Florida Senate - 2023                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 174
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì645290'Î645290                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/04/2023           .                                
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       The Committee on Criminal Justice (Polsky) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 836.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    6  read:
    7         836.12 Threats or harassment.—
    8         (1) As used in this section, the term:
    9         (a) “Family member” means:
   10         1. An individual related to another individual by blood or
   11  marriage; or
   12         2. An individual who stands in loco parentis to another
   13  individual.
   14         (b) “Judicial assistant” means a court employee assigned to
   15  the office of a specific judge or justice responsible for
   16  providing administrative, secretarial, and clerical support to
   17  the assigned judge or justice.
   18         (c)(b) “Law enforcement officer” means:
   19         1. A law enforcement officer as defined in s. 943.10; or
   20         2. A federal law enforcement officer as defined in s.
   21  901.1505.
   22         (2)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), any person who
   23  knowingly and willfully threatens a law enforcement officer, a
   24  state attorney, an assistant state attorney, a firefighter, a
   25  judge, a justice, a judicial assistant, or an elected official,
   26  or a family member of any such person persons, with death or
   27  serious bodily harm commits a misdemeanor of the first degree,
   28  punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   29         (b)(3) A person who commits a second or subsequent
   30  violation of paragraph (a) subsection (2) commits a felony of
   31  the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s.
   32  775.083, or s. 775.084.
   33         (3) Any person who knowingly and willfully harasses a law
   34  enforcement officer, a state attorney, an assistant state
   35  attorney, a firefighter, a judge, a justice, a judicial
   36  assistant, or an elected official, with the intent to intimidate
   37  or coerce such a person to perform or refrain from performing a
   38  lawful duty, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree,
   39  punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   40         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2023.
   41  
   42  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   43  And the title is amended as follows:
   44         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   45  and insert:
   46                        A bill to be entitled                      
   47         An act relating to protection of specified personnel;
   48         amending s. 836.12, F.S.; defining the term “judicial
   49         assistant”; providing that threats committed with
   50         specified intent are specified violations of the act;
   51         prohibiting specified threats against a justice or
   52         judicial assistant or a family member of such person;
   53         prohibiting specified harassment of certain personnel
   54         with the intent to intimidate or coerce such person to
   55         perform or refrain from performing a lawful duty;
   56         providing criminal penalties; providing an effective
   57         date.