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2008 Legislative Priorities

Funding for Rape Crisis Centers
Community Budget Request Sponsors:
Senator Arthenia Joyner (D-Tampa)
Representative William Snyder (R-Stuart)

Rape Crisis Centers have a well-documented and desperate need for recurring general revenue in the state budget. The state of Florida is facing severe budget cuts over the next several years, and rape crisis centers are feeling the fallout from these cuts as well as federal and local cuts. FCASV will be focusing on funding a $1 million community budget request during the 2008 legislative session as well as protecting the Rape Crisis Program Trust Fund (RCPTF).

Employment Protections for Victims of Sexual Violence
SB 994 by Senator Mike Fasano (R-Port Richie)
HB 489 by Representative Evan Jenne (D-Davie)

FCASV will champion legislation during the 2008 session to allow victims of sexual violence to take up to three days of leave to deal with issues arising from the crime such as medical or mental health care, visits to rape crisis centers, making their home secure, attending court and seeking legal services. This bill will apply to those survivors working for companies with 50 or more employees.

Housing Protections for Victims of Sexual Violence
SB 1408 by Senator Nan Rich (D-Sunrise)
HB 931 by Representative Trudi Williams (R-Ft. Myers)

FCASV will be working in conjunction with FCADV on a package of legislative housing protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual violence and stalking. These include allowing victims to terminate a lease early in order to relocate as a result of the crime, protecting victims from housing discrimination and providing assistance with changing locks in their current housing.

2007 Legislative Wrap-Up

The 2007 session included the passage of FCASV’s top priority legislation relating to expanded rights for victims of sexual violence and intense budget negotiations that ultimately resulted in a $700,000 cut in state general revenue for sexual assault services. While major legislation passed relating to sex offenders, including bills to implement the federal Adam Walsh Act, fight the internet abuse of children and limit visitation by sex offenders, many other bills relating to sexual offenders languished, including those designed to take a more comprehensive state approach to the issue of residency restrictions.

State Sexual Assault Funding Update
When the state budget was finalized in April, state sexual assault services received $400,000 in non-recurring general revenue in the Legal Affairs budget (the budget of the Attorney General’s office). This is a $700,000 cut from the previous year’s budget when state sexual assault services were funded at $1 million in the Legal Affairs budget and $100,000 in the Department of Health budget. This funding cut does not include or relate to funding provided through the Rape Crisis Program Trust Fund (based on offender fines) and other federal sources administered by the state.

All sources agree that this was a tough budget year with revenues down significantly from last year. Nevertheless, this cut will be sharply felt across the state and takes the state in the wrong direction with respect to taking responsibility for the provision of basic rape crisis services.

Although over $450 million in community projects were vetoed by Governor Crist through his line-item veto authority, the $400,000 is safe and will be distributed to certified rape crisis programs beginning July 1st.

How will this cut affect your program?
Please share the tough realities of the cut’s effect on your program with FCASV (send to tpoore@fcasv.org). We will use this information in developing talking points for our 2008 funding initiative.

FCASV Top Priority Passes:
HB 989 by Rep. William Snyder (along with its companion, SB 642 by Senator Mike Fasano) was signed into law by Governor Crist on June 13, 2007 and will take effect on July 1st.

This bill makes several significant changes to the victims’ rights statute to improve the treatment of victims of sexual violence including:

Prohibiting the use of polygraph examination or other truth-telling devices on victims as a condition for proceeding with investigation.

Prohibiting the requirement that victims of sexual battery report to law enforcement in order for victims’ compensation to pay for the forensic medical examination.

Ensuring that an HIV test is administered to a defendant (on whom the prosecutor has filed charges) within 48 hours of the court order for testing.

Increasing the amount of reimbursement to providers of the sexual battery forensic examination from $250 to $500.

Formalizing the right of the victim to have a victim advocate from a certified rape crisis center present during the forensic medical examination.

Allowing Florida citizens victimized out of the country to receive victim compensation.

The bill also had several co-sponsors including Representatives Carroll, Harrell, Holder, Jenne, Kravitz and Porth in the House and Senators Crist and Joyner. Communities around the state are beginning to tackle important implementation issues related to ensuring that currently non-reporting victims have access to exam services. Please see “Providing Forensic Exams to Non-Reporting Victims” for more information.

Other significant legislation that passed during the 2007 session relating to sexual violence includes:

CS/HB 77 by Porth/SB 570 by Rich
Keeping Children Safe Act of 2007
Effective date: July 1, 2007

This bill addresses how family courts handle visitation issues when sexual abuse is an issue. It creates a rebuttable presumption of detriment to the child in visitation determinations involving someone who has been convicted of a sex offense, designated a sexual predator, or against whom a child sexual abuse report has been filed. The court may disallow visitation or require that the person have supervised visitation with the child.

The bill also directs the Clearinghouse on Supervised Visitation at the Institute for Family Violence Studies at FSU to develop standards for supervised visitation programs. It requires programs that provide supervised visitation in cases where sexual abuse is an issue to have experience in this area. The bill creates an advisory board for the Clearinghouse, and FCASV Executive Director Jennifer Dritt will be involved in developing standards.

CS/SB 146 by Dockery/HB 29 by Adams
Anti-Murder Act

This bill took effect immediately after it was signed into law by Governor Crist and was one of his top priorities during the 2007 session. It resulted from concerns about violent felons who violate probation, are released back into the community, and commit new crimes while waiting for their probation violation hearing.
As a result of the new law, a violent felony offender of special concern who is alleged to have violated felony probation or community control, other than a failure to pay costs, fines, or restitution, cannot be released from jail until the court has held a hearing to determine whether supervision was violated. If supervision was violated, the court must determine and enter a written finding as to whether the violent felony offender of special concern is a danger to the community. The court must also determine whether to revoke or continue the probation or community control. If it is determined that the violator is a danger to the community, the court must revoke probation or community control and sentence the offender.

CS/HB 55 by Porth/SB 188 by Aronberg
Domestic Violence/Employee Leave
Effective date: July 1, 2007

This bill allows a victim of domestic violence working for an employer with 50 or more employees to take up to three days of leave in a 12 month period to deal with issues arising from the domestic violence including the need for an injunction, legal assistance and/or to meet with a domestic violence center or rape crisis center. Sick, annual and other paid leave must be exhausted first, and it is up to the employer whether the leave is paid or unpaid.

SB 1004 by Argenziano/HB 573 by Rivera
Cyber Crimes Against Children Act of 2007
Effective date: October 1, 2007

In Florida, the Child Predator Cyber Crime Unit was established in 2005 within the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution. This bill enhances the tools available to this office to prosecute sexual abuse of children and looks at the expanded opportunities for sexual predators to use the internet to abuse children. Of specific concern was the ability of offenders to use social networking sites such as MySpace to prey on children.

Specific provisions include:
Enhanced penalties for those possessing large amounts of child pornography.

Expanding the scope of the statute concerning use of the Internet to seduce, solicit, lure or entice a child or a person thought to be a child to commit certain acts relating to sexual abuse of children.

Creation of a new felony offense of traveling to meet a minor for the purpose of committing crimes of child sexual abuse or any other unlawful sexual conduct with a child, or attempting to persuade the child’s guardian to consent to the child’s participation in sexual conduct.

Requirement that sexual offenders and sexual predators register any e-mail address and any instant message name with FDLE prior to using it.

Authorizes FDLE to provide the e-mail addresses and instant message names of sexual offenders and sexual predators to commercial social networking websites, which will enable operators of the sites to screen for those users.

Expands the investigative and prosecutorial authority of the Office of Statewide Prosecution (OSP) and the subject matter jurisdiction of the statewide grand jury to include child abuse crimes facilitated by or connected to use of the Internet states that crimes facilitated by or connected to use of the Internet occur simultaneously in every Florida judicial circuit.

Updates statutes to incorporate newer technologies that are used to facilitate the sexual abuse of children and transfer of images of sexual abuse of children.

SB 842 by Wilson/HB 597 by Bendross-Mindingall
Sexual Solicitation & Abuse through the Internet

This bill is a resolution that encourages parents and children to learn about the incidence of sexual abuse and risks associated with online communication. It urges parents to learn how to protect their children while they are online and how and where to report cases of sexual solicitation and exploitation which occur over the Internet.

CS/SB 1604 by Argenziano/HB 665 by Dean
Sexual Predators and Offenders
Effective date: July 1, 2007

The bill makes changes to Florida’s laws regarding registration of sexual predators and sexual offenders to comply with the Federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The major features of the bill include:

Expanding the population of offenders required to register to include some juveniles adjudicated delinquent of certain crimes.

Creating the ability for some sexual offenders to petition for removal of the registration requirement when certain conditions are met. A judge would have to make a finding that the sexual contact was “consensual”. This provision relates largely to situations that are commonly referred to as “Romeo and Juliet” cases of statutory rape.
Sexual predators and certain sexual offenders will be required to report in person at the sheriff’s office every three months, rather than every six months.

Sexual predators and certain sexual offenders will be required to maintain registration for life without the possibility of petitioning for removal of the registration requirement.

Local law enforcement agencies, the Department of Corrections (DOC), and the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) will be required to report to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) the failure of a sexual predator or sexual offender to comply with registration requirements.

FDLE will be required to develop and maintain a system to provide automatic notification of registration information regarding sexual predators and sexual offenders to the public. Schools, public housing agencies, agencies responsible for conducting employment related background checks, social service entities responsible for protecting minors in the child welfare system, and certain other organizations will have access to this system.

SB 184 by Dockery/HB 807 by Hooper
Relating to Strangulation/Domestic Violence
Effective date: October 1, 2007

This bill, a priority of FCADV’s, creates the 3rd degree felony offense of domestic battery by strangulation.

HB 1441 by Thompson/SB 894 by Joyner
Relating to Female Genital Mutilation
Effective date: October 1, 2007

This bill defines the term "female genital mutilation" and provides that a person who commits female genital mutilation upon a female younger than 18 years of age commits a felony of the first degree. This bill also provides that a person who removes, or causes or permits the removal of, a female younger than 18 years of age from this state for the purpose of committing female genital mutilation commits a felony of the second degree Finally, the bill states that a parent or guardian who consents to the female genital mutilation of his or her female child who is younger than 18 years of age commits a felony of the third degree.

SB 988 by Argenziano/HB 7103 by the Safety & Security Council
Relating to High Risk Offenders
Effective date: July 1, 2007 except where otherwise specified

This bill requires any driver’s license or identification card issued to a sexual predator or sexual offender to have a designated marking on the front of the card. It provides that it is unlawful for a sexual predator or sexual offender to possess a card without the required markings.

This bill also revises aspects of the Jessica Lunsford Act relating to background screening of employees on school grounds. It exempts some non-instructional contractors from fingerprint background checks.

SB 2032 by Margolis/HB 7181 by the Healthcare Council
Human Trafficking/Immigrant Survivor
Effective date: July 1, 2007

This bill requires the Department of Children and Families to provide services to immigrant survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, and other serious crimes. The bill provides that the same state and local benefits that refugees receive be made available to victims of trafficking; provides survivors of serious crimes with supportive services; and finally provides that a sworn statement by the victim is sufficient evidence for purposes of determining eligibility for services if supported by at least one piece of additional evidence.

Significant legislation relating to sexual violence that failed during the 2007 session inludes:

SB 1156 by Rich/HB 1191 by Roberson
The Prevention First Act

This bill would have required licensed healthcare facilities and practitioners to make emergency contraception services available to victims of sexual assault. The bill also would have required the Department of Education to develop a comprehensive family life and sexuality education plan the Department of Health to develop information relating to family planning on its website.

HB by 531 by Ambler/SB 1224 by Ring
The Internet Predator Awareness Act

This controversial bill would have required online dating services to disclose whether or not they conducted background screenings on those who use their services.

HB 1231 by Hukill
Relating to Prostitution

This controversial bill with no Senate companion was mainly aimed at those who profit from prostitution. The bill would have created a website of those involved in prostitution and FCASV was successful in ensuring that this website did not include the people being prostituted.

Failed legislation relating to sexual offenders:
Although a few comprehensive bills relating to sexual offenders passed during the 2007 session, many more did not. Of special note were several bills looking at dealing with local ordinances relating to residency requirements for sexual offenders some of which looked at moving toward a single state standard and doing away with these ordinances. HB 157 by Rep. Glorioso looked at charging sexual offenders with loitering crimes for being near places where children congregate. This is an idea FCASV plans to pursue more fully during the 2008 session.

Each victim of sexual assault has suffered terrible trauma.
Let’s make sure, in the state of Florida,
each victim is also offered an opportunity to heal.