Senate Bill sb0678

    Florida Senate - 2004                                   SB 678

    By Senator Smith





    14-752-04                                           See HB 123

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to assault or battery on

  3         officials; amending s. 784.081, F.S.; providing

  4         enhanced penalties for the offense of assault,

  5         battery, aggravated assault, or aggravated

  6         battery if the offense is committed upon

  7         certain persons officiating at an

  8         interscholastic activity; creating s. 784.0815,

  9         F.S.; defining "sports official"; providing an

10         additional penalty for battery upon a sports

11         official under certain circumstances; providing

12         an effective date.

13  

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

15  

16         Section 1.  Section 784.081, Florida Statutes, is

17  amended to read:

18         784.081  Assault or battery on specified officials or

19  employees; reclassification of offenses.--Whenever a person is

20  charged with committing an assault or aggravated assault or a

21  battery or aggravated battery upon any elected official or

22  employee of: a school district; a private school; the Florida

23  School for the Deaf and the Blind; a university developmental

24  research school; a state university or any other entity of the

25  state system of public education, as defined in s. 1000.04; an

26  interscholastic sports official, as defined in s.

27  440.02(15)(d)11.; an employee or protective investigator of

28  the Department of Children and Family Services; or an employee

29  of a lead community-based provider and its direct service

30  contract providers, when the person committing the offense

31  knows or has reason to know the identity or position or

                                  1

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






    Florida Senate - 2004                                   SB 678
    14-752-04                                           See HB 123




 1  employment of the victim, the offense for which the person is

 2  charged shall be reclassified as follows:

 3         (1)  In the case of aggravated battery, from a felony

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

 5         (2)  In the case of aggravated assault, from a felony

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

 7         (3)  In the case of battery, from a misdemeanor of the

 8  first degree to a felony of the third degree.

 9         (4)  In the case of assault, from a misdemeanor of the

10  second degree to a misdemeanor of the first degree.

11         Section 2.  Section 784.0815, Florida Statutes, is

12  created to read:

13         784.0815  Assault on sports official; definition;

14  additional penalty.--

15         (1)  For the purposes of this section, the term "sports

16  official" means any person who serves as a referee, an umpire,

17  or a linesman and any person who serves in a similar capacity

18  as a sports official who may be known by another title, which

19  sports official is duly registered by or is a member of a

20  local, state, regional, or national organization that is

21  engaged in part in providing education and training to sports

22  officials.

23         (2)  In addition to any other penalty provided by law,

24  any person who batters a sports official, at any level of

25  competition, within the immediate confines or immediate

26  vicinity of the athletic facility at which the athletic

27  contest in which the sports official is an active participant

28  commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable by a

29  fine of not more than $10,000 and a term of imprisonment of

30  not more than 3 years.

31         Section 3.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2004.

                                  2

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