HB 0493 2004
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to service of process; amending s. 48.031,
3	F.S.; deleting the requirement to use certified mail in
4	service of a subpoena on a witness in specified types of
5	cases; allowing the posting of a criminal witness subpoena
6	under specified conditions; requiring the placement of
7	certain information on the copy of the process served;
8	requiring that process servers be admitted to gated
9	communities; providing for alternative methods of service
10	under certain circumstances; amending s. 48.081, F.S.;
11	providing alternative methods of service on a corporation;
12	amending s. 48.21, F.S.; requiring servers of process to
13	provide certain information on the return of service;
14	amending s. 48.29, F.S.; deleting the requirement that
15	certified process servers provide certain information on
16	the face of any process served; amending s. 83.13, F.S.;
17	requiring the party who had a distress writ issued to
18	deliver the writ to a sheriff in another county under
19	certain circumstances; providing an effective date.
20
21	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23	Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 48.031, Florida
24	Statutes, is amended, and subsections (5), (6), and (7) are
25	added to said section, to read:
26	48.031 Service of process generally; service of witness
27	subpoenas.--
28	(3)(a)The service of process of witness subpoenas,
29	whether in criminal cases or civil actions, shall is tobe made
30	as provided in subsection (1). However, service of a subpoena on
31	a witness in a criminal traffic case, a misdemeanor case, or a
32	second degree or third degree felony may be made by certified
33	United States mail directed to the witness at the last known
34	address, and the suchservice must be mailed at least 7 days
35	prior to the date of the witness's required appearance.
36	(b) After three attempts have been made at different times
37	of the day or night to serve a criminal witness subpoena at the
38	witness's residence, a criminal witness subpoena may be posted
39	at a conspicuous location at the witness's residence. The
40	posting must be done at least 5 days before the date of the
41	witness's required appearance.
42	(5) On all service of process, the person effecting
43	service shall place on the copy served the date and time of
44	service and his or her identification number and initials.
45	(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person
46	authorized to serve process shall be granted access to a gated
47	community for the purpose of performing lawful service of
48	process. When the gated community is staffed by a guard or other
49	security personnel, the person authorized to serve process shall
50	advise the guard of the person or persons to be served and show
51	current authorization to serve process. Such authorization may
52	include:
53	(a) A law enforcement badge;
54	(b) Photo identification showing current registration as a
55	process server; or
56	(c) A copy of a court order along with photo
57	identification.
58	(7) When the only address available through public records
59	of the person or business to be served is a private mailbox, and
60	the person serving process has otherwise made a reasonable
61	investigation as to the location of the person to be served,
62	substitute service may be made by leaving a copy of the process
63	with the person apparently in charge of the private mailbox,
64	only after determining that the person or business to be served
65	maintains a mailbox at that location.
66	Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 48.081, Florida
67	Statutes, is amended to read:
68	48.081 Service on corporation.--
69	(3)(a)As an alternative to all of the foregoing, process
70	may be served on the agent designated by the corporation under
71	s. 48.091. However, if service cannot be made on a registered
72	agent because of failure to comply with s. 48.091, service of
73	process shall be permitted on any employee at the corporation's
74	principal place of business or on any employee of the registered
75	agent.
76	(b) When the address provided for the registered agent,
77	officer, director, or principal place of business is a residence
78	or private mailbox, service on the corporation may be made by
79	serving the registered agent, officer, or director in accordance
80	with s. 48.031.
81	Section 3. Section 48.21, Florida Statutes, is amended to
82	read:
83	48.21 Return of execution of process.--All persons who
84	effect service of process officers to whom process is directed
85	shall note on it, oron a return-of-service form attached
86	thereto, the date and time when it comes to hand, the date and
87	time when it is served executed, the manner of service
88	execution, the name of the person on whom it was served executed
89	and if such person is served in a representative capacity, the
90	position occupied by the person. A failure to state the
91	foregoing facts invalidates the service, but the return is
92	amendable to state the truth at any time on application to the
93	court from which the process issued. On amendment, service is as
94	effective as if the return had originally stated the omitted
95	facts. A failure to state all the facts in the return shall
96	subject the person effecting service officer so failingto a
97	fine not exceeding $10, in the court's discretion.
98	Section 4. Subsection (6) of section 48.29, Florida
99	Statutes, is amended to read:
100	48.29 Certification of process servers.--
101	(6)(a) A certified process server shall place on the face
102	of any process served by him or her, his or her printed name,
103	signature, and identification number, and words stating that he
104	or she is a certified process server in the circuit wherein he
105	or she is serving the process. In addition, the certified
106	process server shall endorse on the original process, and on all
107	copies served, the date and hour of service.
108	(b)Return of service shall be made by a certified process
109	server on a form which has been reviewed and approved by the
110	court.
111	Section 5. Section 83.13, Florida Statutes, is amended to
112	read:
113	83.13 Levy of writ.--The sheriff shall execute the writ by
114	service on defendant and, upon the order of the court, by levy
115	on property distrainable for rent or advances, if found in the
116	sheriff's jurisdiction. If the property is not sofound but is
117	in another jurisdiction, the party who had the writ issued
118	sheriffshall deliver the writ to the proper sheriff in the
119	other jurisdiction; and the other sheriff shall execute the
120	writ, upon order of the court, by levying on the property and
121	delivering it to the sheriff of the county in which the action
122	is pending, to be disposed of according to law, unless he or she
123	is ordered by the court from which the writ emanated to hold the
124	property and dispose of it in his or her jurisdiction according
125	to law. If the plaintiff shows by a sworn statement that the
126	defendant cannot be found within the state, the levy on the
127	property suffices as service on the defendant.
128	Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.