Senate Bill sb0154c1

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 154

    By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Geller





    590-1896-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the parent-child privilege;

  3         creating s. 90.5045, F.S.; creating a

  4         parent-child privilege to prevent disclosure of

  5         communications that were intended to be made in

  6         confidence; defining the term "parent";

  7         prescribing proceedings in which the privilege

  8         does not exist; providing for waiver of the

  9         privilege; requiring that a guardian ad litem

10         be appointed to represent a minor child prior

11         to the court's approving the child's waiver of

12         the privilege; providing an effective date.

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

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16         Section 1.  Section 90.5045, Florida Statutes, is

17  created to read:

18         90.5045  Parent-child privilege.--

19         (1)  Because of the family relationship that exists

20  between parents and their children, there is a privilege to

21  refuse to disclose, and to prevent another from disclosing,

22  communications that were intended to be made in confidence

23  between them.

24         (2)  The privilege may be claimed by either the child

25  or the parent, or by the guardian or conservator of the child

26  or parent. The authority of a child or the child's parent, or

27  guardian or conservator of the child or parent, to claim the

28  privilege is presumed in the absence of contrary evidence.

29         (3)  As used in this section, the term "parent" means a

30  woman who gives birth to a child or a man whose consent to the

31  adoption of the child would be required under s. 63.062(1). If

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 154
    590-1896-07




 1  a child has been legally adopted, the term "parent" means the

 2  adoptive mother or father of the child. The term does not

 3  include an individual whose parental relationship to the child

 4  has been legally terminated and does not include an alleged or

 5  prospective parent, unless the parental status falls within

 6  the terms of s. 39.503(1) or s. 63.062(1).

 7         (4)  There is no privilege under this section:

 8         (a)  In any proceeding brought by or on behalf of the

 9  child against the child's parent.

10         (b)  In any proceeding brought by or on behalf of the

11  child's parent against the child.

12         (c)  In a criminal proceeding in which the child is

13  charged with a crime committed at any time against the person

14  or property of the child's parent or the person or property of

15  any other child of the child's parent.

16         (d)  In a criminal proceeding in which the child's

17  parent is charged with a crime committed at any time against

18  the person or property of the child or the person or property

19  of a child of the child.

20         (e)  In any criminal or other governmental

21  investigation involving allegations of abuse, neglect,

22  abandonment, or nonsupport of a child by a parent of that

23  child.

24         (f)  In any criminal or other governmental

25  investigation involving allegations of sexual or physical

26  abuse of a parent by a child of that parent.

27         (g)  In any proceeding governed by the Florida Family

28  Law Rules of Procedure or the Florida Rules of Juvenile

29  Procedure.

30         (5)  This privilege may be waived if either the parent

31  or the child expressly consents to the disclosure of the

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 154
    590-1896-07




 1  communications. However, if the child has not reached the age

 2  of majority or been otherwise emancipated, the child's stated

 3  consent is invalid or ineffective unless it is approved by a

 4  court of competent jurisdiction. The court may approve such

 5  child's consent only after appointing a guardian ad litem to

 6  represent the child and after the guardian ad litem makes a

 7  recommendation to the court that the waiver of the privilege

 8  would be in the best interests of the child.

 9         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

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11          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
12                              SB 154

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14  The committee substitute differs from the underlying bill in
    that it no longer limits the application of the parent-child
15  privilege based on the age of a parent or child.

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