Florida Senate - 2023                                     SB 446
       
       
        
       By Senator Rodriguez
       
       
       
       
       
       40-01036-23                                            2023446__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to offenses committed upon assistant
    3         state attorneys; amending s. 784.07, F.S.; providing
    4         for the enhancement of criminal penalties for certain
    5         assault or battery offenses committed upon assistant
    6         state attorneys; providing an effective date.
    7          
    8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    9  
   10         Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section
   11  784.07, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (2) of that
   12  section is republished, to read:
   13         784.07 Assault or battery of law enforcement officers,
   14  firefighters, emergency medical care providers, public transit
   15  employees or agents, or other specified officers;
   16  reclassification of offenses; minimum sentences.—
   17         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   18         (d) “Law enforcement officer” includes a law enforcement
   19  officer, a correctional officer, a correctional probation
   20  officer, a part-time law enforcement officer, a part-time
   21  correctional officer, an auxiliary law enforcement officer, and
   22  an auxiliary correctional officer, as those terms are
   23  respectively defined in s. 943.10, and any county probation
   24  officer; an employee or agent of the Department of Corrections
   25  who supervises or provides services to inmates; an officer of
   26  the Florida Commission on Offender Review; a federal law
   27  enforcement officer as defined in s. 901.1505; and law
   28  enforcement personnel of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
   29  Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection, or the
   30  Department of Law Enforcement; and an assistant state attorney,
   31  as described in s. 27.181.
   32         (2) Whenever any person is charged with knowingly
   33  committing an assault or battery upon a law enforcement officer,
   34  a firefighter, an emergency medical care provider, a railroad
   35  special officer, a traffic accident investigation officer as
   36  described in s. 316.640, a nonsworn law enforcement agency
   37  employee who is certified as an agency inspector, a blood
   38  alcohol analyst, or a breath test operator while such employee
   39  is in uniform and engaged in processing, testing, evaluating,
   40  analyzing, or transporting a person who is detained or under
   41  arrest for DUI, a law enforcement explorer, a traffic infraction
   42  enforcement officer as described in s. 316.640, a parking
   43  enforcement specialist as defined in s. 316.640, a person
   44  licensed as a security officer as defined in s. 493.6101 and
   45  wearing a uniform that bears at least one patch or emblem that
   46  is visible at all times that clearly identifies the employing
   47  agency and that clearly identifies the person as a licensed
   48  security officer, or a security officer employed by the board of
   49  trustees of a community college, while the officer, firefighter,
   50  emergency medical care provider, railroad special officer,
   51  traffic accident investigation officer, traffic infraction
   52  enforcement officer, inspector, analyst, operator, law
   53  enforcement explorer, parking enforcement specialist, public
   54  transit employee or agent, or security officer is engaged in the
   55  lawful performance of his or her duties, the offense for which
   56  the person is charged shall be reclassified as follows:
   57         (a) In the case of assault, from a misdemeanor of the
   58  second degree to a misdemeanor of the first degree.
   59         (b) In the case of battery, from a misdemeanor of the first
   60  degree to a felony of the third degree. Notwithstanding any
   61  other provision of law, a person convicted of battery upon a law
   62  enforcement officer committed in furtherance of a riot or an
   63  aggravated riot prohibited under s. 870.01 shall be sentenced to
   64  a minimum term of imprisonment of 6 months.
   65         (c) In the case of aggravated assault, from a felony of the
   66  third degree to a felony of the second degree. Notwithstanding
   67  any other provision of law, any person convicted of aggravated
   68  assault upon a law enforcement officer shall be sentenced to a
   69  minimum term of imprisonment of 3 years.
   70         (d) In the case of aggravated battery, from a felony of the
   71  second degree to a felony of the first degree. Notwithstanding
   72  any other provision of law, any person convicted of aggravated
   73  battery of a law enforcement officer shall be sentenced to a
   74  minimum term of imprisonment of 5 years.
   75         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2023.