Florida Senate - 2019              PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
       Bill No. SB 1068
       
       
       
       
       
                               Ì1236641Î123664                          
       
       576-03869A-19                                                   
       Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Appropriations
       (Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice)
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to crime victim assistance; amending
    3         s. 960.03, F.S.; redefining the term “crime” to
    4         include the commission of certain lewd or lascivious
    5         offenses and, under certain provisions, to add
    6         osteopathic physicians certified as expert witnesses
    7         to the list of eligible persons by whom a certain
    8         mental injury of a minor must be verified; amending s.
    9         960.28, F.S.; increasing the maximum amount the Crime
   10         Victims’ Services Office of the Department of Legal
   11         Affairs is required to pay for certain medical
   12         expenses of victims of specified crimes; providing an
   13         effective date.
   14          
   15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   16  
   17         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
   18  960.03, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (g) is added
   19  to that subsection, to read:
   20         960.03 Definitions; ss. 960.01-960.28.—As used in ss.
   21  960.01-960.28, unless the context otherwise requires, the term:
   22         (3) “Crime” means:
   23         (a) A felony or misdemeanor offense committed by an adult
   24  or a juvenile which results in physical injury or death, a
   25  violation of s. 800.04 or a forcible felony committed by an
   26  adult or juvenile which directly results in psychiatric or
   27  psychological injury, or a felony or misdemeanor offense of
   28  child abuse committed by an adult or a juvenile which results in
   29  a mental injury, as defined in s. 827.03, to a person younger
   30  than 18 years of age who was not physically injured by the
   31  criminal act. The mental injury to the minor must be verified by
   32  a psychologist licensed under chapter 490, by a physician
   33  licensed in this state under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who has
   34  completed an accredited residency in psychiatry, or by a
   35  physician who has obtained certification as an expert witness
   36  pursuant to s. 458.3175 or s. 459.0066. The term also includes a
   37  criminal act that is committed within this state but that falls
   38  exclusively within federal jurisdiction.
   39         (g) An act of intentionally touching in a lewd or
   40  lascivious manner the breasts, genitals, genital area, or
   41  buttocks, or the clothing covering those areas, of a person 16
   42  or 17 years of age or forcing or enticing a person 16 or 17
   43  years of age to so touch the actor, when such act is without the
   44  person’s consent and directly results in psychiatric or
   45  psychological injury.
   46         Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 960.28, Florida
   47  Statutes, is amended to read:
   48         960.28 Payment for victims’ initial forensic physical
   49  examinations.—
   50         (2) The Crime Victims’ Services Office of the department
   51  shall pay for medical expenses connected with an initial
   52  forensic physical examination of a victim of sexual battery as
   53  defined in chapter 794 or a lewd or lascivious offense as
   54  defined in chapter 800. Such payment shall be made regardless of
   55  whether the victim is covered by health or disability insurance
   56  and whether the victim participates in the criminal justice
   57  system or cooperates with law enforcement. The payment shall be
   58  made only out of moneys allocated to the Crime Victims’ Services
   59  Office for the purposes of this section, and the payment may not
   60  exceed $1,000 $500 with respect to any violation. The department
   61  shall develop and maintain separate protocols for the initial
   62  forensic physical examination of adults and children. Payment
   63  under this section is limited to medical expenses connected with
   64  the initial forensic physical examination, and payment may be
   65  made to a medical provider using an examiner qualified under
   66  part I of chapter 464, excluding s. 464.003(14); chapter 458; or
   67  chapter 459. Payment made to the medical provider by the
   68  department shall be considered by the provider as payment in
   69  full for the initial forensic physical examination associated
   70  with the collection of evidence. The victim may not be required
   71  to pay, directly or indirectly, the cost of an initial forensic
   72  physical examination performed in accordance with this section.
   73         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.