The Florida Senate

944.607  Notification to Department of Law Enforcement of information on sexual offenders.--

(1)  As used in this section, the term:

(a)  "Sexual offender" means a person who is in the custody or control of, or under the supervision of, the department or is in the custody of a private correctional facility on or after October 1, 1997, as a result of a conviction for committing, or attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit, any of the criminal offenses proscribed in the following statutes in this state or similar offenses in another jurisdiction: s. 787.01, s. 787.02, or s. 787.025, where the victim is a minor and the defendant is not the victim's parent; chapter 794, excluding ss. 794.011(10) and 794.0235; s. 796.03; s. 800.04; s. 825.1025; s. 827.071; s. 847.0133; s. 847.0135; s. 847.0145; or any similar offense committed in this state which has been redesignated from a former statute number to one of those listed in this paragraph.

(b)  "Conviction" means a determination of guilt which is the result of a trial or the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, regardless of whether adjudication is withheld. Conviction of a similar offense includes, but is not limited to, a conviction by a federal or military tribunal, including courts-martial conducted by the Armed Forces of the United States, and includes a conviction in any state of the United States or other jurisdiction.

(2)  The clerk of the court of that court which convicted and sentenced the sexual offender for the offense or offenses described in subsection (1) shall forward to the department and the Department of Law Enforcement a certified copy of any order entered by the court imposing any special condition or restriction on the sexual offender which restricts or prohibits access to the victim, if the victim is a minor, or to other minors. The Department of Law Enforcement may include on its Internet site such special conditions or restrictions.

(3)  If a sexual offender is not sentenced to a term of imprisonment, the clerk of the court shall ensure that the sexual offender's fingerprints are taken and forwarded to the Department of Law Enforcement within 48 hours after the court sentences the offender. The fingerprint card shall be clearly marked "Sexual Offender Registration Card."

(4)  A sexual offender, as described in this section, who is under the supervision of the Department of Corrections but is not incarcerated must register with the Department of Corrections and provide the following information: name; date of birth; social security number; race; sex; height; weight; hair and eye color; tattoos or other identifying marks; and permanent or legal residence and address of temporary residence within the state or out of state while the sexual offender is under supervision in this state, including any rural route address or post office box. The Department of Corrections shall verify the address of each sexual offender in the manner described in ss. 775.21 and 943.0435.

(5)  In addition to notification and transmittal requirements imposed by any other provision of law, the department shall compile information on any sexual offender and provide the information to the Department of Law Enforcement. The information shall be made available electronically to the Department of Law Enforcement as soon as this information is in the department's database and must be in a format that is compatible with the requirements of the Florida Crime Information Center.

(6)  The information provided to the Department of Law Enforcement must include:

(a)  The information obtained from the sexual offender under subsection (4);

(b)  The sexual offender's most current address and place of permanent and temporary residence within the state or out of state while the sexual offender is under supervision in this state, including the name of the county or municipality in which the offender permanently or temporarily resides and, if known, the intended place of permanent or temporary residence upon satisfaction of all sanctions;

(c)  The legal status of the sexual offender and the scheduled termination date of that legal status;

(d)  The location of, and local telephone number for, any Department of Corrections' office that is responsible for supervising the sexual offender;

(e)  An indication of whether the victim of the offense that resulted in the offender's status as a sexual offender was a minor;

(f)  The offense or offenses at conviction which resulted in the determination of the offender's status as a sex offender; and

(g)  A digitized photograph of the sexual offender which must have been taken within 60 days before the offender is released from the custody of the department or a private correctional facility by expiration of sentence under s. 944.275 or must have been taken by January 1, 1998, or within 60 days after the onset of the department's supervision of any sexual offender who is on probation, community control, conditional release, parole, provisional release, or control release or who is supervised by the department under the Interstate Compact Agreement for Probationers and Parolees. If the sexual offender is in the custody of a private correctional facility, the facility shall take a digitized photograph of the sexual offender within the time period provided in this paragraph and shall provide the photograph to the department.

If any information provided by the department changes during the time the sexual offender is under the department's control, custody, or supervision, including any change in the offender's name by reason of marriage or other legal process, the department shall, in a timely manner, update the information and provide it to the Department of Law Enforcement in the manner prescribed in subsection (2).

(7)  If the sexual offender is in the custody of a local jail, the custodian of the local jail shall register the offender and forward the information to the Department of Law Enforcement. The custodian of the local jail shall also take a digitized photograph of the sexual offender while the offender remains in custody and shall provide the digitized photograph to the Department of Law Enforcement.

(8)  If the sexual offender is under federal supervision, the federal agency responsible for supervising the sexual offender may forward to the Department of Law Enforcement any information regarding the sexual offender which is consistent with the information provided by the department under this section, and may indicate whether use of the information is restricted to law enforcement purposes only or may be used by the Department of Law Enforcement for purposes of public notification.

(9)  A sexual offender, as described in this section, who is under the supervision of the Department of Corrections but who is not incarcerated shall, in addition to the registration requirements provided in subsection (4), register in the manner provided in s. 943.0435(3), (4), and (5), unless the sexual offender is a sexual predator, in which case he or she shall register as required under s. 775.21. A sexual offender who fails to comply with the requirements of s. 943.0435 is subject to the penalties provided in s. 943.0435(9).

(10)  The failure of a sexual offender to submit to the taking of a digitized photograph, or to otherwise comply with the requirements of this section, is a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

(11)  The department, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Corrections, personnel of those departments, and any individual or entity acting at the request or upon the direction of those departments are immune from civil liability for damages for good faith compliance with this section, and shall be presumed to have acted in good faith in compiling, recording, reporting, or providing information. The presumption of good faith is not overcome if technical or clerical errors are made by the department, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Law Enforcement, personnel of those departments, or any individual or entity acting at the request or upon the direction of those departments in compiling, recording, reporting, or providing information, or, if the information is incomplete or incorrect because the information has not been provided by a person or agency required to provide the information, or because the information was not reported or was falsely reported.

History.--s. 9, ch. 97-299; s. 11, ch. 98-81; s. 5, ch. 2000-207; s. 3, ch. 2000-246.