House Bill 0069

    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                  HB 69

        By Representatives Diaz de la Portilla, Prieguez and Rojas






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to criminal liability for

  3         failure to report a crime; creating s. 877.31,

  4         F.S.; requiring that a person who knows that a

  5         crime is being committed must report the crime

  6         to a law enforcement officer, under specified

  7         circumstances if the crime exposes the victim

  8         to bodily injury; providing penalties;

  9         providing for construction; providing an

10         effective date.

11

12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

13

14         Section 1.  Section 877.31, Florida Statutes, is

15  created to read:

16         877.31  Legal duty to report a crime exposing the

17  victim to bodily injury; penalties for failure to report;

18  construction.--

19         (1)  A person who knows that a crime which exposes the

20  victim to bodily injury is being committed must report the

21  crime to a law enforcement officer as soon as it is reasonably

22  practicable, to the extent that report can be made without

23  danger to the person reporting or to another person. Any

24  person who violates this subsection commits a misdemeanor of

25  the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.

26  775.083.

27         (2)  This section may not be construed to apply to a

28  person either who is prosecuted as a principal in the first

29  degree or an accessory after the fact to an offense, or who is

30  prosecuted for attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit

31  an offense, when the prosecuted offense has occurred in the

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                  HB 69

    553-141-99






  1  course of the same criminal conduct, transaction, or episode

  2  as the criminal offense which exposes the victim to bodily

  3  injury.

  4         Section 2.  This act shall take effect October 1, 1999.

  5

  6            *****************************************

  7                          HOUSE SUMMARY

  8
      Requires a person who knows that a crime is being
  9    committed to report the crime to a law enforcement
      officer, under specified circumstances when the crime
10    exposes the victim to bodily injury. Provides criminal
      penalties for failure to make the report. Provides for
11    construction.

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  2