Florida Senate - 2009 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 236
Barcode 780206
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
03/04/2009 .
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The Committee on Judiciary (Haridopolos) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 812.14, Florida Statutes, is amended to
6 read:
7 812.14 Trespass and larceny with relation to utility
8 fixtures; theft of utility services.—
9 (1) As used in this section, “utility” includes any person,
10 firm, corporation, association, or political subdivision,
11 whether private, municipal, county, or cooperative, which is
12 engaged in the sale, generation, provision, or delivery of gas,
13 electricity, heat, water, oil, sewer service, telephone service,
14 telegraph service, radio service, or telecommunication service.
15 (2) It is unlawful to:
16 (a) Willfully alter, tamper with, injure, or knowingly
17 suffer to be injured any meter, meter seal, pipe, conduit, wire,
18 line, cable, transformer, amplifier, or other apparatus or
19 device belonging to a utility line service in such a manner as
20 to cause loss or damage or to prevent any meter installed for
21 registering electricity, gas, or water from registering the
22 quantity which otherwise would pass through the same; or to
23 alter the index or break the seal of any such meter; or in any
24 way to hinder or interfere with the proper action or just
25 registration of any such meter or device; or knowingly to use,
26 waste, or suffer the waste, by any means, of electricity or gas
27 or water passing through any such meter, wire, pipe, or fitting,
28 or other appliance or appurtenance connected with or belonging
29 to any such utility, after such meter, wire, pipe or fitting, or
30 other appliance or appurtenance has been tampered with, injured,
31 or altered.
32 (b) Make or cause to be made any connection with any wire,
33 main, service pipe or other pipes, appliance, or appurtenance in
34 such manner as to use, without the consent of the utility, any
35 service or any electricity, gas, or water, or to cause to be
36 supplied any service or electricity, gas, or water from a
37 utility to any person, firm, or corporation or any lamp, burner,
38 orifice, faucet, or other outlet whatsoever, without such
39 service being reported for payment or such electricity, gas, or
40 water passing through a meter provided by the utility and used
41 for measuring and registering the quantity of electricity, gas,
42 or water passing through the same.
43 (c) Use or receive the direct benefit from the use of a
44 utility knowing, or under such circumstances as would induce a
45 reasonable person to believe, that such direct benefits have
46 resulted from any tampering with, altering of, or injury to any
47 connection, wire, conductor, meter, pipe, conduit, line, cable,
48 transformer, amplifier, or other apparatus or device owned,
49 operated, or controlled by such utility, for the purpose of
50 avoiding payment.
51 (3) The presence on property in the actual possession of a
52 person of any device or alteration that which affects the
53 diversion or use of the services of a utility so as to avoid the
54 registration of such use by or on a meter installed by the
55 utility or so as to otherwise avoid the reporting of use of such
56 service for payment is shall be prima facie evidence of the
57 violation of this section by such person; however, this
58 presumption does shall not apply unless:
59 (a) The presence of such a device or alteration can be
60 attributed only to a deliberate act in furtherance of an intent
61 to avoid payment for utility services;
62 (b) The person charged has received the direct benefit of
63 the reduction of the cost of such utility services; and
64 (c) The customer or recipient of the utility services has
65 received the direct benefit of such utility service for at least
66 one full billing cycle.
67 (4) A rebuttable presumption of a person’s or entity’s
68 intent to violate paragraph (2)(b) exists if:
69 (a) A controlled substance and materials for manufacturing
70 the controlled substance intended for sale or distribution to
71 another were found in a structure or dwelling;
72 (b) Materials or equipment for manufacturing the controlled
73 substance have been in the structure or dwelling for at least 1
74 year;
75 (c) The dwelling or structure has been visibly modified to
76 accommodate the use of equipment to grow marijuana indoors,
77 including, but not limited to, the installation of equipment to
78 provide additional air conditioning, equipment to provide high
79 wattage lighting, or equipment for hydroponic cultivation; and
80 (d) The person or entity who owned, leased, or subleased
81 the structure or dwelling knew or should have known, through the
82 exercise of due diligence, of the presence of the controlled
83 substance and materials for manufacturing the controlled
84 substance in the structure or dwelling, regardless of whether
85 the person or entity was involved in the manufacture or sale of
86 the controlled substance or was in actual possession of the
87 structure or dwelling.
88 (5)(4) Any person who willfully violates paragraph (2)(a)
89 or paragraph (2)(c) commits this section shall be guilty of a
90 misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
91 775.082 or s. 775.083. Any person who willfully violates
92 paragraph (2)(b) commits a felony of the third degree,
93 punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
94 Prosecution of a violation of subsection (2) does not preclude
95 prosecution of theft under subsection (6) or s. 812.014.
96 (6) Theft of utility services for the purpose of
97 facilitating the manufacture of a controlled substance is a
98 felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s.
99 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
100 (7) It is prima facie evidence of a person's intent to
101 violate subsection (6) if:
102 (a) The person committed theft of utility services
103 resulting in a structure, as defined in s. 810.011, or a
104 dwelling, as defined in s. 810.011, receiving unauthorized
105 access to utility services;
106 (b) A controlled substance and materials for manufacturing
107 the controlled substance were found in the structure or
108 dwelling; and
109 (c) The person knew of the presence of the controlled
110 substance and materials for manufacturing the controlled
111 substance in the structure or dwelling, regardless of whether
112 the person was involved in the manufacture of the controlled
113 substance.
114 (8)(5) Whoever is found in a civil action to have violated
115 the provisions of this section is hereof shall be liable to the
116 utility involved in an amount equal to 3 times the amount of
117 services unlawfully obtained or $1,000, whichever is greater.
118 (9)(6) Nothing in This section does not act shall be
119 construed to apply to licensed and certified electrical
120 contractors while performing usual and ordinary service in
121 accordance with recognized standards.
122 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.
123
124 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
125 And the title is amended as follows:
126 Delete everything before the enacting clause
127 and insert:
128 A bill to be entitled
129 An act relating to the unlawful use of utility
130 services; amending s. 812.14, F.S.; providing that a
131 rebuttable presumption of a person’s or entity’s
132 intent to unlawfully use utility services exists under
133 certain circumstances; providing penalties; providing
134 that theft of utility services for the purpose of
135 manufacturing a controlled substance is a third-degree
136 felony; providing that prosecution of theft of utility
137 services for the purpose of manufacturing a controlled
138 substance is in lieu of prosecution for theft pursuant
139 to s. 812.014, F.S.; providing for prima facie
140 evidence of intent to commit theft of utility services
141 for the purpose of manufacturing a controlled
142 substance; providing an effective date.