Florida Senate - 2015                                    SB 1270
       
       
        
       By Senator Soto
       
       
       
       
       
       14-00557B-15                                          20151270__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to sexual offenses; providing a short
    3         title; amending s. 775.15, F.S.; revising time
    4         limitations for the criminal prosecution of specified
    5         sexual battery offenses if the victim is 16 years of
    6         age or older; providing applicability; providing an
    7         effective date.
    8          
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “43 Days Initiative
   12  Act.”
   13         Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (13) of section
   14  775.15, Florida Statutes, is republished, and subsection (14) of
   15  that section is amended, to read:
   16         775.15 Time limitations; general time limitations;
   17  exceptions.—
   18         (13)
   19         (b) If the offense is a first degree felony violation of s.
   20  794.011 and the victim was under 18 years of age at the time the
   21  offense was committed, a prosecution of the offense may be
   22  commenced at any time. This paragraph applies to any such
   23  offense except an offense the prosecution of which would have
   24  been barred by subsection (2) on or before October 1, 2003.
   25         (14)(a) A prosecution for a first or second degree felony
   26  violation of s. 794.011, if the victim is 16 18 years of age or
   27  older at the time of the offense and the offense is reported to
   28  a law enforcement agency within 72 hours after commission of the
   29  offense, may be commenced at any time. If the offense is not
   30  reported within 72 hours after the commission of the offense,
   31  the prosecution must be commenced within the time periods
   32  prescribed in subsection (2).
   33         (b) Except as provided in paragraph (a) or paragraph
   34  (13)(b), a prosecution for a first or second degree felony
   35  violation of s. 794.011, if the victim is 16 years of age or
   36  older at the time of the offense, must be commenced within 10
   37  years after the violation is committed. This paragraph applies
   38  to any such offense except an offense the prosecution of which
   39  would have been barred by subsection (2) on or before July 1,
   40  2015.
   41         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.