary nighttime residence that is: 52 (I) A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter 53 designed to provide temporary living accommodations; or 54 (II) A public or private place not designed for, or 55 ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human 56 beings. 57 (2) A person or organization that establishes by clear and 58 convincing evidence that it has been coerced, intimidated, or 59 threatened in violation of this section has a civil cause of 60 action for treble damages, an injunction, or any other 61 appropriate relief in law or in equity. Upon prevailing in such 62 civil action, the plaintiff may recover reasonable attorney fees 63 and costs. 64 (3) It is an essential element of this section that the 65 record reflect that the defendant perceived, knew, or had 66 reasonable grounds to know or perceive that the victim was 67 within the class delineated in this section. 68 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 775.0863, Florida 69 Statutes, is amended to read: 70 775.0863 Evidencing prejudice while committing offense 71 against person with mental or physical disability; 72 reclassification.— 73 (1)(a) The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be 74 reclassified as provided in this subsection if the commission of 75 HB 211 2018 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb0211-00 Page 4 of 5 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S such felony or misdemeanor evidences prejudice in whole or in 76 part based on a mental or physical disability of the victim: 77 1. A misdemeanor of the second degree is reclassified to a 78 misdemeanor of the first degree. 79 2. A misdemeanor of the first degree is reclassified to a 80 felony of the third degree. 81 3. A felony of the third degree is reclassified to a 82 felony of the second degree. 83 4. A felony of the second degree is reclassified to a 84 felony of the first degree. 85 5. A felony of the first degree is reclassified to a life 86 felony. 87 (b) As used in paragraph (a), the term "disability" 88 "mental or physical disability" means a physical or mental 89 impairment that substantially limits one or more major life 90 activities a condition of mental or physical incapacitation due 91 to a developmental disability, organic brain damage, or mental 92 illness, and one or more mental or physical limitations that 93 restrict a person's ability to perform the normal activities of 94 daily living. 95 Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendments 96 made by this act to sections 775.085 and 775.0863, Florida 97 Statutes, in references thereto, subsection (2) of section 98 921.0022, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 99 921.0022 Criminal Punishment Code; offense severity 100 HB 211 2018 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb0211-00 Page 5 of 5 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S ranking chart.— 101 (2) The offense severity ranking chart has 10 offense 102 levels, ranked from least severe, which are level 1 offenses, to 103 most severe, which are level 10 offenses, and each felony 104 offense is assigned to a level according to the severity of the 105 offense. For purposes of determining which felony offenses are 106 specifically listed in the offense severity ranking chart and 107 which severity level has been assigned to each of these 108 offenses, the numerical statutory references in the left column 109 of the chart and the felony degree designations in the middle 110 column of the chart are controlling; the language in the right 111 column of the chart is provided solely for descriptive purposes. 112 Reclassification of the degree of the felony through the 113 application of s. 775.0845, s. 775.085, s. 775.0861, s. 114 775.0862, s. 775.0863, s. 775.087, s. 775.0875, s. 794.023, or 115 any other law that provides an enhanced penalty for a felony 116 offense, to any offense listed in the offense severity ranking 117 chart in this section shall not cause the offense to become 118 unlisted and is not subject to the provisions of s. 921.0023. 119 Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 2018. 120