Florida Senate - 2019                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 406
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì477870?Î477870                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————




       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
       The Committee on Criminal Justice (Brandes) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 79 - 219
    4  and insert:
    5         4. A will, codicil, or other testamentary instrument.
    6         4.5. A firearm.
    7         5.6. A motor vehicle, except as provided in paragraph (a).
    8         6.7. Any commercially farmed animal, including any animal
    9  of the equine, avian, bovine, or swine class or other grazing
   10  animal; a bee colony of a registered beekeeper; and aquaculture
   11  species raised at a certified aquaculture facility. If the
   12  property stolen is a commercially farmed animal, including an
   13  animal of the equine, avian, bovine, or swine class or other
   14  grazing animal; a bee colony of a registered beekeeper; or an
   15  aquaculture species raised at a certified aquaculture facility,
   16  a $10,000 fine shall be imposed.
   17         8. Any fire extinguisher.
   18         7.9. Any amount of citrus fruit consisting of 2,000 or more
   19  individual pieces of fruit.
   20         10. Taken from a designated construction site identified by
   21  the posting of a sign as provided for in s. 810.09(2)(d).
   22         11. Any stop sign.
   23         8.12. Anhydrous ammonia.
   24         9.13. Any amount of a controlled substance as defined in s.
   25  893.02. Notwithstanding any other law, separate judgments and
   26  sentences for theft of a controlled substance under this
   27  subparagraph and for any applicable possession of controlled
   28  substance offense under s. 893.13 or trafficking in controlled
   29  substance offense under s. 893.135 may be imposed when all such
   30  offenses involve the same amount or amounts of a controlled
   31  substance.
   32  
   33  However, if the property is stolen within a county that is
   34  subject to a state of emergency declared by the Governor under
   35  chapter 252, the property is stolen after the declaration of
   36  emergency is made, and the perpetration of the theft is
   37  facilitated by conditions arising from the emergency, the
   38  offender commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as
   39  provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the
   40  property is valued at $5,000 or more, but less than $10,000, as
   41  provided under subparagraph 2., or if the property is valued at
   42  $10,000 or more, but less than $20,000, as provided under
   43  subparagraph 3. As used in this paragraph, the term “conditions
   44  arising from the emergency” means civil unrest, power outages,
   45  curfews, voluntary or mandatory evacuations, or a reduction in
   46  the presence of or the response time for first responders or
   47  homeland security personnel. For purposes of sentencing under
   48  chapter 921, a felony offense that is reclassified under this
   49  paragraph is ranked one level above the ranking under s.
   50  921.0022 or s. 921.0023 of the offense committed.
   51         (d) It is grand theft of the third degree and a felony of
   52  the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s.
   53  775.083, or s. 775.084, if the property stolen is valued at
   54  $1,500 $100 or more, but less than $5,000 $300, and is taken
   55  from a dwelling as defined in s. 810.011(2) or from the
   56  unenclosed curtilage of a dwelling pursuant to s. 810.09(1).
   57         (e) Except as provided in paragraph (d), if the property
   58  stolen is valued at $500 $100 or more, but less than $1,500
   59  $300, the offender commits petit theft of the first degree,
   60  punishable as a misdemeanor of the first degree, as provided in
   61  s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   62         (3)(a) Theft of any property not specified in subsection
   63  (2) is petit theft of the second degree and a misdemeanor of the
   64  second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
   65  775.083, and as provided in subsection (5), as applicable.
   66         (b) A person who commits petit theft and who has previously
   67  been convicted of any theft commits a misdemeanor of the first
   68  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   69         (c) A person who commits petit theft in the first degree
   70  and who has previously been convicted two or more times as an
   71  adult of any theft commits a felony of the third degree,
   72  punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083 if the third
   73  or subsequent petit theft offense occurred within 3 years after
   74  the expiration of his or her sentence for the most recent theft
   75  conviction.
   76         (d)1. Every judgment of guilty or not guilty of a petit
   77  theft shall be in writing, signed by the judge, and recorded by
   78  the clerk of the circuit court. The judge shall cause to be
   79  affixed to every such written judgment of guilty of petit theft,
   80  in open court and in the presence of such judge, the
   81  fingerprints of the defendant against whom such judgment is
   82  rendered. Such fingerprints shall be affixed beneath the judge’s
   83  signature to such judgment. Beneath such fingerprints shall be
   84  appended a certificate to the following effect:
   85  
   86         “I hereby certify that the above and foregoing fingerprints
   87  on this judgment are the fingerprints of the defendant, ....,
   88  and that they were placed thereon by said defendant in my
   89  presence, in open court, this the .... day of ....,
   90  ...(year)....”
   91  
   92  Such certificate shall be signed by the judge, whose signature
   93  thereto shall be followed by the word “Judge.”
   94         2. Any such written judgment of guilty of a petit theft, or
   95  a certified copy thereof, is admissible in evidence in the
   96  courts of this state as prima facie evidence that the
   97  fingerprints appearing thereon and certified by the judge are
   98  the fingerprints of the defendant against whom such judgment of
   99  guilty of a petit theft was rendered.
  100         (7) For purposes of determining the value of property taken
  101  in violation of this section, the value must be based on the
  102  fair market value of the property at the time the taking
  103  occurred.
  104         (8) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
  105  Accountability shall, every 5 years, perform a study of the
  106  appropriateness of the threshold amounts included in this
  107  section. The study's scope shall include, but need not be
  108  limited to, the crime trends related to theft offenses, the
  109  theft threshold amounts of other states in effect at the time of
  110  the study, fiscal impact of any modifications to Florida's
  111  threshold amounts, and economic factors, such as inflation. The
  112  report shall include options for amending the threshold amounts
  113  if the study finds that such amounts are inconsistent with
  114  current trends. In conducting the study, OPPAGA shall consult
  115  with the Office of Economic and Demographic Research in addition
  116  to other interested entities. OPPAGA shall submit a report to
  117  the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House
  118  of Representatives by September 1 of each fifth year.
  119         Section 2. Paragraph (n) of subsection (1) and subsection
  120  (10) are added to section 812.015, Florida Statutes, and
  121  subsections (8) and (9) of that section are amended, to read:
  122         812.015 Retail and farm theft; transit fare evasion;
  123  mandatory fine; alternative punishment; detention and arrest;
  124  exemption from liability for false arrest; resisting arrest;
  125  penalties.—
  126         (1) As used in this section:
  127         (n) “Value” means the fair market value of the property
  128  taken in violation of this section at the time the taking
  129  occurred.
  130         (8) Except as provided in subsection (9), a person who
  131  commits retail theft commits a felony of the third degree,
  132  punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084,
  133  if the property stolen is valued at $1,500 $300 or more, and the
  134  person:
  135         (a) Individually, or in concert with one or more other
  136  persons, coordinates the activities of one or more individuals
  137  in committing the offense, in which case the amount of each
  138  individual theft is aggregated to determine the value of the
  139  property stolen;
  140         (b) Commits theft from more than one location within a 48
  141  hour period, in which case the amount of each individual theft
  142  is aggregated to determine the value of the property stolen;
  143         (c) Acts in concert with one or more other individuals
  144  within one or more establishments to distract the merchant,
  145  merchant’s employee, or law enforcement officer in order to
  146  carry out the offense, or acts in other ways to coordinate
  147  efforts to carry out the offense; or
  148         (d) Commits the offense through the purchase of merchandise
  149  in a package or box that contains merchandise other than, or in
  150  addition to, the merchandise purported to be contained in the
  151  package or box.
  152         (9) A person commits a felony of the second degree,
  153  punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084,
  154  if the person:
  155         (a) Violates subsection (8) as an adult and has previously
  156  been convicted of a violation of subsection (8) within 3 years
  157  after the expiration of his or her sentence for the conviction;
  158  or
  159         (b) Individually, or in concert with one or more other
  160  persons, coordinates the activities of one or more persons in
  161  committing the offense of retail theft where the stolen property
  162  has a value in excess of $3,000.
  163         (10) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
  164  Accountability shall, every 5 years, perform a study of the
  165  appropriateness of the threshold amounts included in this
  166  section. The study's scope shall include, but need not be
  167  limited to, the crime trends related to theft offenses, the
  168  theft threshold amounts of other states in effect at the time of
  169  the study, fiscal impact of any modifications to Florida's
  170  threshold amounts, and economic factors, such as inflation. The
  171  report shall include options for amending the threshold amounts
  172  if the study finds that such amounts are inconsistent with
  173  current trends. In conducting the study, OPPAGA shall consult
  174  with the Office of Economic and Demographic Research in addition
  175  to other interested entities. OPPAGA shall submit a report to
  176  the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House
  177  of Representatives by September 1 of each fifth year.
  178  
  179  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  180  And the title is amended as follows:
  181         Delete lines 7 - 19
  182  and insert:
  183         market value at the time of the taking; requiring the
  184         Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
  185         Accountability to conduct a study of the threshold
  186         amounts every five years; providing the scope of the
  187         study; requiring the OPPAGA to make recommendations,
  188         if appropriate; requiring the OPPAGA to consult with
  189         the Office of Economic and Demographic Research and
  190         other interested entities; requiring the OPPAGA to
  191         submit a report to the Governor, President of the
  192         Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives by
  193         September 1 of every fifth year; amending s. 812.015,
  194         F.S.; defining the term “value”; increasing threshold
  195         amounts for a certain theft offense; revising the
  196         circumstances under which an offense of retail theft
  197         constitutes a felony of the second degree; requiring
  198         the OPPAGA to conduct a study of the threshold amounts
  199         every five years; providing the scope of the study;
  200         requiring the OPPAGA to make recommendations, if
  201         appropriate; requiring the OPPAGA to consult with the
  202         EDR and other interested entities; requiring the
  203         OPPAGA to submit a report to the Governor, President
  204         of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of
  205         Representatives by September 1 of every fifth year;
  206         amending s. 921.0022, F.S.;