CS/HB 269 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to public nuisances; amending s. 2
403.413, F.S.; prohibiting a person from distributing 3
onto private residential property any material that 4
evidences religious or ethnic animus for the purpose 5
of intimidating or threatening the owner or resi dent 6
of such property; providing criminal penalties; 7
requiring that certain violations be reported as hate 8
crimes; creating s. 784.0493, F.S.; providing a 9
definition; prohibiting a person from willfully and 10
maliciously harassing, threatening, or intimidati ng 11
another person based on the person's wearing or 12
displaying of any indicia relating to any religious or 13
ethnic heritage; providing criminal penalties; 14
requiring that violations be reported as hate crimes; 15
amending s. 806.13, F.S.; prohibiting willful and 16
malicious defacement, injury, or damage to certain 17
property; removing a minimum damage requirement for a 18
violation; providing construction; requiring that 19
violations be reported as hate crimes; providing a 20
definition; prohibiting the display or projection of 21
images onto a building, structure, or property without 22
permission; providing a definition; providing criminal 23
penalties; providing construction; requiring that 24
certain violations be reported as hate crimes; 25
CS/HB 269 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
creating s. 810.098, F.S.; prohibiting a pers on who 26
willfully enters the campus of a state university or 27
Florida College System institution for the purpose of 28
threatening or intimidating another person from 29
remaining on such campus after being warned to depart; 30
providing criminal penalties; providing construction; 31
requiring that certain violations be reported as a 32
hate crime; providing definitions; amending s. 871.01, 33
F.S.; prohibiting interference with certain 34
assemblies; providing construction; requiring that 35
certain violations be reported as hate c rimes; 36
providing an effective date. 37
38
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 39
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Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section 41
403.413, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 42
403.413 Florida Litter Law. — 43
(6) PENALTIES; ENFORCEMENT.— 44
(a)1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2., any person 45
who dumps litter in violation of subsection (4) in an amount not 46
exceeding 15 pounds in weight or 27 cubic feet in volume and not 47
for commercial purposes commits a noncriminal infraction, 48
punishable by a civil penalty of $150, from which $50 shall be 49
deposited into the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund to be used 50
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for the solid waste management grant program pursuant to s. 51
403.7095. 52
2. If a person violates subparagraph 1. by intentionally 53
dumping litter onto private residential property that evidences 54
religious or ethnic animus for the purpose of intimidating or 55
threatening the owner or resident of such property, the person 56
commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in 57
s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. A violation of this 58
subparagraph shall be considered a hate crime for purposes of 59
the reporting requirements of s. 877.19. 60
61
In addition, the court may require a person who violates this 62
subsection the violator to pick up litter or perform other labor 63
commensurate with the offense committed. 64
Section 2. Section 784.0493, Florida Statutes, is created 65
to read: 66
784.0493 Harassment or intimidation based on religious or 67
ethnic heritage.— 68
(1) As used in this section, the term "harass" has the 69
same meaning as in s. 784.048(1). 70
(2) A person may not willfully and maliciously harass, 71
threaten, or intimidate another person based on the person's 72
wearing or displaying of any indicia relating to any religious 73
or ethnic heritage. 74
(3) A person who violates this section commits a felony of 75
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the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 76
775.083, or s. 775.084. 77
(4) A violation of this section is considered a hate crime 78
for purposes of the reporting requirements of s. 877.19. 79
Section 3. Subsections (6) through (10) of section 806.13, 80
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (7) through 81
(11), respectively, subsection (2) and present subsection (9) of 82
that section are amended, and a new subsection (6) is added to 83
that section, to read: 84
806.13 Criminal mischief; penalties; penalty for minor. — 85
(2)(a) Any person who willfully and maliciously defaces, 86
injures, or damages by any means : 87
1. Any church, synagogue, mosque, or other place of 88
worship, or any religio us article contained therein ;, 89
2. Any cemetery, grave, or memorial as defined in s. 90
806.135, which the person knows, or reasonably should have 91
known, is associated with a particular religious or ethnic 92
heritage; or 93
3. Any school, or community center as defined in s. 94
893.13(1)(c), which the person knows, or reasonably should have 95
known, is associated with a particular religious or ethnic 96
heritage, 97
98
commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in 99
s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084 , if the damage to the 100
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property is greater than $200 . 101
(b) A violation of this subsection is considered a hate 102
crime for purposes of the reporting requirements of s. 877.19. 103
(c) For purposes of this subsection, the term "school" 104
means the grounds or facility of any early learning, 105
prekindergarten, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, 106
junior high school, secondary school, career center, or 107
postsecondary school, whether public or private. 108
(6) A person may not knowingly and intentionally display 109
or project, using any medium, an image onto a building, 110
structure, or other property without the written consent of the 111
owner of the building, structure, or property. For purposes of 112
this subsection, the term "image" means a visual representation 113
or likeness of a person or object, including text, graphics, 114
logos, other artwork, or any combination thereof. 115
(a) A person who violates this subsection commits a 116
misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 117
775.082 or s. 775.083. 118
(b) If a person displays or projects an image that 119
evidences religious or ethnic animus, including anti -Semitism as 120
described in s. 1000.05(8), during the commission of an offense 121
under this subsection, it is prima facie evidence that such 122
person has evidenced prejudice in the commission of the offense 123
for the purpose of reclassifying the penalty under s. 775.085. 124
(c) If the penalty for a violation of this subsection is 125
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reclassified under s. 775.085, such a violation is considered a 126
hate crime for purposes of the reportin g requirements of s. 127
877.19. 128
(10)(9) A minor whose driver license or driving privilege 129
is revoked, suspended, or withheld under subsection (9)(8) may 130
elect to reduce the period of revocation, suspension, or 131
withholding by performing community service at the rate of 1 day 132
for each hour of community service performed. In addition, if 133
the court determines that due to a family hardship, the minor's 134
driver license or driving privilege is necessary for employment 135
or medical purposes of the minor or a member of the minor's 136
family, the court shall order the minor to perform community 137
service and reduce the period of revocation, suspension, or 138
withholding at the rate of 1 day for each hour of community 139
service performed. As used in this subsection, the term 140
"community service" means cleaning graffiti from public 141
property. 142
Section 4. Section 810.098, Florida Statutes, is created 143
to read: 144
810.098 Trespass for the purpose of threatening or 145
intimidating another person. — 146
(1)(a) Whoever, without being authorized, licensed, or 147
invited, willfully enters the campus of a state university or 148
Florida College System institution for the purpose of 149
threatening or intimidating another person, and is warned by the 150
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state university or Florida College System institution to depa rt 151
and refuses to do so, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, 152
punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 153
(b) If a person evidences religious or ethnic animus, 154
including anti-Semitism as described in s. 1000.05(8), during 155
the commission of an offense under this subsection, it is prima 156
facie evidence that such person has evidenced prejudice in the 157
commission of the offense for the purpose of reclassifying the 158
penalty under s. 775.085. 159
(c) If the penalty for a violation of this subsection is 160
reclassified under s. 775.085, such a violation is considered a 161
hate crime for purposes of the reporting requirements of s. 162
877.19. 163
(2) As used in this section, the terms "Florida College 164
System institution" and "state university" have the same meaning 165
as in s. 1000.21(3) and (6), respectively. 166
Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 871.01, Florida 167
Statutes, is amended to read: 168
871.01 Disturbing schools and religious and other 169
assemblies.— 170
(1)(a) Whoever willfully and maliciously interrupts or 171
disturbs any school or any assembly of people met for the 172
worship of God, any assembly of people met for the purpose of 173
acknowledging the death of an individual, or for any other 174
lawful purpose commits a misdemeanor of the first second degree, 175
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punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 176
(b) If a person evidences religious or ethnic animus, 177
including anti-Semitism as described in s. 1000.05(8), during 178
the commission of an offense under this subsection, it is prima 179
facie evidence that such person has evidenced prejudice in the 180
commission of the offense for the purpose of reclassifying the 181
penalty under s. 775.085. 182
(c) If the penalty for a violation of this subsection is 183
reclassified under s. 775.085, such a violation is considered a 184
hate crime for purposes of the reporting requirements of s. 185
877.19. 186
Section 6. This act shall take effect October 1, 2023. 187