| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to sexual misconduct with students by |
| 3 | authority figures; creating s. 775.0862, F.S.; providing |
| 4 | definitions; providing for reclassification of specified |
| 5 | sexual offenses committed against students by an authority |
| 6 | figure or an offender that is acting in such a manner as |
| 7 | to lead the victim to reasonably believe that the offender |
| 8 | is such an authority figure; providing for severity |
| 9 | ranking of offenses; amending s. 921.0022, F.S.; providing |
| 10 | for application of the severity ranking chart of the |
| 11 | Criminal Punishment Code; providing an effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Section 1. Section 775.0862, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 16 | to read: |
| 17 | 775.0862 Sexual battery offenses against students by |
| 18 | authority figures; reclassification.-- |
| 19 | (1) For purposes of this section, the term: |
| 20 | (a) "Authority figure" means a person who is in a position |
| 21 | of control or authority as an agent or employee of an |
| 22 | educational institution. |
| 23 | (b) "Educational institution" means an institution that is |
| 24 | a part of the state system of public education or any other |
| 25 | institution: |
| 26 | 1. In which participants, trainees, or students are |
| 27 | offered an organized course of study or training designed to |
| 28 | transfer to them knowledge, skills, information, doctrines, |
| 29 | attitudes, or abilities from, by, or under the guidance of an |
| 30 | instructor or teacher; and |
| 31 | 2. That is approved, licensed, or issued a permit to |
| 32 | operate as a school by the Department of Education or any other |
| 33 | governmental agency that is authorized within the state to |
| 34 | approve, license, or issue a permit for the operation of a |
| 35 | school. |
| 36 | (c) "Student" means any child or adult who is enrolled in |
| 37 | any instructional program or activity conducted under the |
| 38 | authority and direction of an educational institution. |
| 39 | (2) The felony degree of any violation of: |
| 40 | (a) Any offense for which a conviction would require |
| 41 | registration as a sexual predator under s. 775.21; or |
| 42 | (b) Any offense for which a conviction would require |
| 43 | registration as a sexual offender under s. 943.0435 |
| 44 | |
| 45 | shall be, unless the offense falls within s. 794.011(4)(g), |
| 46 | reclassified as provided in this section if the offense is |
| 47 | committed by an authority figure or the offender is acting in |
| 48 | such a manner as to lead the victim to reasonably believe that |
| 49 | the offender is such an authority figure and the victim is a |
| 50 | student. |
| 51 | (3)(a) In the case of a felony of the third degree, the |
| 52 | offense is reclassified to a felony of the second degree. |
| 53 | (b) In the case of a felony of the second degree, the |
| 54 | offense is reclassified to a felony of the first degree. |
| 55 | (c) In the case of a felony of the first degree, the |
| 56 | offense is reclassified to a life felony. |
| 57 | |
| 58 | For purposes of sentencing under chapter 921 and determining |
| 59 | incentive gain-time eligibility under chapter 944, a felony |
| 60 | offense that is reclassified under this subsection is ranked one |
| 61 | level above the ranking under s. 921.0022 or s. 921.0023 of the |
| 62 | offense committed. |
| 63 | Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 921.0022, Florida |
| 64 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 65 | 921.0022 Criminal Punishment Code; offense severity |
| 66 | ranking chart.-- |
| 67 | (2) The offense severity ranking chart has 10 offense |
| 68 | levels, ranked from least severe, which are level 1 offenses, to |
| 69 | most severe, which are level 10 offenses, and each felony |
| 70 | offense is assigned to a level according to the severity of the |
| 71 | offense. For purposes of determining which felony offenses are |
| 72 | specifically listed in the offense severity ranking chart and |
| 73 | which severity level has been assigned to each of these |
| 74 | offenses, the numerical statutory references in the left column |
| 75 | of the chart and the felony degree designations in the middle |
| 76 | column of the chart are controlling; the language in the right |
| 77 | column of the chart is provided solely for descriptive purposes. |
| 78 | Reclassification of the degree of the felony through the |
| 79 | application of s. 775.0845, s. 775.0861, s. 775.0862, s. |
| 80 | 775.087, s. 775.0875, s. 794.023, or any other law that provides |
| 81 | an enhanced penalty for a felony offense, to any offense listed |
| 82 | in the offense severity ranking chart in this section shall not |
| 83 | cause the offense to become unlisted and is not subject to the |
| 84 | provisions of s. 921.0023. |
| 85 | Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2009. |