Florida Senate - 2012                             CS for SB 1580
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Latvala
       
       
       
       
       578-03698-12                                          20121580c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to local administrative action to
    3         abate public nuisances and criminal gang activity;
    4         amending s. 893.138, F.S.; authorizing a local
    5         administrative board to declare a place to be a public
    6         nuisance if the place is used on more than two
    7         occasions within a 6-month period as the site of the
    8         storage of a controlled substance with intent to sell
    9         or deliver the controlled substance; prohibiting a
   10         county or municipality from declaring a place or
   11         premises a public nuisance unless the county or
   12         municipality gives prior notice to the owner of the
   13         place or premises of its intent to declare the place
   14         or premises a public nuisance and affords the owner an
   15         opportunity to abate the nuisance; providing that an
   16         order entered against a person for a public nuisance
   17         expires after 1 year or at an earlier time if so
   18         stated in the order unless the person has violated the
   19         order during the term of the order; requiring that the
   20         board conduct a hearing to determine whether the
   21         person violated the administrative order; authorizing
   22         the board to extend the term of the order by up to 1
   23         additional year and to impose a penalty if the board
   24         finds that the person violated the order; authorizing
   25         a county or municipal ordinance to include fines for
   26         days of public nuisance activities outside the 6-month
   27         period in which the minimum number of activities are
   28         shown to have occurred; authorizing a local ordinance
   29         to provide for continuing jurisdiction over a place or
   30         premises that are subject to an extension of the
   31         administrative order; providing an effective date.
   32  
   33  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   34  
   35         Section 1. Subsections (2), (6), and (11) of section
   36  893.138, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   37         893.138 Local administrative action to abate drug-related,
   38  prostitution-related, or stolen-property-related public
   39  nuisances and criminal gang activity.—
   40         (2) Any place or premises that has been used:
   41         (a) On more than two occasions within a 6-month period, as
   42  the site of a violation of s. 796.07;
   43         (b) On more than two occasions within a 6-month period, as
   44  the site of the unlawful sale, delivery, manufacture, or
   45  cultivation of a any controlled substance, or as the site of the
   46  storage of a controlled substance with intent to sell or deliver
   47  the controlled substance off the premises;
   48         (c) On one occasion as the site of the unlawful possession
   49  of a controlled substance, where such possession constitutes a
   50  felony, and that has been previously used on more than one
   51  occasion as the site of the unlawful sale, delivery,
   52  manufacture, or cultivation of a any controlled substance;
   53         (d) By a criminal gang for the purpose of conducting
   54  criminal gang-related gang activity as defined in by s. 874.03;
   55  or
   56         (e) On more than two occasions within a 6-month period, as
   57  the site of a violation of s. 812.019 relating to dealing in
   58  stolen property,
   59  
   60  may be declared to be a public nuisance, and such nuisance may
   61  be abated pursuant to the procedures provided in this section if
   62  the county or municipality has given prior notice to the owner
   63  of the place or premises of its intent to declare the place or
   64  premises a public nuisance and afforded the owner of the place
   65  or premises the opportunity to abate the nuisance before taking
   66  any official action against the place or premises pursuant to
   67  this section.
   68         (6) An order entered under subsection (4) expires shall
   69  expire after 1 year or at such earlier time as is stated in the
   70  order unless the person has violated the order during the term
   71  of the order. After providing notice to the person whose
   72  activities have been declared to be a public nuisance, the board
   73  shall conduct a hearing to determine whether the person violated
   74  the administrative order entered under subsection (5). If the
   75  board finds that the person violated the order, the board may
   76  extend the term of the order by up to 1 additional year and may
   77  impose an additional penalty to the extent authorized by this
   78  section and by a supplemental county or municipal ordinance.
   79         (11) The provisions of This section may be supplemented by
   80  a county or municipal ordinance. The ordinance may include, but
   81  need is not be limited to, provisions that establish additional
   82  penalties for public nuisances, including fines not to exceed
   83  $250 per day for each day that the public nuisance activities
   84  described in subsection (2) have occurred, including days
   85  outside the 6-month period in which the minimum number of public
   86  nuisance activities are shown to have occurred. The ordinance
   87  may also; provide for the payment of reasonable costs, including
   88  reasonable attorney fees associated with investigations of and
   89  hearings on public nuisances; provide for continuing
   90  jurisdiction for a period of 1 year over any place or premises
   91  that have has been or are is declared to be a public nuisance,
   92  subject to an extension for up to 1 additional year as provided
   93  in subsection (6); establish penalties, including fines not to
   94  exceed $500 per day for recurring public nuisances; provide for
   95  the recording of orders on public nuisances so that notice must
   96  be given to subsequent purchasers, successors in interest, or
   97  assigns of the real property that is the subject of the order;
   98  provide that recorded orders on public nuisances may become
   99  liens against the real property that is the subject of the
  100  order; and provide for the foreclosure of the property that is
  101  subject to a lien and the recovery of all costs, including
  102  reasonable attorney fees, associated with the recording of
  103  orders and foreclosure. A No lien created pursuant to the
  104  provisions of this section may not be foreclosed on real
  105  property that which is a homestead under s. 4, Art. X of the
  106  State Constitution. When Where a local government seeks to bring
  107  an administrative action, based on a stolen property nuisance,
  108  against a property owner operating an establishment where
  109  multiple tenants, on one site, conduct their own retail
  110  business, the property owner is shall not be subject to a lien
  111  against his or her property or the prohibition of operation
  112  provision if the property owner evicts the business declared to
  113  be a nuisance within 90 days after notification by registered
  114  mail to the property owner of a second stolen property
  115  conviction of the tenant. The total fines imposed pursuant to
  116  the authority of this section may shall not exceed $15,000.
  117  Nothing contained within This section does not prohibit
  118  prohibits a county or municipality from proceeding against a
  119  public nuisance by any other means.
  120         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.