| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to protest activities; creating s. |
| 3 | 871.015, F.S.; providing definitions; prohibiting |
| 4 | engaging in protest activities within a specified |
| 5 | distance of the property line of the location of a |
| 6 | funeral, burial, or memorial service; providing |
| 7 | criminal penalties; providing an effective date. |
| 8 |
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| 9 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Section 1. Section 871.015, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 12 | to read: |
| 13 | 871.015 Unlawful protests.- |
| 14 | (1) As used in this section, the term: |
| 15 | (a) "Funeral, burial, or memorial service" means any |
| 16 | service offered or provided in connection with the final |
| 17 | disposition, memorialization, interment, entombment, or |
| 18 | inurnment of human remains or cremated human remains. |
| 19 | (b) "Protest activities" means any action, including |
| 20 | picketing, that is undertaken with the intent to interrupt or |
| 21 | disturb a funeral, burial, or memorial service. |
| 22 | (2) A person may not knowingly engage in protest |
| 23 | activities or knowingly cause protest activities to occur within |
| 24 | 500 feet of the property line of any residence, cemetery, |
| 25 | funeral home, house of worship, or other location during or |
| 26 | within 1 hour before or 1 hour after the conducting of a |
| 27 | funeral, burial, or memorial service at that place. |
| 28 | (3) A person who violates this section commits a |
| 29 | misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. |
| 30 | 775.082 or s. 775.083. |
| 31 | Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2012. |