| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to domestic violence; amending s. 741.28, |
| 3 | F.S.; correcting a cross reference; amending s. 741.283, |
| 4 | F.S.; requiring a court to sentence a person to serve a |
| 5 | minimum of 5 days in the county jail if the person is |
| 6 | adjudicated guilty of the crime of domestic violence and |
| 7 | deprives a family or household member of communications |
| 8 | services; creating s. 741.311, F.S.; defining the term |
| 9 | "communication services"; prohibiting a person from |
| 10 | depriving a family or household member of the use of |
| 11 | communication services in the course of committing |
| 12 | domestic violence; providing an enhanced penalty if a |
| 13 | person is adjudicated guilty of a crime in the course of |
| 14 | committing domestic violence, and during the time the |
| 15 | crime was committed, deprived a family or household member |
| 16 | of the use of communication services; providing an |
| 17 | effective date. |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Section 1. Section 741.28, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 22 | read: |
| 23 | 741.28 Domestic violence; definitions.--As used in ss. |
| 24 | 741.28-741.311 ss. 741.28-741.31: |
| 25 | (1) "Department" means the Florida Department of Law |
| 26 | Enforcement. |
| 27 | (2) "Domestic violence" means any assault, aggravated |
| 28 | assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual |
| 29 | battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false |
| 30 | imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical |
| 31 | injury or death of one family or household member by another |
| 32 | family or household member. |
| 33 | (3) "Family or household member" means spouses, former |
| 34 | spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are |
| 35 | presently residing together as if a family or who have resided |
| 36 | together in the past as if a family, and persons who are parents |
| 37 | of a child in common regardless of whether they have been |
| 38 | married. With the exception of persons who have a child in |
| 39 | common, the family or household members must be currently |
| 40 | residing or have in the past resided together in the same single |
| 41 | dwelling unit. |
| 42 | (4) "Law enforcement officer" means any person who is |
| 43 | elected, appointed, or employed by any municipality or the state |
| 44 | or any political subdivision thereof who meets the minimum |
| 45 | qualifications established in s. 943.13 and is certified as a |
| 46 | law enforcement officer under s. 943.1395. |
| 47 | Section 2. Section 741.283, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 48 | to read: |
| 49 | 741.283 Minimum term of imprisonment for domestic |
| 50 | violence.--If a person is adjudicated guilty of a crime of |
| 51 | domestic violence, as defined in s. 741.28, and the person has |
| 52 | intentionally caused bodily harm to another person, or a person |
| 53 | is adjudicated guilty of a violation of s. 741.311, the court |
| 54 | shall order the person to serve a minimum of 5 days in the |
| 55 | county jail as part of the sentence imposed, unless the court |
| 56 | sentences the person to a nonsuspended period of incarceration |
| 57 | in a state correctional facility. This section does not preclude |
| 58 | the court from sentencing the person to probation, community |
| 59 | control, or an additional period of incarceration. |
| 60 | Section 3. Section 741.311, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 61 | to read: |
| 62 | 741.311 Domestic violence; deprivation of communications |
| 63 | services.-- |
| 64 | (1) For the purposes of this section, the term |
| 65 | "communication services" has the same meaning as in s. 812.15(1) |
| 66 | and includes, but is not limited to, telephones, cellular |
| 67 | telephones, and pagers. |
| 68 | (2) A person may not deprive a family or household member |
| 69 | of access to or the use of communication services in the course |
| 70 | of committing domestic violence. |
| 71 | (3) If a person is adjudicated guilty of a crime in the |
| 72 | course of committing domestic violence and, during the time the |
| 73 | crime was committed, violated subsection (2), the penalty |
| 74 | imposed shall be enhanced as follows: |
| 75 | (a) A misdemeanor of the second degree shall be punished |
| 76 | as if it were a misdemeanor of the first degree. |
| 77 | (b) A misdemeanor of the first degree shall be punished as |
| 78 | if it were a felony of the third degree. |
| 79 | (c) A felony of the third degree shall be punished as if |
| 80 | it were a felony of the second degree. |
| 81 | (d) A felony of the second degree shall be punished as if |
| 82 | it were a felony of the first degree. |
| 83 | (e) A felony of the first degree shall be punished as if |
| 84 | it were a life felony. |
| 85 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005, and |
| 86 | shall apply to offenses committed on or after that date. |