Florida Senate - 2015                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 378
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì483030hÎ483030                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  03/26/2015           .                                
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       The Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs (Garcia)
       recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 34 - 68
    4  and insert:
    5  around the state. Each county in Florida shall create a civil
    6  citation program or similar diversion program. The civil
    7  citation or similar diversion program shall be established at
    8  the local level with the concurrence of the chief judge of the
    9  circuit, state attorney, public defender, and the head of each
   10  local law enforcement agency involved. The program may be
   11  operated by an entity such as a law enforcement agency, the
   12  department, a juvenile assessment center, the county or
   13  municipality, or another some other entity selected by the
   14  county or municipality. An entity operating the civil citation
   15  or similar diversion program must do so in consultation and
   16  agreement with the state attorney and local law enforcement
   17  agencies. Under such a juvenile civil citation or similar
   18  diversion program, a any law enforcement officer, upon making
   19  contact with a juvenile who admits having committed a
   20  misdemeanor, may choose to issue a simple warning or inform the
   21  child’s guardian or parent of the child’s infraction, or may
   22  issue a civil citation or require participation in a similar
   23  diversion program, and assess up to not more than 50 community
   24  service hours, and require participation in intervention
   25  services as indicated by an assessment of the needs of the
   26  juvenile, including family counseling, urinalysis monitoring,
   27  and substance abuse and mental health treatment services. A copy
   28  of each citation issued under this section shall be provided to
   29  the department, and the department shall enter appropriate
   30  information into the juvenile offender information system. Use
   31  of the civil citation or similar diversion program is not
   32  limited to first-time misdemeanors and may be used in a second
   33  or subsequent misdemeanor. A local law enforcement officer may
   34  make an arrest for a first-time misdemeanor with the concurrence
   35  of his or her supervisor if the arresting officer provides
   36  written documentation as to why an arrest was warranted rather
   37  than a civil citation. Only first-time misdemeanor offenders are
   38  eligible for the civil citation or similar diversion program. At
   39  the conclusion of a juvenile’s civil citation program or similar
   40  diversion program, the agency operating the program shall report
   41  the outcome to the department. The issuance of a civil citation
   42  is not considered a referral to the department.
   43         (a) A local civil citation program, or similar diversion
   44  program, must divert at least 80 percent of all juveniles who
   45  commit first-time misdemeanors, excluding the following
   46  offenses:
   47         1.A misdemeanor involving the possession or use of a
   48  firearm.
   49         2.A misdemeanor involving exposure of sexual organs or
   50  other related sexual behavior, including, but not limited to,
   51  prostitution or lewd and lascivious behavior.
   52         3.A misdemeanor that is directly related to, or a part of,
   53  gang activity.
   54         (b) If a local program fails to divert 80 percent of first
   55  time misdemeanor offenders into a civil citation or similar
   56  diversion program, local authorities shall notify the
   57  department, who shall issue recommendations to the local
   58  authorities on how to increase the percentage of civil citations
   59  or diversions for juveniles.
   60         (c)The department shall submit a report annually to the
   61  President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
   62  Representatives detailing local programs which are below the 80
   63  percent threshold.
   64  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   65  And the title is amended as follows:
   66         Delete lines 3 - 14
   67  and insert:
   68         985.12, F.S.; requiring each county in the state to
   69         create a civil citation or similar diversion program;
   70         authorizing a law enforcement officer to issue a
   71         warning to a juvenile who admits having committed a
   72         misdemeanor or to inform the child’s parent or
   73         guardian of the child’s infraction; allowing a law
   74         enforcement officer who does not exercise one of these
   75         options to issue a civil citation or require
   76         participation in a similar diversion program;
   77         providing that repeat misdemeanor offenders may
   78         participate in the civil citation program or a similar
   79         diversion program under certain circumstances;
   80         authorizing a local law enforcement officer to make an
   81         arrest under certain conditions and circumstances;
   82         requiring that a certain percentage of juveniles be
   83         diverted into a civil citation program; providing
   84         exceptions; requiring the Department of Juvenile
   85         Justice to submit an annual report to the Legislature;
   86         reenacting ss.