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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 a claim under 25
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this paragraph occurred because of a delay in the testing of, or 26
a delay in the DNA profile matching from, a sexual assault 27
forensic examination kit or biological material collected as 28
evidence related to a sexual offense, a person who is eligible 29
for compensation under subsection (1) may receive a waiver of 30
any claim filing deadline. 31
3. 2. For good cause based on reason other than a delay 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 a claim under 44
this paragraph occurred because of a delay in the testing of, or 45
a delay in the DNA profile matching from, a sexual assault 46
forensic examination kit or biological material collected as 47
evidence related to a sexu al offense, a person who is eligible 48
for compensation under subsection (1) may receive a waiver of 49
any claim filing deadline. 50
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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 under 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 c laim 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 a claim occurred because 72
of delay in the testing of, or a delay in the DNA profile 73
matching from, a sexual assault forensic examination kit or 74
biological material collected as evidence related to a sexual 75
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offense, a person who is eligible for compen sation under this 76
subsection may receive a waiver of any claim filing deadline. 77
For good cause based on any other reason , the department may 78
extend the time period allowed for filing a claim under 79
paragraph (b) for an additional period not to exceed 1 year or 80
under paragraph (c) for an additional period not to exceed 2 81
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 menta l 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 dela y in filing a claim occurred because 96
of delay in the testing of, or a delay in the DNA profile 97
matching from, a sexual assault forensic examination kit or 98
biological material collected as evidence related to a sexual 99
offense, a person who is eligible for c ompensation under this 100
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subsection may receive a waiver of any claim filing deadline. 101
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 102