HB 1577 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 crime victim compensation claims; 2
amending s. 960.07, F.S.; providing for waiver of 3
deadlines for filing victim compensation claims if the 4
delay occurred because of a delay in the testing of or 5
DNA profile matching from material collected as 6
evidence related to a sexual offense; providing an 7
effective date. 8
9
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 10
11
Section 1. Subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section 12
960.07, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 13
960.07 Filing of claims for compensation. — 14
(2) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4), a claim 15
must be filed in accordance with this subsection. 16
(a)1. A claim arising from a crime occurring before 17
October 1, 2019, must be filed within 1 year after: 18
a. The occurrence of the crime upon which the claim is 19
based. 20
b. The death of the victim or intervenor. 21
c. The death of the victim or intervenor is determined to 22
be the result of a crime, and the crime occurred after June 30, 23
1994. 24
2. Upon a showing that a delay in filing the application 25
HB 1577 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
occurred because of a delay in the testing of, or a delay in the 26
DNA profile matching from, a sexual assault forensic examinatio n 27
kit or biological material collected as evidence related to a 28
sexual offense, a person who is eligible for compensation under 29
subsection (1) may receive a waiver of any application filing 30
deadline. 31
3. 2. For good cause based on reason other than a dela y 32
described in subparagraph 2., the department may extend the time 33
for filing a claim under subparagraph 1. for a period not 34
exceeding 2 years after such occurrence. 35
(b)1. A claim arising from a crime occurring on or after 36
October 1, 2019, must be filed within 3 years after the later 37
of: 38
a. The occurrence of the crime upon which the claim is 39
based; 40
b. The death of the victim or intervenor; or 41
c. The death of the victim or intervenor is determined to 42
be the result of the crime. 43
2. Upon a showing that a delay in filing the application 44
occurred because of a delay in the testing of, or a delay in the 45
DNA profile matching from, a sexual assault forensic examination 46
kit or biological material collected as evidence related to a 47
sexual offense, a person who is eligible for compensation under 48
subsection (1) may receive a waiver of any application filing 49
deadline. 50
HB 1577 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
3. 2. For good cause based on a reason other than a delay 51
described in subparagraph 2., the department may extend the time 52
for filing a claim u nder subparagraph 1. for a period not to 53
exceed 5 years after such occurrence. 54
(3) Notwithstanding The provisions of subsection (2) 55
notwithstanding, if the victim or intervenor was under the age 56
of 18 at the time the crime upon which the claim is based 57
occurred, a claim may be filed in accordance with this 58
subsection. 59
(a) The victim's or intervenor's parent or guardian may 60
file a claim on behalf of the victim or intervenor while the 61
victim or intervenor is less than 18 years of age; 62
(b) For a claim arising from a crime that occurred before 63
October 1, 2019, when a victim or intervenor who was under the 64
age of 18 at the time the crime occurred reaches the age of 18, 65
the victim or intervenor has 1 year to file a claim; or 66
(c) For a claim arising from a crime occurring on or after 67
October 1, 2019, when a victim or intervenor who was under the 68
age of 18 at the time the crime occurred reaches the age of 18, 69
the victim or intervenor has 3 years to file a claim. 70
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Upon a showing that a delay in filing the appl ication occurred 72
because of delay in the testing of, or a delay in the DNA 73
profile matching from, a sexual assault forensic examination kit 74
or biological material collected as evidence related to a sexual 75
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offense, a person who is eligible for compensation under this 76
subsection may receive a waiver of any application filing 77
deadline. For good cause based on any other reason , the 78
department may extend the time period allowed for filing a claim 79
under paragraph (b) for an additional period not to exceed 1 80
year or under paragraph (c) for an additional period not to 81
exceed 2 years. 82
(4) The provisions of subsection (2) notwithstanding, a 83
victim of a sexually violent offense as defined in s. 394.912, 84
may file a claim for compensation for counseling or other mental 85
health services within: 86
(a) One year after the filing of a petition under s. 87
394.914, to involuntarily civilly commit the individual who 88
perpetrated the sexually violent offense, if the claim arises 89
from a crime committed before October 1, 2019; or 90
(b) Three years after the filing of a petition under s. 91
394.914, to involuntarily civilly commit the individual who 92
perpetrated the sexually violent offense, if the claim arises 93
from a crime committed on or after October 1, 2019. 94
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Upon a showing that a delay in filing the application occurred 96
because of delay in the testing of, or a delay in the DNA 97
profile matching from, a sexual assault forensic examination kit 98
or biological material collected as evidence related to a sexual 99
offense, a person who is eligibl e for compensation under this 100
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subsection may receive a waiver of any application filing 101
deadline. 102
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 103