| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Freedom to Worship Safely Act; |
| 3 | providing a popular name; creating s. 775.0861, F.S.; |
| 4 | providing definitions; providing for the upgrading of the |
| 5 | degree of an offense that involves the use or threat of |
| 6 | physical force or violence if the offense is committed on |
| 7 | the property of a religious institution while the victim |
| 8 | is on the property for the purpose of participating in or |
| 9 | attending a religious service; providing for severity |
| 10 | ranking of offenses; amending s. 921.0022, F.S.; providing |
| 11 | for application of the severity ranking chart of the |
| 12 | Criminal Punishment Code; providing applicability; |
| 13 | providing an effective date. |
| 14 |
|
| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
|
| 17 | Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Freedom to |
| 18 | Worship Safely Act." |
| 19 | Section 2. Section 775.0861, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 20 | to read: |
| 21 | 775.0861 Offenses against persons on the grounds of |
| 22 | religious institutions; reclassification.-- |
| 23 | (1) For purposes of this section, the term: |
| 24 | (a) "Religious institution" is as defined in s. 496.404. |
| 25 | (b) "Religious service" is a religious ceremony, prayer, |
| 26 | or other activity according to a form and order prescribed for |
| 27 | worship, including a service related to a particular occasion. |
| 28 | (2) The felony or misdemeanor degree of any violation of: |
| 29 | (a) Section 784.011, relating to assault; |
| 30 | (b) Section 784.021, relating to aggravated assault; |
| 31 | (c) Section 784.03, relating to battery; |
| 32 | (d) Section 784.041, relating to felony battery; |
| 33 | (e) A statute defining any offense listed in s. |
| 34 | 775.084(1)(b)1.; or |
| 35 | (f) Any other statute defining an offense that involves |
| 36 | the use or threat of physical force or violence against any |
| 37 | individual |
| 38 |
|
| 39 | shall be reclassified as provided in this section if the offense |
| 40 | is committed on the property of a religious institution while |
| 41 | the victim is on the property for the purpose of participating |
| 42 | in or attending a religious service. |
| 43 | (3)(a) In the case of a misdemeanor of the second degree, |
| 44 | the offense is reclassified to a misdemeanor of the first |
| 45 | degree. |
| 46 | (b) In the case of a misdemeanor of the first degree, the |
| 47 | offense is reclassified to a felony of the third degree. For |
| 48 | purposes of sentencing under chapter 921, such offense is ranked |
| 49 | in level 2 of the offense severity ranking chart. |
| 50 | (c) In the case of a felony of the third degree, the |
| 51 | offense is reclassified to a felony of the second degree. |
| 52 | (d) In the case of a felony of the second degree, the |
| 53 | offense is reclassified to a felony of the first degree. |
| 54 | (e) In the case of a felony of the first degree, the |
| 55 | offense is reclassified to a life felony. |
| 56 |
|
| 57 | For purposes of sentencing under chapter 921 and determining |
| 58 | incentive gain-time eligibility under chapter 944, a felony |
| 59 | offense that is reclassified under this subsection is ranked one |
| 60 | level above the ranking under s. 921.0022 or s. 921.0023 of the |
| 61 | offense committed. |
| 62 | Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 921.0022, Florida |
| 63 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 64 | 921.0022 Criminal Punishment Code; offense severity |
| 65 | ranking chart.-- |
| 66 | (2) The offense severity ranking chart has 10 offense |
| 67 | levels, ranked from least severe, which are level 1 offenses, to |
| 68 | most severe, which are level 10 offenses, and each felony |
| 69 | offense is assigned to a level according to the severity of the |
| 70 | offense. For purposes of determining which felony offenses are |
| 71 | specifically listed in the offense severity ranking chart and |
| 72 | which severity level has been assigned to each of these |
| 73 | offenses, the numerical statutory references in the left column |
| 74 | of the chart and the felony degree designations in the middle |
| 75 | column of the chart are controlling; the language in the right |
| 76 | column of the chart is provided solely for descriptive purposes. |
| 77 | Reclassification of the degree of the felony through the |
| 78 | application of s. 775.0845, s. 775.0861, s. 775.087, s. |
| 79 | 775.0875, s. 794.023, or any other law that provides an enhanced |
| 80 | penalty for a felony offense, to any offense listed in the |
| 81 | offense severity ranking chart in this section shall not cause |
| 82 | the offense to become unlisted and is not subject to the |
| 83 | provisions of s. 921.0023. |
| 84 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005, and |
| 85 | shall apply to offenses committed on or after that date. |