Senate Bill sb0400c1

    Florida Senate - 2001                            CS for SB 400

    By the Committee on Children and Families; and Senators Horne,
    Campbell, Mitchell, Sanderson, Sullivan, Smith, Burt, Bronson
    and Peaden



    300-1488-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the support owed to a child

  3         or spouse; amending s. 827.06, F.S.;

  4         prescribing the elements of misdemeanor

  5         nonsupport of a child or spouse; prescribing

  6         the elements of felony nonsupport of a child or

  7         spouse; providing penalties; providing

  8         evidentiary standards; providing that a court

  9         order constitutes notice; providing an

10         effective date.

11

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

13

14         Section 1.  Section 827.06, Florida Statutes, is

15  amended to read:

16         827.06  Persistent nonsupport.--

17         (1)  Any person who, after notice, fails to provide

18  support which he or she is able to provide to a child children

19  or a spouse whom the person knows he or she is legally

20  obligated to support commits, and over whom no court has

21  jurisdiction in any proceedings for child support or

22  dissolution of marriage, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of

23  the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.

24  775.083.

25         (2)  Any person who, after notice, fails to provide

26  support to a child or a spouse whom the person is legally

27  obligated to support and who has owed to that child or spouse

28  for more than 1 year support in an amount equal to or greater

29  than $5,000 commits a felony of the third degree, punishable

30  as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Prior to commencing

31  prosecution under this section, the state attorney must advise

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






    Florida Senate - 2001                            CS for SB 400
    300-1488-01




  1  the person responsible for support by certified mail, return

  2  receipt requested, that a prosecution under this section will

  3  be commenced against him or her unless the person makes such

  4  delinquent support payments or provides a satisfactory

  5  explanation as to why he or she has not made such payments.

  6         (3)(a)  Evidence that the defendant failed to make

  7  sufficient bona fide efforts to legally acquire the resources

  8  to pay court-ordered support is sufficient to prove that he or

  9  she had the ability to pay but willfully refused to do so, in

10  violation of this section.

11         (b)  The element of notice is satisfied if a court, in

12  an adversarial proceeding, has entered an order that obligates

13  the person to provide the support.

14         Section 2.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2001.

15

16          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
17                         Senate Bill 400

18

19  Removes the prerequisites of ability to pay and knowledge of
    the child support obligation for the misdemeanor and felony
20  charge.

21  Adds the requirement of a notice in order for a felony to have
    been committed.
22
    Provides that the standard for determining a person's ability
23  but willful refusal to pay child support is failure to make
    efforts to acquire the resources to pay the support.
24
    Provides that the court order obligating the person to pay the
25  support constitutes "notice" for the purpose of determining
    when a felony has been committed.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.