Florida Senate - 2010                                    SB 1334
       
       
       
       By Senator Lynn
       
       
       
       
       7-01315-10                                            20101334__
    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.;
    4         providing definitions; providing for reclassification
    5         of specified sexual offenses committed against
    6         students by authority figures; providing for severity
    7         ranking of offenses; amending s. 921.0022, F.S.;
    8         providing for application of the severity ranking
    9         chart of the Criminal Punishment Code; providing an
   10         effective date.
   11  
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Section 775.0862, Florida Statutes, is created
   15  to read:
   16         775.0862 Sexual battery offenses against students by
   17  authority figures; reclassification.—
   18         (1) For purposes of this section, the term:
   19         (a) “Authority figure” means a school officer, a teacher or
   20  other instructional person, an administrator or other school
   21  administrative person, a school volunteer, an educational
   22  support employee, or an education service provider who is
   23  employed by, under contract with, working at, or providing
   24  volunteer services to an educational institution.
   25         (b) “Educational institution” means an entity providing
   26  instructional programs of study by means of regular classes,
   27  activities, or courses, including virtual courses, to students
   28  in early learning programs or in prekindergarten through grade
   29  12.
   30         (c) “Student” means any early learning or prekindergarten
   31  through grade 12 child who is enrolled in an educational
   32  institution.
   33         (2) The felony degree of any violation of:
   34         (a) Any offense listed in s. 775.21(4)(a)1.; or
   35         (b) Any offense listed in s. 943.0435(1)(a)1.a.
   36  
   37  shall be, unless the offense falls within s. 794.011(4)(g),
   38  reclassified as provided in this section if the offense is
   39  committed by an authority figure of any educational institution
   40  against a student of any educational institution.
   41         (3)(a) In the case of a felony of the third degree, the
   42  offense is reclassified to a felony of the second degree.
   43         (b) In the case of a felony of the second degree, the
   44  offense is reclassified to a felony of the first degree.
   45         (c) In the case of a felony of the first degree, the
   46  offense is reclassified to a life felony.
   47  
   48  For purposes of sentencing under chapter 921 and determining
   49  incentive gain-time eligibility under chapter 944, a felony
   50  offense that is reclassified under this subsection is ranked one
   51  level above the ranking under s. 921.0022 or s. 921.0023 of the
   52  offense committed.
   53         Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 921.0022, Florida
   54  Statutes, is amended to read:
   55         921.0022 Criminal Punishment Code; offense severity ranking
   56  chart.—
   57         (2) The offense severity ranking chart has 10 offense
   58  levels, ranked from least severe, which are level 1 offenses, to
   59  most severe, which are level 10 offenses, and each felony
   60  offense is assigned to a level according to the severity of the
   61  offense. For purposes of determining which felony offenses are
   62  specifically listed in the offense severity ranking chart and
   63  which severity level has been assigned to each of these
   64  offenses, the numerical statutory references in the left column
   65  of the chart and the felony degree designations in the middle
   66  column of the chart are controlling; the language in the right
   67  column of the chart is provided solely for descriptive purposes.
   68  Reclassification of the degree of the felony through the
   69  application of s. 775.0845, s. 775.0861, s. 775.0862, s.
   70  775.087, s. 775.0875, s. 794.023, or any other law that provides
   71  an enhanced penalty for a felony offense, to any offense listed
   72  in the offense severity ranking chart in this section shall not
   73  cause the offense to become unlisted and is not subject to the
   74  provisions of s. 921.0023.
   75         Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2010.