| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to assault and battery; creating s. |
| 3 | 784.071, F.S.; providing for the upgrading of the degree |
| 4 | of specified assault and battery offenses committed |
| 5 | against specified persons based on their position or |
| 6 | employment; providing for sentencing; providing for |
| 7 | additional imprisonment in certain circumstances; |
| 8 | prohibiting gain-time and discretionary early release for |
| 9 | offenders; providing an exception; providing an effective |
| 10 | date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Section 784.071, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 15 | to read: |
| 16 | 784.071 Assault or battery on social workers and other |
| 17 | specified persons.- |
| 18 | (1)(a) Whenever a person is charged with committing an |
| 19 | assault or aggravated assault or a battery or aggravated battery |
| 20 | upon a person who is licensed under chapter 490 or chapter 491 |
| 21 | or is a social worker as described in s. 491.016(2) and when the |
| 22 | person committing the offense knows or has reason to know the |
| 23 | identity or position or employment of the victim and at the time |
| 24 | of the incident the victim is in the course of performing his or |
| 25 | her duties in that position or employment or the incident is |
| 26 | related to that position or employment, the offense for which |
| 27 | the person is charged shall be reclassified as follows: |
| 28 | 1. In the case of assault, from a misdemeanor of the |
| 29 | second degree to a misdemeanor of the first degree. |
| 30 | 2. In the case of battery, from a misdemeanor of the first |
| 31 | degree to a felony of the third degree. |
| 32 | 3. In the case of aggravated assault, from a felony of the |
| 33 | third degree to a felony of the second degree. |
| 34 | 4. In the case of aggravated battery, from a felony of the |
| 35 | second degree to a felony of the first degree. |
| 36 | (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person |
| 37 | convicted of aggravated assault or aggravated battery of a |
| 38 | person defined in paragraph (a) shall be fined not more than |
| 39 | $10,000, shall be ordered by the sentencing judge to make |
| 40 | restitution to the victim of such offense and perform up to 500 |
| 41 | hours of community service work, and, except as provided in |
| 42 | subsection (2), shall be sentenced to a minimum term of |
| 43 | imprisonment of 5 years. Restitution and community service work |
| 44 | shall be in addition to any fine or sentence which may be |
| 45 | imposed and shall not be in lieu thereof. |
| 46 | (2) Any person who is convicted of a battery under |
| 47 | subparagraph (1)(a)2. and, during the commission of the offense, |
| 48 | possessed: |
| 49 | (a) A "firearm" or "destructive device" as those terms are |
| 50 | defined in s. 790.001, shall be sentenced to a minimum term of |
| 51 | imprisonment of 3 years in addition to that provided in |
| 52 | subsection (1). |
| 53 | (b) A semiautomatic firearm and its high-capacity |
| 54 | detachable box magazine, as defined in s. 775.087(3), or a |
| 55 | machine gun as defined in s. 790.001, shall be sentenced to a |
| 56 | minimum term of imprisonment of 8 years in addition to that |
| 57 | provided in subsection (1). |
| 58 | (3) Notwithstanding s. 948.01, adjudication of guilt or |
| 59 | imposition of sentence shall not be suspended, deferred, or |
| 60 | withheld, and the defendant is not eligible for statutory gain- |
| 61 | time under s. 944.275 or any form of discretionary early |
| 62 | release, other than pardon or executive clemency, or conditional |
| 63 | medical release under s. 947.149, prior to serving the minimum |
| 64 | sentence. |
| 65 | Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2010. |