State Legislative Priorities

2010 Legislative Agenda
Priorities
Issues of Interest

2009 Legislative Wrap-Up

Priorities:

Rape Crisis Program Funding
Retaining Non-Recurring General Revenue for Rape Crisis Centers
Although the community budget request system remains closed, FCASV will be working with Senate and House allies to retain $250,000 in non-recurring general revenue for rape crisis centers in the Legal Affairs budget.

Enhancing the Rape Crisis Program Trust Fund
SB 400 by Sen. Mike Fasano (R-Port Richey)
HB 229 by Rep. Evan Jenne (D-Ft. Lauderdale)
FCASV’s priority legislation for 2010 seeks to add a number of sexual violence related crimes to the rape crisis program trust fund. If passed, those convicted or adjudicated guilty of these additional crimes will be required to pay a mandatory $151 fine. $150 of the fine goes to the rape crisis program trust fund to support rape crisis services at the state’s 30 certified rape crisis centers. Those additional crimes include:

The Florida Sexual Predators Act, Luring or enticing a child, Human trafficking, Human smuggling, Unlawful activity with certain minors, Female genital mutilation, Procuring a person under age 18 for prostitution, Selling or buying minors into sex trafficking or prostitution, Forcing, compelling, or coercing another to become a prostitute, Sex trafficking, Deriving support from proceeds of prostitution, Renting space to be used for lewdness, assignation, or prostitution, General prostitution offenses excluding engaging in prostitution, Exposure of sexual organs, Voyeurism, Video voyeurism, Home-invasion robbery, Home or private business invasion by false personation, Abuse/neglect of elderly or disabled person, Lewd or lascivious offenses on or in presence of elderly or disabled person, Written threats to kill or bodily injury, Computer pornography, Transmission of pornography by electronic device, Selling or buying of minors, and Sexual offender registry requirements.

Housing Protections for Victims of Sexual Violence
SB 786 by Senator Nan Rich (D-Sunrise)

FCASV will prioritize passage of legislation to allow victims of sexual violence to terminate a lease if safety concerns necessitate moving.

Sex Offender Policy
HB 119 by Rep. Rich Glorioso (R-Plant City)

FCASV will be working with legislative leaders and allied organizations on HB 119 and other legislation to ensure sex offender evaluation and treatment providers are qualified, forbid sex offenders from loitering or prowling in certain zones where children regularly congregate, and preempt local residency restriction ordinances for sex offenders to one statewide standard.

Other Issues of Interest:

Statutes of Limitation for Sexual Battery
HB 525 by Rep. Chris Dorworth (R-Heathrow)
This legislation eliminates statutes of limitations for criminal or civil actions relating to sexual battery of child if the victim is under 16 years of age at time of offense.

Florida Safe Harbor Act/Sexually Exploited Youth
HB 535 by Rep. Erik Fresen (R-Miami)
SB 1700 by Sen. Jeremy Ring (D-Margate)
This legislation provides legislative intent and goals for protecting sexually exploited youth. The legislation provides for presumption that placement of a child alleged to have been sexually exploited in short-term safe house is necessary; provides requirements for findings in shelter hearing relating to placement of allegedly sexually exploited child in a safe house; requires assessment of certain children; provides for use of such assessments; provides requirements for safe houses receiving such children; provides for placement of other children in safe houses when appropriate; requires annual report on safe-house placements; provides requirements relating to appropriations for safe houses; provides for operation of safe houses; provides for training for law enforcement officials likely to encounter sexually exploited children; revises prohibitions on prostitution & related acts; and provides presumption against filing delinquency petition for certain prostitution-related offenses in certain circumstances.

Screening of Athletic Coaches
HB 59 by Rep. Joe Gibbons (D-Pembroke Pines)
SB 150 by Sen. Jeremy Ring (D-Margate)
Requires the sanctioning authority of an independent youth athletic team to screen an applicant for sports coach through designated public websites maintained by the Department of Law Enforcement and the United States Department of Justice. Requires the sanctioning authority to disqualify any applicant from acting as a sports coach if that applicant appears on either registry.

Unemployment Compensation
HB 741 Rep. Kevin Rader (D-Boynton Beach)
Adds domestic violence as a good cause reason for quitting employment to be eligible for unemployment compensation.

Healthy Teens Act
HB 169 by Rep. Keith Fitzgerald (D-Sarasota)
This legislation requires that public schools receiving state funding provide comprehensive, medically-accurate, and age-appropriate human sexuality information including skills for making responsible decisions about sexuality, like how to avoid unwanted verbal, physical, and sexual advances and how to avoid making unwanted verbal, physical, and sexual advances; and how alcohol and drug use may affect responsible decision making.

Prevention First Act
SB 652 by Sen. Nan Rich (D-Sunrise)
This legislation requires licensed health care practitioners and facilities to provide rape survivors with information about emergency contraception and, upon request, directly provide the full regimen of emergency contraception. The legislation requires the Agency for Health Care Administration to provide for enforcement and impose penalties and requires licensed pharmacies to dispense certain forms of contraception without delay.  

Background Screening
FCASV will monitor efforts by the Florida Legislature to improve and develop a consistent approach to background screening processes across agencies including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Children and Families, The Agency for Health Care Administration, and the Department of Education for employees who work with children, those with disabilities and the elderly. Recommendations include using digitized fingerprints checked regularly through both state and national records and requiring the background screening be completed before hiring.

Sexual Activity Involving Animals
SB 104 by Sen. Nan Rich (D-Sunrise)
This legislation prohibits sexual activity with animals. Research shows that those who abuse and sexually assault people often have a history of abusing animals. Law enforcement has asked for the tools to be able to track and protect the community from those who abuse animals, as intervening may prevent future violence against animals and people.

Victim Advocate Services
HB 799 by Rep. Mackenson Bernard (D-West Palm Beach)
SB 1302 by Sen. Rhonda Storms (R-Brandon)
Requires postsecondary educational institution to provide advocate to assist students who are victims of violent crime; requires advocate to complete certain training & enlist assistance of various agencies & groups; requires advocate to be made available on campus that provides student housing or has minimum number of full-time students.

FCASV 2009 Legislative Wrap-Up

The State budget
On Wednesday, May 27, Governor Charlie Crist signed Florida's $66.5 billion budget into law. Lawmakers faced an unprecedented budget deficit with record job losses and home foreclosures. The budget includes $2.2 billion in new fees and taxes. Much of the new revenue comes from a $1-a-pack cigarette tax, higher fees on driving licenses and motor vehicle tags and tuition increases. Some court fees are also being increased. Cuts were mitigated as a result of the state making use of much, though not all, of revenues available through the federal economic stimulus package. Cuts include FDLE investigator positions, guardian ad litem positions, aftercare services in the juvenile justice system and elder care services.

Rape Crisis Centers Fare Better than Expected
State funding for rape crisis services fared better than expected with all Rape Crisis Program Trust Fund (RCPTF) dollars continuing to fund rape crisis services at approximately $2 million in the fiscal year 2009/2010 budget. Rape crisis centers also received $250,000 in non-recurring general revenue in the Attorney General’s budget. This is a $150,000 cut from the previous year funding level but more than was expected based on the budget deficit and closure of the community budget request process.

Legislation that passed:

FCASV Top Priority Bill Passes
Victims of Sexual Battery Legal Rights and Services
SB 1312 by Sen. Mike Fasano (R-Port Richey)
HB 979 by Rep. Yolly Roberson (D-Miami)

Governor Crist signed SB 1312, FCASV’s top priority bill for the 2009 session, into law during a signing ceremony on June 16. This legislation requires each law enforcement officer who investigates an alleged sexual battery incident to assist the victim in obtaining medical treatment if medical treatment is necessary, a forensic examination, and crisis intervention services from a certified rape crisis center. The legislation also requires law enforcement officers to immediately notify victims of the legal rights and remedies available by providing them with a brochure written and produced by the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence in conjunction with FDLE that includes information about local rape crisis services. This legislation takes effect on July 1, 2009.

In addition to our wonderful sponsors, special thanks are due to Ron Book, House Rules Chair Rep. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton), and our co-sponsors (Senator Joyner and Representatives Brandenburg, Eisnaugle, Gibson, Homan, Jenne, Kiar, Porth, Snyder, Soto, and Williams) for their work to ensure passage of the bill on the last day of regular session.

The brochure associated with SB 1312 is now available through the FCASV and FDLE websites and is being emailed to rape crisis centers and law enforcement agencies across the state. Multiple copies of the brochure with community-specific information are being mailed to each rape crisis center. Rape crisis centers will be delivering these copies with information about their services to each law enforcement agency in their catchment area.

Legislature Honors Work of Rape Crisis Centers & FCASV
Sexual Assault Awareness Month Resolutions
HB 9127 by Rep. Audrey Gibson (D-Jacksonville)
SB 2772 by Sen. Mike Fasano (R-Port Richey)
These resolutions designated April 2009 as "Sexual Assault Awareness Month" in Florida, spoke to the impact of sexual violence on victims and families across Florida, and honored the work of Florida’s rape crisis centers and the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence.

FCASV Designated a Member of New
Human Trafficking Task Force
SB 168 by Sen. Arthenia Joyner (D-Tampa)
HB 811 by Rep. Geraldine Thompson (D-Orlando)
This legislation creates the Florida Statewide Task Force on Human Trafficking within the Florida Department of Children and Families. The task force will work on a strategic plan and prepare a report on the needs of human trafficking victims in Florida. The Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights is taking the lead on this project and both the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence and the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence are designated by the legislation as members of the task force. This bill took effect on June 1, 2009.

Parental Responsibility and Time-Sharing
SB 904 Sen. Ted Deutch (D-Delray Beach)
HB 0541 Rep. Jim Frishe (R-Pinellas)
This bill revises statutes relating to divorce and custody. Current law requires the court to consider the best interests of the child for a parenting plan and requires the court to consider evidence of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, child abandonment, or child neglect when making that determination. Current law also creates a rebuttable presumption of detriment to a child if a parent has been convicted of a third-degree felony or higher involving domestic violence or certain sexual offenses. The bill lowers the threshold for the rebuttable presumption for domestic violence to a first-degree misdemeanor. Additionally, the bill amends the domestic violence injunction statute, permitting a court to create a temporary parenting plan, including a time-sharing schedule, that may award the petitioner with up to 100 percent time-sharing. The bill requires the court to specify in writing when it considers evidence of domestic violence, sexual violence, or child abuse, abandonment, or neglect in determining the best interests of the child. This legislation takes effect October 1, 2009.

Sexual Offenders and Predators
HB 115 by Rep. Martin Kiar (D-Parkland)
SB 340 by Sen. Jeremy Ring (D-Margate)
This legislation encourages all public libraries to implement an internet safety education program for children and adults and requires sexual offenders and predators to provide home telephone numbers and any cellular telephone numbers as part of the registration process. The bill takes effect July 1, 2009.

DNA Database
SB 2276 by Sen. Steve Oelrich (R-Gainesville)
HB 1151 by Rep. William Snyder (R-Stuart)
This legislation provides a phase-in schedule requiring persons arrested for specified felony offenses to provide DNA samples to the FDLE. It also provides for a statewide automated personal identification system capable of classifying, matching, and storing analyses of DNA and other data and authorizes the FDLE to adopt rules related to the implementation of the removal of DNA analyses and samples from the statewide DNA database. This bill takes effect July 1, 2009.

Children/Confidential Records
SB 126 by Sen. Paula Dockery (R-Lakeland)
HB 381 by Rep. Nick Thompson (R-Ft. Myers)
Although these bills passed separately, they contain many of the same provisions. The bills require that a case record for a child under the supervision of, or in the custody of, the Department of Children and Families be maintained in a complete and accurate manner, and be made available to the child and the child’s guardian ad litem, attorney, or caregiver. The bills authorize a court to approve the release of confidential information contained in a case record if the court determines that the information is necessary to ensure access to appropriate services for the child or for the safety of the child.
Additionally, these bills authorize the sharing of confidential and exempt information among all state and local agencies and programs that provide services to children or are responsible for children’s safety, if the information is reasonably necessary to assure access to services or safety of the child. These bills provide that records or information made confidential by federal law may not be shared. The bills specifically exclude information relating to clients and records of certified domestic violence centers from the sharing provision. HB 381 contains additional provisions relating to relative caretakers and children’s initiatives. Both bills take effect on July 1, 2009.

Court Costs (Guardian ad Litem/Children’s Advocacy Centers)
SB 526 by Sen. Evelyn Lynn (R-Daytona Beach)
HB 217 by Rep. Eric Eisnaugle (R-Orlando)
This legislation expands the list of crimes for which a court is required to impose an additional court cost for certain offenses against a minor and certain other offenses (selling or buying of minors into sex trafficking or prostitution; sale of harmful materials to minors or use of minors in production in harmful materials;
acts in connection with obscenity; transmission of material harmful to minors; use of drug paraphernalia; violations of the Florida Sexual Predators Act; etc.). The bill increases the amount of the court cost from $101 to $151 and directs $50 of the court cost to the Office of the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem and $100 to the Florida Network of Children's Advocacy Centers. The bill is estimated to raise an additional $96,122 each year and takes effect July 1, 2009.

State Court Funding
SB 2108 by Sen. Ken Pruitt (R-Port St. Lucie)
HB 1121 by Rep. Ellen Bogdanoff (R-Ft. Lauderdale)
This bill facilitates the transition from the current clerk budgeting processes to the legislative appropriation of funds for court-related functions of the clerks. The bill sets up procedures and a process for this transition. The bill redirects some of the filing fees collected and used by the clerks of court from various funds directly into a trust fund for the state courts system. In addition, some of the fines collected by the clerks of court are redirected from the trust fund for the state courts system to the General Revenue Fund. This bill took effect June 18, 2009.

State Court System
SB 1718 by Senator Victor Crist (R-Tampa)
This legislation includes many provisions relating to court filing fees and other matters. The bill increases the circuit civil filing fee from $295 to $395 and directs the increase to be deposited in the State Courts Revenue Trust Fund. Because all injunction statutes specifically state that, notwithstanding any other law, a filing fee cannot be charged for an injunction, petitioners for sexual, domestic, dating, and repeat violence injunctions cannot be charged a filing fee. The bill also relieves indigent persons from paying filing fees. FCASV, in collaboration with FCADV, was successful in defeating language in the House that would have created a filing fee for repeat violence injunctions. Such a fee would have put Florida’s Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) funding in jeopardy. Some provisions of the bill took effect June 1, 2009, and others will take effect July 1, 2009.

Legislation that failed:

Housing Protections for Victims of Sexual and Domestic Violence
SB 596 by Sen. Nan Rich (D-Sunrise)
HB 517 by Rep. Trudi Williams (R-Ft. Myers)
This legislation, a priority FCASV and FCADV, would have allowed victims of sexual violence and domestic violence to terminate a lease under certain circumstances. This legislation would have prohibited landlords from discriminating against or retaliating against victims of domestic violence, dating violence, repeat violence, or sexual violence and would have required a landlord to change a lock or authorize the tenant to change a lock under certain circumstances. The bill was never heard in the House and was only heard in one committee in the Senate. The Florida Apartment Association opposed the legislation.

Abortion
HB 983 by Rep. Anitere Flores (R-Miami) & Rep. Rachel Burgin (R-Tampa)
SB 1854 by Sen. Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando)
This legislation would have required that an ultrasound be performed on any woman obtaining an abortion. While the legislation provided an exemption from ultrasound viewing requirements for women who are victims of rape, incest, domestic violence, or human trafficking, FCASV testified against the bill in the House Health Care Regulation Committee because the exemption for victims of sexual violence was limited to those reporting the crime. The bill was not heard in the Senate.

Sex Offenders
HB 77 by Rep. Rich Glorioso (R-Plant City)
SB 320 by Sen. Victor Crist (R-Tampa)
This legislation looked at prohibiting loitering or prowling by sex offenders in areas where children regularly congregate. A version of the Senate bill also pre-empted local sex offender residency ordinances to one state standard. FCASV testified in support of these provisions as possible first steps toward more rational statewide sex offender policy. FCASV does not believe that residency restrictions are the best option for ensuring public safety because offenders unable to find stable housing are more likely to re-offend, congregate together, and overly stress certain areas of cities, counties and/or rural areas.

FCASV also testified against an amendment to HB 77 that removed a specialized training requirement for those who treat sex offenders. FCASV is convening a workgroup over the summer to address the issue of who should be considered a “qualified practitioner” for purposes of treating sex offenders. This bill was heard in one committee in the House and Senate.

Sexual Activities Involving Animals
SB 448 by Nan Rich (D-Sunrise)
HB 0273 Rep. William Snyder (R-Stuart)
This legislation, which passed the Senate but failed to pass the House, would have prohibited sexual conduct or sexual contact with an animal. FCASV publicly supported this legislation because of research that shows that those who abuse and sexually assault people often have a history of abusing animals. Law enforcement should be able to track and protect the community from those who abuse animals, as intervening may prevent future violence against animals and people.

Prevention First Act
SB 310 by Nan Rich (D-Sunrise)
HB 129 by Rep. Audrey Gibson (D-Jacksonville)
This legislation would have required licensed healthcare practitioners and facilities to provide victims of sexual assault with accurate information about emergency contraception, tell victims about the option of receiving emergency contraception, and provide emergency contraception directly to the victim. It would have also required licensed pharmacies to dispense certain forms of contraception without delay. The legislation also directed the Agency for Healthcare Administration to develop a protocol to implement these provisions. The bill was not heard in either the House or Senate. While FCASV supports these policies, we do not necessarily support a legislative approach to this issue.

Sexual Battery Resulting in the Birth of a Child
SB 528 by Sen. Dennis Jones (R-Seminole)
This legislation would have provided grounds for terminating parental rights based on sexual battery that results in the birth of a child. It also would have required a court to retain jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcing a restitution order for sexual battery that results in the birth of a child. This bill, which FCASV supports, was not heard.

Public Records Exemption for Stalking Victims
SB 2144 by Sen. Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando)
This legislation would have created an exemption from public records requirements for the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of persons who are victims of stalking or aggravated stalking which are contained in voter registration and voting records held by the supervisor of elections or the Department of State. This bill, which FCASV supports, was not heard.

Criminal History Screening for Sports Coaches
SB 160 by Jeremy Ring (D-Margate)
HB 3 by rep. Joe Gibbons (D-Pembroke Park)
This legislation would have required the sanctioning authority of an independent youth athletic team to screen an applicant for sports coach through designated public websites maintained by the FDLE and the United States Department of Justice. It also stated that a background screening in compliance with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act satisfies screening provisions. The legislation passed the Senate but failed in the House.

Sexual Misconduct with Students by Authority Figures
HB 659 by Rep. Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland)
SB 1892 by Sen. Victor Crist (R-Tampa)
This legislation would have increased the felony level of certain sexual offenses committed against students by an authority figure. This legislation passed the House but failed in the Senate.