Florida Senate - 2013 SB 660 By Senator Gibson 9-01254A-13 2013660__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to juvenile civil citations; amending 3 s. 985.12, F.S.; requiring that a law enforcement 4 officer, upon making contact with a juvenile who 5 admits having committed a misdemeanor, issue a civil 6 citation in certain circumstances; providing an 7 effective date. 8 9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 10 11 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 985.12, Florida 12 Statutes, is amended to read: 13 985.12 Civil citation.— 14 (1) There is established a juvenile civil citation process 15 for the purpose of providing an efficient and innovative 16 alternative to custody by the departmentof Juvenile Justicefor 17 children who commit nonserious delinquent acts and to ensure 18 swift and appropriate consequences. The department shall 19 encourage and assist in the implementation and improvement of 20 civil citation programs or other similar diversion programs 21 around the state. The civil citation or similar diversion 22 program shall be established at the local level with the 23 concurrence of the chief judge of the circuit, state attorney, 24 public defender, and the head of each local law enforcement 25 agency involved. The program may be operated by an entity such 26 as a law enforcement agency, the department, a juvenile 27 assessment center, the county or municipality, or some other 28 entity selected by the county or municipality. An entity 29 operating the civil citation or similar diversion program must 30 do so in consultation and agreement with the state attorney and 31 local law enforcement agencies. Under such a juvenile civil 32 citation or similar diversion program, any law enforcement 33 officer, upon making contact with a juvenile who admits having 34 committed a misdemeanor, shallmayissue a civil citation and 35 assess not more than 50 community service hours, and require 36 participation in intervention services as indicated by an 37 assessment of the needs of the juvenile, including family 38 counseling, urinalysis monitoring, and substance abuse and 39 mental health treatment services. A copy of each citation issued 40 under this section shall be provided to the department, and the 41 department shall enter appropriate information into the juvenile 42 offender information system. Only first-time misdemeanor 43 offenders are eligible for the civil citation or similar 44 diversion program. At the conclusion of a juvenile’s civil 45 citation or similar diversion program, the agency operating the 46 program shall report the outcome to the department. The issuance 47 of a civil citation is not considered a referral to the 48 department. 49 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.