Senate Bill sb1580c1

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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1580

    By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Villalobos





    307-1987-02

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to criminal mischief; amending

  3         s. 806.13, F.S.; requiring a person or minor

  4         who commits criminal mischief to pay additional

  5         fines and perform community service; providing

  6         for the parent or legal guardian of a minor to

  7         be liable for payment of a fine; authorizing

  8         the court to decline to order payment of a fine

  9         if the court finds that the person subject to

10         payment of the fine is indigent; providing an

11         effective date.

12

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

14

15         Section 1.  Section 806.13, Florida Statutes, is

16  amended to read:

17         806.13  Criminal mischief; penalties; penalty for

18  minor.--

19         (1)(a)  A person commits the offense of criminal

20  mischief if he or she willfully and maliciously injures or

21  damages by any means any real or personal property belonging

22  to another, including, but not limited to, the placement of

23  graffiti thereon or other acts of vandalism thereto.

24         (b)1.  If the damage to such property is $200 or less,

25  it is a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as

26  provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

27         2.  If the damage to such property is greater than $200

28  but less than $1,000, it is a misdemeanor of the first degree,

29  punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

30         3.  If the damage is $1,000 or greater, or if there is

31  interruption or impairment of a business operation or public

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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1580
    307-1987-02




  1  communication, transportation, supply of water, gas or power,

  2  or other public service which costs $1,000 or more in labor

  3  and supplies to restore, it is a felony of the third degree,

  4  punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s.

  5  775.084.

  6         4.  If the person has one or more previous convictions

  7  for violating this subsection, the offense under subparagraph

  8  1. or subparagraph 2. for which the person is charged shall be

  9  reclassified as a felony of the third degree, punishable as

10  provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

11         (2)  Any person who willfully and maliciously defaces,

12  injures, or damages by any means any church, synagogue,

13  mosque, or other place of worship, or any religious article

14  contained therein, commits is guilty of a felony of the third

15  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or

16  s. 775.084, if the damage to the property is greater than

17  $200.

18         (3)  Whoever, without the consent of the owner thereof,

19  willfully destroys or substantially damages any public

20  telephone, or telephone cables, wires, fixtures, antennas,

21  amplifiers, or any other apparatus, equipment, or appliances,

22  which destruction or damage renders a public telephone

23  inoperative or which opens the body of a public telephone,

24  commits is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable

25  as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084;

26  provided, however, that a conspicuous notice of the provisions

27  of this subsection and the penalties provided is posted on or

28  near the destroyed or damaged instrument and visible to the

29  public at the time of the commission of the offense.

30         (4)  Any person who willfully and maliciously defaces,

31  injures, or damages by any means a sexually violent predator

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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1580
    307-1987-02




  1  detention or commitment facility, as defined in part V of

  2  chapter 394, or any property contained therein, commits is

  3  guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided

  4  in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the damage to

  5  property is greater than $200.

  6         (5)(a)  The amounts of value of damage to property

  7  owned by separate persons, if the property was damaged during

  8  one scheme or course or conduct, may be aggregated in

  9  determining the grade of the offense under this section.

10         (b)  Any person who violates this section may, in

11  addition to any other criminal penalty, be required to pay for

12  the damages caused by such offense.

13         (6)(a)  Any person convicted under this section for an

14  offense that is related to the placement of graffiti shall be

15  punished by a fine of:

16         1.  Not less than $250 for a first conviction.

17         2.  Not less than $500 for a second conviction.

18         3.  Not less than $1,000 for a third or subsequent

19  conviction.

20         (b)  Any person convicted under this section for an

21  offense that is related to the placement of graffiti shall be

22  required to perform at least 40 hours of community service

23  and, if possible, perform at least 100 hours of community

24  service that involves the removal of graffiti.

25         (c)  If a minor commits a delinquent act prohibited

26  under paragraph (a), the parent or legal guardian of the minor

27  is liable along with the minor for payment of the fine. The

28  court may decline to order a person to pay a fine under

29  paragraph (a) if the court finds that the person is indigent

30  and does not have the ability to pay the fine.

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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1580
    307-1987-02




  1         (7)(6)  In addition to any other penalty provided by

  2  law, if a minor is found to have committed a delinquent act

  3  under this section for placing graffiti on any public property

  4  or private property, and:

  5         (a)  The minor is eligible by reason of age for a

  6  driver's license or driving privilege, the court shall direct

  7  the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to revoke

  8  or withhold issuance of the minor's driver's license or

  9  driving privilege for not more than 1 year.

10         (b)  The minor's driver's license or driving privilege

11  is under suspension or revocation for any reason, the court

12  shall direct the Department of Highway Safety and Motor

13  Vehicles to extend the period of suspension or revocation by

14  an additional period of not more than 1 year.

15         (c)  The minor is ineligible by reason of age for a

16  driver's license or driving privilege, the court shall direct

17  the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to

18  withhold issuance of the minor's driver's license or driving

19  privilege for not more than 1 year after the date on which he

20  or she would otherwise have become eligible.

21         (8)(7)  A minor whose driver's license or driving

22  privilege is revoked, suspended, or withheld under subsection

23  (7) (5) may elect to reduce the period of revocation,

24  suspension, or withholding by performing community service at

25  the rate of 1 day for each hour of community service

26  performed.  In addition, if the court determines that due to a

27  family hardship, the minor's driver's license or driving

28  privilege is necessary for employment or medical purposes of

29  the minor or a member of the minor's family, the court shall

30  order the minor to perform community service and reduce the

31  period of revocation, suspension, or withholding at the rate

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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1580
    307-1987-02




  1  of 1 day for each hour of community service performed.  As

  2  used in this subsection, the term "community service" means

  3  cleaning graffiti from public property.

  4         (9)(8)  Because of the difficulty of confronting the

  5  blight of graffiti, it is the intent of the Legislature that

  6  municipalities and counties not be preempted by state law from

  7  establishing ordinances that prohibit the marking of graffiti

  8  or other graffiti-related offenses.  Furthermore, as related

  9  to graffiti, such municipalities and counties are not

10  preempted by state law from establishing higher penalties than

11  those provided by state law and mandatory penalties when state

12  law provides discretionary penalties.  Such higher and

13  mandatory penalties include fines that do not exceed the

14  amount specified in ss. 125.69 and 162.21, community service,

15  restitution, and forfeiture.  Upon a finding that a juvenile

16  has violated a graffiti-related ordinance, a court acting

17  under chapter 985 may not provide a disposition of the case

18  which is less severe than any mandatory penalty prescribed by

19  municipal or county ordinance for such violation.

20         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

21

22          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
23                         Senate Bill 1580

24

25  -     The CS clarifies that the minimum fines and community
          service provided for in the bill are required only in
26        graffiti-related criminal mischief cases.

27  -     The CS restores deleted language which authorizes
          municipalities and counties to establish penalties more
28        severe than those provided by state law in criminal
          mischief cases and requires the court, in juvenile
29        delinquency cases, to hand down the more severe penalty.

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