Florida Senate - 2025                                    SB 1774
       
       
        
       By Senator Martin
       
       
       
       
       
       33-00887-25                                           20251774__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to a rebuttable presumption for
    3         certain deaths; creating s. 782.073, F.S.; creating a
    4         rebuttable presumption that the death of an alleged
    5         victim was the result of a controlled substance under
    6         specified circumstances; providing an effective date.
    7          
    8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    9  
   10         Section 1. Section 782.073, Florida Statutes, is created to
   11  read:
   12         782.073 Presence of controlled substance in toxicology
   13  report.—There is created a rebuttable presumption in favor of
   14  the defense that the death of an alleged victim was the result
   15  of a controlled substance if:
   16         (1) The defendant is charged with murder in the second
   17  degree pursuant to s. 782.04(2) or manslaughter pursuant to s.
   18  782.07(1); and
   19         (2) A forensic toxicology report indicates that a Schedule
   20  I controlled substance under s. 893.03(1) was present in the
   21  alleged victim at the time of death.
   22         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.