Florida Senate - 2016 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. CS for SB 936 Ì479128@Î479128 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RCS . 02/19/2016 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice (Hutson) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Delete everything after the enacting clause 4 and insert: 5 Section 1. This act may be cited as “The Wes Kleinert Fair 6 Interview Act.” 7 Section 2. Section 943.0439, Florida Statutes, is created 8 to read: 9 943.0439 Interviews of victims, suspects, or defendants 10 with autism or an autism spectrum disorder.—A law enforcement 11 officer, a correctional officer, or another public safety 12 official shall, upon the request of an individual diagnosed with 13 autism or an autism spectrum disorder or his or her parent or 14 guardian, make a good faith effort to ensure that a 15 psychiatrist, psychologist, mental health counselor, special 16 education instructor, clinical social worker, or related 17 professional is present at all interviews of the individual. The 18 professional must have experience treating, teaching, or 19 assisting patients or clients who have been diagnosed with 20 autism or an autism spectrum disorder or related developmental 21 disability or must be certified in special education with a 22 concentration focused on persons with autism or an autism 23 spectrum disorder. All expenses related to the attendance of the 24 professional at interviews shall be borne by the requesting 25 parent, guardian, or individual. Failure to have a professional 26 as defined by this subsection present at the time of the 27 interview is not a basis for suppression of the statement or the 28 contents of the interview or for a cause of action against the 29 law enforcement officer or agency. This subsection applies to 30 such an individual who is the victim, a suspect, or a defendant 31 formally accused of a crime. 32 (2) Each law enforcement agency must ensure that 33 appropriate policies are developed which implement this section 34 and that training is provided to its law enforcement and 35 correctional officers based on those policies. 36 Section 3. This section shall take effect July 1, 2016. 37 38 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 39 And the title is amended as follows: 40 Delete everything before the enacting clause 41 and insert: 42 A bill to be entitled 43 An act relating to criminal justice system interviews 44 of individuals with autism or an autism spectrum 45 disorder; providing a short title; creating s. 46 943.0439, F.S.; requiring a law enforcement officer, 47 correctional officer, or another public safety 48 official to make a good faith effort, upon the request 49 of a parent, a guardian, or the individual, to ensure 50 that specified professionals are present at all 51 interviews of an individual diagnosed with autism or 52 an autism spectrum disorder; providing specifications 53 for the professional; specifying that the parent, 54 guardian, or individual bears the expense of hiring 55 the professional; specifying that not having a 56 professional present is not a basis for suppressing 57 statements or for bringing a cause of action; 58 providing applicability; requiring law enforcement 59 agencies to develop and implement appropriate policies 60 and provide training; providing an effective date.