Senate Bill sb1580c1
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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1580
    By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Villalobos
    307-1987-02
  1                      A bill to be entitled
  2         An act relating to criminal mischief; amending
  3         s. 806.13, F.S.; requiring a person or minor
  4         who commits criminal mischief to pay additional
  5         fines and perform community service; providing
  6         for the parent or legal guardian of a minor to
  7         be liable for payment of a fine; authorizing
  8         the court to decline to order payment of a fine
  9         if the court finds that the person subject to
10         payment of the fine is indigent; providing an
11         effective date.
12
13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15         Section 1.  Section 806.13, Florida Statutes, is
16  amended to read:
17         806.13  Criminal mischief; penalties; penalty for
18  minor.--
19         (1)(a)  A person commits the offense of criminal
20  mischief if he or she willfully and maliciously injures or
21  damages by any means any real or personal property belonging
22  to another, including, but not limited to, the placement of
23  graffiti thereon or other acts of vandalism thereto.
24         (b)1.  If the damage to such property is $200 or less,
25  it is a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as
26  provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
27         2.  If the damage to such property is greater than $200
28  but less than $1,000, it is a misdemeanor of the first degree,
29  punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
30         3.  If the damage is $1,000 or greater, or if there is
31  interruption or impairment of a business operation or public
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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1580
    307-1987-02
  1  communication, transportation, supply of water, gas or power,
  2  or other public service which costs $1,000 or more in labor
  3  and supplies to restore, it is a felony of the third degree,
  4  punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s.
  5  775.084.
  6         4.  If the person has one or more previous convictions
  7  for violating this subsection, the offense under subparagraph
  8  1. or subparagraph 2. for which the person is charged shall be
  9  reclassified as a felony of the third degree, punishable as
10  provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
11         (2)  Any person who willfully and maliciously defaces,
12  injures, or damages by any means any church, synagogue,
13  mosque, or other place of worship, or any religious article
14  contained therein, commits is guilty of a felony of the third
15  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or
16  s. 775.084, if the damage to the property is greater than
17  $200.
18         (3)  Whoever, without the consent of the owner thereof,
19  willfully destroys or substantially damages any public
20  telephone, or telephone cables, wires, fixtures, antennas,
21  amplifiers, or any other apparatus, equipment, or appliances,
22  which destruction or damage renders a public telephone
23  inoperative or which opens the body of a public telephone,
24  commits is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable
25  as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084;
26  provided, however, that a conspicuous notice of the provisions
27  of this subsection and the penalties provided is posted on or
28  near the destroyed or damaged instrument and visible to the
29  public at the time of the commission of the offense.
30         (4)  Any person who willfully and maliciously defaces,
31  injures, or damages by any means a sexually violent predator
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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1580
    307-1987-02
  1  detention or commitment facility, as defined in part V of
  2  chapter 394, or any property contained therein, commits is
  3  guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided
  4  in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the damage to
  5  property is greater than $200.
  6         (5)(a)  The amounts of value of damage to property
  7  owned by separate persons, if the property was damaged during
  8  one scheme or course or conduct, may be aggregated in
  9  determining the grade of the offense under this section.
10         (b)  Any person who violates this section may, in
11  addition to any other criminal penalty, be required to pay for
12  the damages caused by such offense.
13         (6)(a)  Any person convicted under this section for an
14  offense that is related to the placement of graffiti shall be
15  punished by a fine of:
16         1.  Not less than $250 for a first conviction.
17         2.  Not less than $500 for a second conviction.
18         3.  Not less than $1,000 for a third or subsequent
19  conviction.
20         (b)  Any person convicted under this section for an
21  offense that is related to the placement of graffiti shall be
22  required to perform at least 40 hours of community service
23  and, if possible, perform at least 100 hours of community
24  service that involves the removal of graffiti.
25         (c)  If a minor commits a delinquent act prohibited
26  under paragraph (a), the parent or legal guardian of the minor
27  is liable along with the minor for payment of the fine. The
28  court may decline to order a person to pay a fine under
29  paragraph (a) if the court finds that the person is indigent
30  and does not have the ability to pay the fine.
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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1580
    307-1987-02
  1         (7)(6)  In addition to any other penalty provided by
  2  law, if a minor is found to have committed a delinquent act
  3  under this section for placing graffiti on any public property
  4  or private property, and:
  5         (a)  The minor is eligible by reason of age for a
  6  driver's license or driving privilege, the court shall direct
  7  the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to revoke
  8  or withhold issuance of the minor's driver's license or
  9  driving privilege for not more than 1 year.
10         (b)  The minor's driver's license or driving privilege
11  is under suspension or revocation for any reason, the court
12  shall direct the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
13  Vehicles to extend the period of suspension or revocation by
14  an additional period of not more than 1 year.
15         (c)  The minor is ineligible by reason of age for a
16  driver's license or driving privilege, the court shall direct
17  the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to
18  withhold issuance of the minor's driver's license or driving
19  privilege for not more than 1 year after the date on which he
20  or she would otherwise have become eligible.
21         (8)(7)  A minor whose driver's license or driving
22  privilege is revoked, suspended, or withheld under subsection
23  (7) (5) may elect to reduce the period of revocation,
24  suspension, or withholding by performing community service at
25  the rate of 1 day for each hour of community service
26  performed.  In addition, if the court determines that due to a
27  family hardship, the minor's driver's license or driving
28  privilege is necessary for employment or medical purposes of
29  the minor or a member of the minor's family, the court shall
30  order the minor to perform community service and reduce the
31  period of revocation, suspension, or withholding at the rate
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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1580
    307-1987-02
  1  of 1 day for each hour of community service performed.  As
  2  used in this subsection, the term "community service" means
  3  cleaning graffiti from public property.
  4         (9)(8)  Because of the difficulty of confronting the
  5  blight of graffiti, it is the intent of the Legislature that
  6  municipalities and counties not be preempted by state law from
  7  establishing ordinances that prohibit the marking of graffiti
  8  or other graffiti-related offenses.  Furthermore, as related
  9  to graffiti, such municipalities and counties are not
10  preempted by state law from establishing higher penalties than
11  those provided by state law and mandatory penalties when state
12  law provides discretionary penalties.  Such higher and
13  mandatory penalties include fines that do not exceed the
14  amount specified in ss. 125.69 and 162.21, community service,
15  restitution, and forfeiture.  Upon a finding that a juvenile
16  has violated a graffiti-related ordinance, a court acting
17  under chapter 985 may not provide a disposition of the case
18  which is less severe than any mandatory penalty prescribed by
19  municipal or county ordinance for such violation.
20         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.
21
22          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
23                         Senate Bill 1580
24
25  -     The CS clarifies that the minimum fines and community
          service provided for in the bill are required only in
26        graffiti-related criminal mischief cases.
27  -     The CS restores deleted language which authorizes
          municipalities and counties to establish penalties more
28        severe than those provided by state law in criminal
          mischief cases and requires the court, in juvenile
29        delinquency cases, to hand down the more severe penalty.
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