Florida Senate - 2013                              CS for SB 964
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
       Senator Abruzzo
       
       
       
       586-02278-13                                           2013964c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to termination of parental rights;
    3         amending s. 39.806, F.S.; providing that a parent’s
    4         rights may be terminated if the court determines, by
    5         clear and convincing evidence, that the child was
    6         conceived during an act of unlawful sexual battery;
    7         creating a presumption that termination of parental
    8         rights is in the best interest of the child if the
    9         child was conceived as a result of an unlawful sexual
   10         battery; providing that a petition to terminate
   11         parental rights may be filed at any time; amending s.
   12         39.811, F.S.; providing for termination of parental
   13         rights of only one parent if conception was the result
   14         of an unlawful sexual battery; providing for
   15         retroactive application; providing an effective date.
   16  
   17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   18  
   19         Section 1. Paragraph (m) is added to subsection (1) of
   20  section 39.806, Florida Statutes, and subsection (2) of that
   21  section is amended, to read:
   22         39.806 Grounds for termination of parental rights.—
   23         (1) Grounds for the termination of parental rights may be
   24  established under any of the following circumstances:
   25         (m) The court determines by clear and convincing evidence
   26  that the child was conceived as a result of an act of sexual
   27  battery made unlawful pursuant to s. 794.011, or pursuant to a
   28  similar law of another state, territory, possession, or Native
   29  American tribe where the offense occurred. It is presumed that
   30  termination of parental rights is in the best interest of the
   31  child if the child was conceived as a result of the unlawful
   32  sexual battery. A petition for termination of parental rights
   33  under this paragraph may be filed at any time.
   34         (2) Reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify families are
   35  not required if a court of competent jurisdiction has determined
   36  that any of the events described in paragraphs (1)(b)-(d) or
   37  paragraphs (1)(f)-(m) (f)-(l) have occurred.
   38         Section 2. Subsection (6) of section 39.811, Florida
   39  Statutes, is amended to read:
   40         39.811 Powers of disposition; order of disposition.—
   41         (6) The parental rights of one parent may be severed
   42  without severing the parental rights of the other parent only
   43  under the following circumstances:
   44         (a) If the child has only one surviving parent;
   45         (b) If the identity of a prospective parent has been
   46  established as unknown after sworn testimony;
   47         (c) If the parent whose rights are being terminated became
   48  a parent through a single-parent adoption;
   49         (d) If the protection of the child demands termination of
   50  the rights of a single parent; or
   51         (e) If the parent whose rights are being terminated meets
   52  any of the criteria specified in s. 39.806(1)(d) and (f)-(m)
   53  (f)-(l).
   54         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013, and
   55  applies to all unlawful acts of sexual battery occurring before,
   56  on, or after that date.