Florida Senate - 2024                                     SB 722
       
       
        
       By Senator Collins
       
       
       
       
       
       14-01357A-24                                           2024722__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to fleeing or attempting to elude a
    3         law enforcement officer; amending s. 316.1935, F.S.;
    4         providing mandatory minimum sentences for violations;
    5         providing for pretrial diversion for first-time
    6         offenders; conforming provisions to changes made by
    7         the act; providing an effective date.
    8          
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Subsections (5), (6), and (7) of section
   12  316.1935, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (7),
   13  (8), and (9), respectively, subsections (3) and (4) of that
   14  section are amended, new subsections (5) and (6) are added to
   15  that section, and subsections (1) and (2) of that section are
   16  republished, to read:
   17         316.1935 Fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement
   18  officer; aggravated fleeing or eluding.—
   19         (1) It is unlawful for the operator of any vehicle, having
   20  knowledge that he or she has been ordered to stop such vehicle
   21  by a duly authorized law enforcement officer, willfully to
   22  refuse or fail to stop the vehicle in compliance with such order
   23  or, having stopped in knowing compliance with such order,
   24  willfully to flee in an attempt to elude the officer, and a
   25  person who violates this subsection commits a felony of the
   26  third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083,
   27  or s. 775.084.
   28         (2) Any person who willfully flees or attempts to elude a
   29  law enforcement officer in an authorized law enforcement patrol
   30  vehicle, with agency insignia and other jurisdictional markings
   31  prominently displayed on the vehicle, with siren and lights
   32  activated commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as
   33  provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   34         (3) Any person who willfully flees or attempts to elude a
   35  law enforcement officer in an authorized law enforcement patrol
   36  vehicle, with agency insignia and other jurisdictional markings
   37  prominently displayed on the vehicle, with siren and lights
   38  activated, and during the course of the fleeing or attempted
   39  eluding:
   40         (a) Drives at high speed, or in any manner which
   41  demonstrates a wanton disregard for the safety of persons or
   42  property, commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as
   43  provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   44         (b) Drives at high speed, or in any manner which
   45  demonstrates a wanton disregard for the safety of persons or
   46  property, and causes serious bodily injury or death to another
   47  person, including any law enforcement officer involved in
   48  pursuing or otherwise attempting to effect a stop of the
   49  person’s vehicle, commits a felony of the first degree,
   50  punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   51  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court shall
   52  sentence any person convicted of committing the offense
   53  described in this paragraph to a mandatory minimum sentence of 3
   54  years imprisonment in addition to the mandatory minimum sentence
   55  provided under subsection (5). Nothing in This paragraph does
   56  not shall prevent a court from imposing a greater sentence of
   57  incarceration as authorized by law.
   58         (4) Any person who, in the course of unlawfully leaving or
   59  attempting to leave the scene of a crash in violation of s.
   60  316.027 or s. 316.061, having knowledge of an order to stop by a
   61  duly authorized law enforcement officer, willfully refuses or
   62  fails to stop in compliance with such an order, or having
   63  stopped in knowing compliance with such order, willfully flees
   64  in an attempt to elude such officer and, as a result of such
   65  fleeing or eluding:
   66         (a) Causes injury to another person or causes damage to any
   67  property belonging to another person, commits aggravated fleeing
   68  or eluding, a felony of the second degree, punishable as
   69  provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   70         (b) Causes serious bodily injury or death to another
   71  person, including any law enforcement officer involved in
   72  pursuing or otherwise attempting to effect a stop of the
   73  person’s vehicle, commits aggravated fleeing or eluding with
   74  serious bodily injury or death, a felony of the first degree,
   75  punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   76  
   77  The felony of aggravated fleeing or eluding and the felony of
   78  aggravated fleeing or eluding with serious bodily injury or
   79  death constitute separate offenses for which a person may be
   80  charged, in addition to the offenses under ss. 316.027 and
   81  316.061, relating to unlawfully leaving the scene of a crash,
   82  which the person had been in the course of committing or
   83  attempting to commit when the order to stop was given.
   84  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court shall
   85  sentence any person convicted of committing aggravated fleeing
   86  or eluding with serious bodily injury or death to a mandatory
   87  minimum sentence of 3 years imprisonment in addition to the
   88  mandatory minimum sentence provided under subsection (5).
   89  Nothing in This subsection does not shall prevent a court from
   90  imposing a greater sentence of incarceration as authorized by
   91  law.
   92         (5)A person convicted of a violation of subsection (1),
   93  subsection (2), subsection (3), or subsection (4) shall:
   94         (a)For a first offense, be sentenced to a mandatory
   95  minimum sentence of 364 days’ imprisonment.
   96         (b)For a second offense, be sentenced to a mandatory
   97  minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment.
   98         (c)For a third or subsequent offense, be sentenced to a
   99  mandatory minimum sentence of 8 years’ imprisonment.
  100         (6)In lieu of a criminal conviction under this section, a
  101  judge has the option for a first-time offender to order a
  102  pretrial diversion program under which, at a minimum, any
  103  vehicle owned by the offender shall be impounded for 30 days and
  104  the offender’s driver license suspended for 6 months.
  105         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2024.