House Bill 0069c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 1999               CS/HB 69

        By the Committee on Law Enforcement & Crime Prevention and
    Representatives Diaz de la Portilla, Prieguez, Rojas, Fasano
    and Crist




  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 serious bodily injury; providing penalties;

  9         providing for construction; providing an

10         effective date.

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

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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 serious bodily injury; penalties for failure to

18  report; construction.--

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

20  victim to serious bodily injury is being committed must report

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

22  reasonably practicable, to the extent that report can be made

23  without danger to the person reporting or to another person.

24  Any person who violates this subsection commits a misdemeanor

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

26  s. 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

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999               CS/HB 69

    604-139-99






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

  2  as the criminal offense which exposes the victim to serious

  3  bodily injury.

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

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  7                          HOUSE SUMMARY

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      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 serious bodily injury. Provides
      criminal penalties for failure to make the report.
11    Provides for construction.

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