House Bill hb1447

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 1447

        By Representative Harrell






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to assault; amending s. 784.07,

  3         F.S.; defining the term "medical care

  4         provider"; deleting reference to "emergency

  5         medical care provider"; amending s. 435.04,

  6         F.S., to conform; amending s. 901.15, F.S.;

  7         authorizing a law enforcement officer to make

  8         an arrest without a warrant when there is

  9         probable cause to believe that the person has

10         committed assault upon a law enforcement

11         officer, a firefighter, a medical care

12         provider, public transit employees or agents,

13         or certain other officers; providing an

14         effective date.

15

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

17

18         Section 1.  Section 784.07, Florida Statutes, is

19  amended to read:

20         784.07  Assault or battery of law enforcement officers,

21  firefighters, emergency medical care providers, public transit

22  employees or agents, or other specified officers;

23  reclassification of offenses; minimum sentences.--

24         (1)  As used in this section, the term:

25         (a)  "Law enforcement officer" includes a law

26  enforcement officer, a correctional officer, a correctional

27  probation officer, a part-time law enforcement officer, a

28  part-time correctional officer, an auxiliary law enforcement

29  officer, and an auxiliary correctional officer, as those terms

30  are respectively defined in s. 943.10, and any county

31  probation officer; employee or agent of the Department of

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 1447

    767-125-02






  1  Corrections who supervises or provides services to inmates;

  2  officer of the Parole Commission; and law enforcement

  3  personnel of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,

  4  the Department of Environmental Protection, or the Department

  5  of Law Enforcement.

  6         (b)  "Firefighter" means any person employed by any

  7  public employer of this state whose duty it is to extinguish

  8  fires; to protect life or property; or to enforce municipal,

  9  county, and state fire prevention codes, as well as any law

10  pertaining to the prevention and control of fires.

11         (c)  "Emergency Medical care provider" means an

12  ambulance driver, emergency medical technician, paramedic,

13  registered nurse, physician as defined in s. 401.23, medical

14  director as defined in s. 401.23, or any person authorized by

15  an emergency medical service licensed under chapter 401 who is

16  engaged in the performance of his or her duties. The term

17  "emergency medical care provider" also includes physicians,

18  employees, agents, or volunteers of hospitals as defined in

19  chapter 395, facilities as defined in chapter 394, and

20  licensed service providers as defined in chapter 397, who are

21  employed, under contract, or otherwise authorized by a

22  hospital, facility, or licensed service provider to perform

23  duties directly associated with the care and treatment

24  rendered by the medical providers listed in this paragraph

25  hospital's emergency department or the security thereof.

26         (d)  "Public transit employees or agents" means bus

27  operators, train operators, revenue collectors, security

28  personnel, equipment maintenance personnel, or field

29  supervisors, who are employees or agents of a transit agency

30  as described in s. 812.015(1)(l).

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 1447

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  1         (2)  Whenever any person is charged with knowingly

  2  committing an assault or battery upon a law enforcement

  3  officer, a firefighter, a an emergency medical care provider,

  4  a traffic accident investigation officer as described in s.

  5  316.640, a traffic infraction enforcement officer as described

  6  in s. 316.640, a parking enforcement specialist as defined in

  7  s. 316.640, or a security officer employed by the board of

  8  trustees of a community college, while the officer,

  9  firefighter, emergency medical care provider, intake officer,

10  traffic accident investigation officer, traffic infraction

11  enforcement officer, parking enforcement specialist, public

12  transit employee or agent, or security officer is engaged in

13  the lawful performance of his or her duties, the offense for

14  which the person is charged shall be reclassified as follows:

15         (a)  In the case of assault, from a misdemeanor of the

16  second degree to a misdemeanor of the first degree.

17         (b)  In the case of battery, from a misdemeanor of the

18  first degree to a felony of the third degree.

19         (c)  In the case of aggravated assault, from a felony

20  of the third degree to a felony of the second degree.

21  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person

22  convicted of aggravated assault upon a law enforcement officer

23  shall be sentenced to a minimum term of imprisonment of 3

24  years.

25         (d)  In the case of aggravated battery, from a felony

26  of the second degree to a felony of the first degree.

27  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person

28  convicted of aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer

29  shall be sentenced to a minimum term of imprisonment of 5

30  years.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 1447

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  1         (3)  Any person who is convicted of a battery under

  2  paragraph (2)(b) and, during the commission of the offense,

  3  such person possessed:

  4         (a)  A "firearm" or "destructive device" as those terms

  5  are defined in s. 790.001, shall be sentenced to a minimum

  6  term of imprisonment of 3 years.

  7         (b)  A semiautomatic firearm and its high-capacity

  8  detachable box magazine, as defined in s. 775.087(3), or a

  9  machine gun as defined in s. 790.001, shall be sentenced to a

10  minimum term of imprisonment of 8 years.

11

12  Notwithstanding s. 948.01, adjudication of guilt or imposition

13  of sentence shall not be suspended, deferred, or withheld, and

14  the defendant is not eligible for statutory gain-time under s.

15  944.275 or any form of discretionary early release, other than

16  pardon or executive clemency, or conditional medical release

17  under s. 947.149, prior to serving the minimum sentence.

18         Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section

19  435.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

20         435.04  Level 2 screening standards.--

21         (3)  The security background investigations conducted

22  under this section for employees of the Department of Juvenile

23  Justice must ensure that no persons subject to the provisions

24  of this section have been found guilty of, regardless of

25  adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty

26  to, any offense prohibited under any of the following

27  provisions of the Florida Statutes or under any similar

28  statute of another jurisdiction:

29         (a)  Section 784.07, relating to assault or battery of

30  law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical care

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 1447

    767-125-02






  1  providers, public transit employees or agents, or other

  2  specified officers.

  3

  4  The Department of Juvenile Justice may not remove a

  5  disqualification from employment or grant an exemption to any

  6  person who is disqualified under this section for any offense

  7  disposed of during the most recent 7-year period.

  8         Section 3.  Subsection (16) is added to section 901.15,

  9  Florida Statutes, to read:

10         901.15  When arrest by officer without warrant is

11  lawful.--A law enforcement officer may arrest a person without

12  a warrant when:

13         (16)  There is probable cause to believe that the

14  person has committed assault upon a law enforcement officer, a

15  firefighter, a medical care provider, public transit employees

16  or agents, or other specified officers as set forth in s.

17  784.07.

18         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

19

20            *****************************************

21                          HOUSE SUMMARY

22
      Authorizes a law enforcement officer to arrest a person
23    without a warrant when there is probable cause to believe
      that the person has committed assault upon a law
24    enforcement officer, a firefighter, a medical care
      provider, public transit employees or agents, or other
25    described officers. See bill for details.

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