The Florida Senate

943.0435  Sex offenders required to report to the department; penalty.--

(1)  As used in this section, the term:

(a)  "Sex offender" means a person who has been:

1.  Convicted of committing, or attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit, any of the criminal offenses proscribed in the following statutes in this state or analogous offenses in another jurisdiction: s. 787.025, chapter 794, s. 796.03, s. 800.04, s. 827.071, s. 847.0133, s. 847.0135, s. 847.0145, or any similar offense committed in this state which has been redesignated from a former statute number to one of those listed in this subparagraph.

2.  Released on or after October 1, 1997, from the sanction imposed for any conviction of an offense described in subparagraph 1. For purposes of subparagraph 1., a sanction imposed in this state or in any other jurisdiction includes, but is not limited to, a fine, probation, community control, parole, conditional release, control release, or incarceration in a state prison, federal prison, private correctional facility, or local detention facility.

(b)  "Convicted" means the person has been determined guilty as a result of a plea or a trial, regardless of whether adjudication is withheld.

(2)  A sex offender shall initially report in person at an office of the department, or at the sheriff's office in the county in which the offender permanently or temporarily resides, within 48 hours after establishing permanent or temporary residence in this state. A sex offender permanently resides in this state if the offender abides, lodges, or resides in a place for more than 2 consecutive weeks. A sex offender temporarily resides in this state if the offender abides, lodges, or resides in a place for 2 consecutive weeks or less, excluding a stay of 2 consecutive weeks or less at a different residence due to a vacation or an emergency or special circumstance that requires the sex offender to leave his or her place of permanent or temporary residence for 2 weeks or less. The sex offender shall provide his or her name, date of birth, race, sex, height, weight, hair and eye color, tattoos or other identifying marks, address of permanent or legal residence, or address of any current temporary residence, date and place of each conviction, and a brief description of the crime or crimes committed by the offender. If a sex offender reports at the sheriff's office, the sheriff shall take a photograph and a set of fingerprints of the offender and forward the photographs and fingerprints to the department, along with the information provided by the sex offender.

(3)  Subsequent to the initial report required under subsection (2), a sex offender shall report in person at a driver's license office of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles within 48 hours after any change in the offender's permanent or temporary residence. At the driver's license office the sex offender shall:

(a)  If otherwise qualified, secure a Florida driver's license, renew a Florida driver's license, or secure an identification card. The sex offender shall identify himself or herself as a sex offender who is required to comply with this section. The sex offender shall provide any of the information specified in subsection (2), if requested. The sex offender shall submit to the taking of a photograph for use in issuing a driver's license, renewed license, or identification card, and for use by the department in maintaining current records of sex offenders.

(b)  Pay the costs assessed by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles for issuing or renewing a driver's license or identification card as required by this section.

(c)  Provide, upon request, any additional information necessary to confirm the identity of the sex offender, including a set of fingerprints.

(4)  Each time a sex offender's driver's license or identification card is subject to renewal, the offender shall report in person to a driver's license office, regardless of whether the offender's residence has changed, and shall be subject to the requirements specified in subsection (3). The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall forward to the department all photographs and information provided by sex offenders. Notwithstanding the restrictions set forth in s. 322.142, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is authorized to release a reproduction of a color-photograph or digital-image license to the Department of Law Enforcement for purposes of public notification of sexual offenders as provided in ss. 943.043, 943.0435, and 944.606.

(5)  This section does not apply to a sex offender who is also a sexual predator, as defined in s. 775.21. A sexual predator must register as required under s. 775.21.

(6)  A sex offender who does not comply with the requirements of this section commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

(7)  The department, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Corrections, and the personnel of those departments are immune from civil liability for damages for good faith compliance with the requirements of this section, and shall be presumed to have acted in good faith in compiling, recording, and reporting information. The presumption of good faith is not overcome if a technical or clerical error is made by the department, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Corrections, or the personnel of those departments in compiling or providing information, or if information is incomplete or incorrect because a sex offender fails to report or falsely reports his or her current place of permanent or temporary residence.

History.--s. 8, ch. 97-299.