Florida Senate - 2022                                     SB 314
       
       
        
       By Senator Hutson
       
       
       
       
       
       7-00334-22                                             2022314__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to offenses committed by aliens;
    3         creating s. 775.0864, F.S.; requiring specified
    4         offenses to be reclassified if committed by aliens
    5         unlawfully present in the United States; specifying
    6         the reclassification of the offenses; specifying the
    7         enhancement of the levels of the ranking for purposes
    8         of sentencing and gain-time eligibility; amending s.
    9         921.0022, F.S.; revising references to offense
   10         reclassification provisions to conform to changes made
   11         by the act; providing an effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Section 775.0864, Florida Statutes, is created
   16  to read:
   17         775.0864 Offenses against persons by unlawfully present
   18  aliens; reclassification.—
   19         (1) A violation of any of the following provisions must be
   20  reclassified to the next higher degree, as provided in
   21  subsection (2), if the offense is committed against a person in
   22  this state by an alien, as defined in 8 U.S.C. s. 1101(a), who
   23  is unlawfully present in the United States:
   24         (a) Section 794.011, relating to sexual battery.
   25         (b) Section 784.021(1)(a), relating to aggravated assault
   26  with a deadly weapon.
   27         (c) Section 782.04, relating to murder.
   28         (d) Section 790.1615, relating to unlawful throwing,
   29  placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb.
   30         (e) Section 810.02(2)(b), relating to armed burglary.
   31         (2) In the case of an offense identified in subsection (1):
   32         (a) A misdemeanor of the first degree is reclassified to a
   33  felony of the third degree. For purposes of sentencing under
   34  chapter 921, such offense is ranked in level 2 of the offense
   35  severity ranking chart.
   36         (b) A felony of the third degree is reclassified to a
   37  felony of the second degree.
   38         (c) A felony of the second degree is reclassified to a
   39  felony of the first degree.
   40         (d) A felony of the first degree is reclassified to a life
   41  felony.
   42  
   43  For purposes of sentencing under chapter 921 and determining
   44  incentive gain-time eligibility under chapter 944, a felony
   45  offense reclassified under this subsection is ranked one level
   46  above the ranking specified under s. 921.0022 or s. 921.0023 of
   47  the felony offense committed.
   48         Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 921.0022, Florida
   49  Statutes, is amended to read:
   50         921.0022 Criminal Punishment Code; offense severity ranking
   51  chart.—
   52         (2) The offense severity ranking chart has 10 offense
   53  levels, ranked from least severe, which are level 1 offenses, to
   54  most severe, which are level 10 offenses, and each felony
   55  offense is assigned to a level according to the severity of the
   56  offense. For purposes of determining which felony offenses are
   57  specifically listed in the offense severity ranking chart and
   58  which severity level has been assigned to each of these
   59  offenses, the numerical statutory references in the left column
   60  of the chart and the felony degree designations in the middle
   61  column of the chart are controlling; the language in the right
   62  column of the chart is provided solely for descriptive purposes.
   63  Reclassification of the degree of the felony through the
   64  application of s. 775.0845, s. 775.085, s. 775.0861, s.
   65  775.0862, s. 775.0863, s. 775.0864, s. 775.087, s. 775.0875, s.
   66  794.023, or any other law that provides an enhanced penalty for
   67  a felony offense, to any offense listed in the offense severity
   68  ranking chart in this section shall not cause the offense to
   69  become unlisted and is not subject to the provisions of s.
   70  921.0023.
   71         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.