CS/HB 779 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 pregnant women in the criminal 2
justice system; providing a short title; creating s. 3
907.033, F.S.; requiring each female arrested and 4
detained in specified detention facilities to be 5
informed of her right to request a pregnancy test in 6
certain circumstances; requiring administration of 7
such a test within a specified timeframe; requiring 8
timely notification of the test results; providing for 9
the types of pregnancy tests that may be given; 10
creating s. 925.13, F.S.; authorizing a pregnant woman 11
who is convicted of a felony to petition, at the time 12
of sentencing, the court to defer the incarcerative 13
portion of her sentence for a specified per iod of 14
time; requiring a petitioning woman to provide 15
verification that she is pregnant; providing factors a 16
court must take into account when determining whether 17
to grant such a petition; requiring a court that 18
grants such a petition to place the pregnant woman on 19
probation until she is incarcerated; requiring a 20
special condition of probation; authorizing a court to 21
revoke probation or impose sanctions if the pregnant 22
woman granted such a deferred sentence is arrested for 23
committing a new offense or violat es conditions of 24
probation; amending s. 944.24, F.S.; requiring the 25
CS/HB 779 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
Department of Corrections to collect specified 26
information relating to births during a woman's term 27
of imprisonment and the health of pregnant inmates; 28
requiring the department to submit a n annual report; 29
requiring exclusion of personally identifying 30
information; providing an effective date. 31
32
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 33
34
Section 1. This act may be cited as "Ava's Law." 35
Section 2. Section 907.033, Fl orida Statutes, is created 36
to read: 37
907.033 Pregnancy testing of female arrestees. — 38
(1)(a) Every female who is arrested and detained in either 39
a county detention facility or a municipal detention facility, 40
as those terms are defined in s. 951.23(1), or a detention 41
center or facility, as defined in s. 985.03(19), must: 42
1. Upon her initial booking into the facility, be informed 43
of her right to request a pregnancy test if she is still in 44
custody 72 hours after her arrest. 45
2. If she is still in custody 72 hours after her arrest, 46
upon request, be administered a pregnancy test within 24 hours 47
after making such request. 48
(b) A facility must timely inform the female of the 49
results of the pregnancy test. 50
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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
(2) The pregnancy test may be conducted by a urine o r 51
blood test, ultrasound scan, or any other standard pregnancy 52
testing protocols adopted by the facility. 53
Section 3. Section 925.13, Florida Statutes, is created to 54
read: 55
925.13 Sentence deferral for pregnant women. — 56
(1)(a) Notwithstanding any othe r law, a pregnant woman who 57
is convicted of a felony and sentenced to a term of 58
incarceration in a state correctional institution, as defined in 59
s. 944.02, may, at the time of sentencing, petition the 60
sentencing court to defer the incarcerative portion of her 61
sentence for up to 12 weeks after the pregnant woman gives birth 62
to a child or the pregnancy ends, whichever occurs sooner. 63
(b) A pregnant woman who petitions to defer her sentence 64
must provide verifiable proof of her pregnancy to the court 65
along with the petition for sentence deferral. Verifiable proof 66
may be demonstrated by providing records pursuant to a medical 67
examination or by other suitable means as determined by the 68
court. 69
(c) In determining whether to grant a petition for 70
sentence deferral, the sentencing court must consider the 71
severity of the offense for which the pregnant woman was 72
convicted, the pregnant woman's prior criminal history, whether 73
deferring the incarcerative portion of the pregnant woman's 74
sentence poses a danger to the community, the health of the 75
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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
pregnant woman, and any special circumstances related to the 76
woman's pregnancy. 77
(2) If the sentencing court grants a pregnant woman's 78
petition to defer the incarcerative portion of her sentence, the 79
court must place the pregnant woman on probation, as defined in 80
s. 948.001(8), until the pregnant woman is incarcerated. The 81
sentencing court must require, in addition to the standard 82
conditions of probation in s. 948.03, the pregnant woman to 83
timely inform her probation offic er if she gives birth or her 84
pregnancy ends. The court may order electronic monitoring as a 85
condition of probation when deemed necessary. 86
(3) If a court grants a pregnant woman's petition to defer 87
the incarcerative portion of her sentence and the pregna nt woman 88
is arrested for committing a criminal offense during the 89
deferral period or violates any condition of probation imposed 90
by the court, the court may impose any sanction that may be 91
imposed under s. 948.06, including revoking the pregnant woman's 92
probation and requiring her term of incarceration to begin 93
immediately. 94
Section 4. Subsection (7) is added to section 944.24, 95
Florida Statutes, to read: 96
944.24 Administration of correctional institutions for 97
women.— 98
(7)(a) The department must collect all of the following 99
information, which the department must compile and submit 100
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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
annually in a report to the Governor, the President of the 101
Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives: 102
1. The total number of pregnant inmates who give birth 103
during their term of imprisonment and whether the birth was a 104
live birth or stillbirth. 105
2. The gestational age and birth weight of each infant 106
born during the mother's term of imprisonment. 107
3. The total number of pregnant inmates who experience 108
complications during their term of imprisonment and the types of 109
complications experienced. 110
4. The total number of pregnant inmates who experience 111
miscarriages. 112
(b) The information reported pursuant to paragraph (a) 113
must exclude personally identifying informatio n and must comply 114
with state and federal confidentiality laws. 115
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 116