Florida Senate - 2009 CS for CS for CS for SB 236
By the Committees on Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations;
Judiciary; and Criminal Justice; and Senators Dean, Aronberg,
Baker, and Crist
604-05711-09 2009236c3
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the unlawful use of utility
3 services; amending s. 812.14, F.S.; providing criminal
4 penalties for permitting a tenant or occupant to use
5 unlawfully connected utility services; providing that
6 such violation is a first-degree misdemeanor;
7 providing for prima facie evidence of intent to
8 violate such prohibition; providing that theft of
9 utility services for the purpose of manufacturing a
10 controlled substance is a first-degree misdemeanor;
11 providing penalties; providing for prima facie
12 evidence of intent to commit theft of utility services
13 for the purpose of manufacturing a controlled
14 substance; providing an effective date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Section 812.14, Florida Statutes, is amended to
19 read:
20 812.14 Trespass and larceny with relation to utility
21 fixtures; theft of utility services.—
22 (1) As used in this section, “utility” includes any person,
23 firm, corporation, association, or political subdivision,
24 whether private, municipal, county, or cooperative, which is
25 engaged in the sale, generation, provision, or delivery of gas,
26 electricity, heat, water, oil, sewer service, telephone service,
27 telegraph service, radio service, or telecommunication service.
28 (2) It is unlawful to:
29 (a) Willfully alter, tamper with, injure, or knowingly
30 suffer to be injured any meter, meter seal, pipe, conduit, wire,
31 line, cable, transformer, amplifier, or other apparatus or
32 device belonging to a utility line service in such a manner as
33 to cause loss or damage or to prevent any meter installed for
34 registering electricity, gas, or water from registering the
35 quantity which otherwise would pass through the same; or to
36 alter the index or break the seal of any such meter; or in any
37 way to hinder or interfere with the proper action or just
38 registration of any such meter or device; or knowingly to use,
39 waste, or suffer the waste, by any means, of electricity or gas
40 or water passing through any such meter, wire, pipe, or fitting,
41 or other appliance or appurtenance connected with or belonging
42 to any such utility, after such meter, wire, pipe or fitting, or
43 other appliance or appurtenance has been tampered with, injured,
44 or altered.
45 (b) Make or cause to be made any connection with any wire,
46 main, service pipe or other pipes, appliance, or appurtenance in
47 such manner as to use, without the consent of the utility, any
48 service or any electricity, gas, or water, or to cause to be
49 supplied any service or electricity, gas, or water from a
50 utility to any person, firm, or corporation or any lamp, burner,
51 orifice, faucet, or other outlet whatsoever, without such
52 service being reported for payment or such electricity, gas, or
53 water passing through a meter provided by the utility and used
54 for measuring and registering the quantity of electricity, gas,
55 or water passing through the same.
56 (c) Use or receive the direct benefit from the use of a
57 utility knowing, or under such circumstances as would induce a
58 reasonable person to believe, that such direct benefits have
59 resulted from any tampering with, altering of, or injury to any
60 connection, wire, conductor, meter, pipe, conduit, line, cable,
61 transformer, amplifier, or other apparatus or device owned,
62 operated, or controlled by such utility, for the purpose of
63 avoiding payment.
64 (3) The presence on property in the actual possession of a
65 person of any device or alteration that which affects the
66 diversion or use of the services of a utility so as to avoid the
67 registration of such use by or on a meter installed by the
68 utility or so as to otherwise avoid the reporting of use of such
69 service for payment is shall be prima facie evidence of the
70 violation of this section by such person; however, this
71 presumption does shall not apply unless:
72 (a) The presence of such a device or alteration can be
73 attributed only to a deliberate act in furtherance of an intent
74 to avoid payment for utility services;
75 (b) The person charged has received the direct benefit of
76 the reduction of the cost of such utility services; and
77 (c) The customer or recipient of the utility services has
78 received the direct benefit of such utility service for at least
79 one full billing cycle.
80 (4) Any person who willfully violates paragraph (2)(a),
81 paragraph (2)(b), or paragraph (2)(c) commits this section shall
82 be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
83 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
84 (5) It is unlawful for a person or entity that owns,
85 leases, or subleases a property to permit a tenant or occupant
86 to use utility services knowing, or under such circumstances as
87 would induce a reasonable person to believe, that such utility
88 services have been connected in violation of paragraph (2)(a),
89 paragraph (2)(b), or paragraph (2)(c).
90 (6) It is prima facie evidence of a person’s intent to
91 violate subsection (5) if:
92 (a) A controlled substance and materials for manufacturing
93 the controlled substance intended for sale or distribution to
94 another were found in a dwelling or structure;
95 (b) The dwelling or structure has been visibly modified to
96 accommodate the use of equipment to grow marijuana indoors,
97 including, but not limited to, the installation of equipment to
98 provide additional air conditioning, equipment to provide high
99 wattage lighting, or equipment for hydroponic cultivation; and
100 (c) The person or entity that owned, leased, or subleased
101 the dwelling or structure knew of, or did so under such
102 circumstances as would induce a reasonable person to believe in,
103 the presence of a controlled substance and materials for
104 manufacturing a controlled substance in the dwelling or
105 structure, regardless of whether the person or entity was
106 involved in the manufacture or sale of a controlled substance or
107 was in actual possession of the dwelling or structure.
108 (7) A person who willfully violates subsection (5) commits
109 a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
110 775.082 or s. 775.083. Prosecution for a violation of subsection
111 (5) does not preclude prosecution for theft under subsection (8)
112 or s. 812.014.
113 (8) Theft of utility services for the purpose of
114 facilitating the manufacture of a controlled substance is a
115 misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
116 775.082 or s. 775.083.
117 (9) It is prima facie evidence of a person’s intent to
118 violate subsection (8) if:
119 (a) The person committed theft of utility services
120 resulting in a dwelling, as defined in s. 810.011, or a
121 structure, as defined in s. 810.011, receiving unauthorized
122 access to utility services;
123 (b) A controlled substance and materials for manufacturing
124 the controlled substance were found in the dwelling or
125 structure; and
126 (c) The person knew of the presence of the controlled
127 substance and materials for manufacturing the controlled
128 substance in the dwelling or structure, regardless of whether
129 the person was involved in the manufacture of the controlled
130 substance.
131 (10)(5) Whoever is found in a civil action to have violated
132 the provisions of this section is hereof shall be liable to the
133 utility involved in an amount equal to 3 times the amount of
134 services unlawfully obtained or $1,000, whichever is greater.
135 (11)(6) Nothing in This section does not act shall be
136 construed to apply to licensed and certified electrical
137 contractors while performing usual and ordinary service in
138 accordance with recognized standards.
139 Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2009.