CS/CS/HB 729 2024
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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 lethality assessments; amending s. 2
741.29, F.S.; requiring law enforcement officers who 3
investigate an alleged incident of domestic violence 4
to administer a lethality assessment under certain 5
circumstances; requiring the Department of La w 6
Enforcement to consult with specified entities to 7
develop and implement a statewide lethality 8
assessment; requiring certain policies, procedures, 9
and training for specified purposes; requiring the 10
department to adopt a specified form by a date 11
certain; requiring that training on administering 12
lethality assessments and the adopted form be 13
available to law enforcement officers in an online 14
format; requiring certain law enforcement officers to 15
be trained in administering lethality assessments by a 16
specified date; prohibiting law enforcement officers 17
from administering a lethality assessment without the 18
required training; prohibiting law enforcement 19
officers from administering a lethality assessment if 20
they have not completed lethality assessment training; 21
requiring law enforcement officers administering a 22
lethality assessment to ask a victim specified 23
questions; requiring law enforcement officers to 24
advise the victim of the results of the lethality 25
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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
assessment and refer the victim to certain domestic 26
violence centers under certain circumstances; 27
requiring law enforcement officers to document in the 28
written police report a victim's refusal or inability 29
to provide information necessary for the lethality 30
assessment; prohibiting law enforcement officers from 31
disclosing in certain statements and reports the 32
domestic violence center to which the victim was 33
referred; requiring that written police reports for 34
domestic violence incidents include the score of the 35
lethality assessment, if one was administered; making 36
technical changes; reenacting s. 39.906, F.S., 37
relating to referral to domestic violence centers and 38
notice of rights, to incorporate the amendment made to 39
s. 741.29, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing 40
appropriations; providing an effective date. 41
42
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 43
44
Section 1. Section 741.29, Florida Statutes, is amended to 45
read: 46
741.29 Domestic violence; investigation of incidents; 47
notice to victims of legal rights and remedies; reporting. — 48
(1) Any law enforcement officer who investigates an 49
alleged incident of domestic violence shall : 50
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(a) Assist the victim to obtain medical treatment if such 51
is required as a result of the alleged incident to which the 52
officer responds;. Any law enforcement officer who investigates 53
an alleged incident of domestic violence shall 54
(b) Advise the victim of such violence that there is a 55
domestic violence center from which the victim may receive 56
services;. 57
(c) Administer a lethality assessment consistent with the 58
requirements established in subsection (2) if the allegation of 59
domestic violence is against an intimate partner, regardless of 60
whether an arrest is made; and 61
(d) The law enforcement officer shall Give the victim 62
immediate notice of the legal rights and remedies available on a 63
standard form developed and distributed by the department. As 64
necessary, the department shall revise the Legal Rights and 65
Remedies Notice to Victims to include a general summary of s. 66
741.30 using simple English as well as Spanish, and shal l 67
distribute the notice as a model form to be used by all law 68
enforcement agencies throughout this the state. The notice must 69
shall include: 70
1.(a) The resource listing, including telephone number, 71
for the area domestic violence center designated by the 72
Department of Children and Families; and 73
2.(b) A copy of the following statement: 74
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
"IF YOU ARE THE VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, you may 76
ask the state attorney to file a criminal complaint. 77
You also have the right to go to court and file a 78
petition requesting an injunction for protection from 79
domestic violence which may include, but need not be 80
limited to, provisions which restrain the abuser from 81
further acts of abuse; direct the abuser to leave your 82
household; prevent the abuser from entering your 83
residence, school, business, or place of employment; 84
award you custody of your minor child or children; and 85
direct the abuser to pay support to you and the minor 86
children if the abuser has a legal obligation to do 87
so." 88
89
(2) The department shall consult with the Department of 90
Children and Families and at least one domestic violence 91
advocacy organization to develop the policies, procedures, and 92
training necessary for implementation of a statewide evidence -93
based lethality assessment. Such policies, procedures, and 94
training must provide how to determine if a victim and an 95
aggressor are intimate partners and must establish a statewide 96
process for referring a victim to a certified domestic violence 97
center. By January 1, 2025, t he department must adopt a 98
statewide lethality assessment form that includes all of the 99
information in paragraph (b). Training on how to administer a 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
lethality assessment and the adopted lethality assessment form 101
must be accessible to a law enforcement off icer in an online 102
format. 103
(a) By October 1, 2026, all law enforcement officers who 104
respond to or investigate crimes of domestic violence must be 105
trained on the policies and procedures for administering a 106
lethality assessment. A law enforcement officer ma y not 107
administer a lethality assessment to a victim if the officer has 108
not received training on administering a lethality assessment. 109
(b) To administer a lethality assessment, a law 110
enforcement officer shall ask the victim, in the same or similar 111
wording and in the same order, all of the following questions: 112
1. Did the aggressor ever use a weapon against you or 113
threaten you with a weapon? 114
2. Did the aggressor ever threaten to kill you or your 115
children? 116
3. Do you believe the aggressor will try to kil l you? 117
4. Has the aggressor ever choked you or attempted to choke 118
you? 119
5. Does the aggressor have a gun or could the aggressor 120
easily obtain a gun? 121
6. Is the aggressor violently or constantly jealous, or 122
does the aggressor control most of your daily activities? 123
7. Did you leave or separate from the aggressor after you 124
were living together or married? 125
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8. Is the aggressor unemployed? 126
9. To the best of your knowledge, has the aggressor ever 127
attempted suicide? 128
10. Do you have a child whom the aggr essor believes is not 129
the aggressor's biological child? 130
11. Has the aggressor ever followed, spied on, or left 131
threatening messages for you? 132
12. Is there anything else that worries you about your 133
safety and, if so, what worries you? 134
(c) A law enforcement officer shall advise a victim of the 135
results of the lethality assessment and refer the victim to the 136
nearest locally certified domestic violence center if: 137
1. The victim answers affirmatively to any of the 138
questions in subparagraphs (a)1. -4.; 139
2. The victim answers negatively to the questions in 140
subparagraphs (a)1.-4., but affirmatively to at least four of 141
the questions in subparagraphs (a)5. -11.; or 142
3. As a result of the victim's response to subparagraph 143
(a)12., the law enforcement officer believ es the victim is in a 144
potentially lethal situation. 145
(d) If a victim does not, or is unable to, provide 146
information to a law enforcement officer sufficient to allow the 147
law enforcement officer to administer a lethality assessment, 148
the law enforcement offi cer must document the lack of a 149
lethality assessment in the written police report required in 150
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subsection (3) and refer the victim to the nearest locally 151
certified domestic violence center. 152
(e) A law enforcement officer may not include in a 153
probable cause statement, written police report, or incident 154
report the domestic violence center to which a victim was 155
referred. 156
(3)(2) When a law enforcement officer investigates an 157
allegation that an incident of domestic violence has occurred, 158
the officer shall handle the incident pursuant to the arrest 159
policy provided in s. 901.15(7), and as developed in accordance 160
with subsections (4) (3), (5) (4), and (6) (5). Regardless of 161
whether or not an arrest is made, the officer shall make a 162
written police report that is complete and clearly indicates the 163
alleged offense was an incident of domestic violence. Such 164
report must shall be given to the officer's supervisor and filed 165
with the law enforcement agency in a manner that will permit 166
data on domestic violence cases to be compiled. Such report must 167
include all of the following : 168
(a) A description of physical injuries observed, if any. 169
(b) If a law enforcement officer decides not to make an 170
arrest or decides to arrest two or more parties, the officer 171
shall include in the report the grounds for not arresting anyone 172
or for arresting two or more parties. 173
(c) A statement which indicates that a copy of the legal 174
rights and remedies notice was given to the victim. 175
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(d) A notation of the score of a lethality assessment, if 176
one was administered pursuant to paragraph (1)(c). 177
178
Whenever possible, the law enforcement officer shall obtain a 179
written statement from the victim and witnesses concerning the 180
alleged domestic violence. The officer shall submit the report 181
to the supervisor or other person to whom the employer's rules 182
or policies require reports of similar allegations of criminal 183
activity to be made. The law enforcement agency shall, without 184
charge, send a copy of the initial police report, as well as any 185
subsequent, supplemental, or related report, which excludes 186
victim/witness statements or other materials that are part of an 187
active criminal investigation and are exempt from disclosure 188
under chapter 119, to the nearest locally certified domestic 189
violence center within 24 hours after the agency's receipt of 190
the report. The report furnished to the domestic violence center 191
must include a narrative description of the domestic violence 192
incident. 193
(4)(3) Whenever a law enforcement officer determines upon 194
probable cause that an act of domestic violence has been 195
committed within the jurisdiction the officer may arrest the 196
person or persons suspected of its commission and charge such 197
person or persons with the appropriate crime. The decision to 198
arrest and charge shall not require consent of the victim or 199
consideration of the relationship of the parties. 200
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(5)(a)(4)(a) When complaints are received from two or more 201
parties, the officers shall evaluate each complaint separately 202
to determine whether there is probable cause for arrest. 203
(b) If a law enforcement officer has probable cause to 204
believe that two or more person s have committed a misdemeanor or 205
felony, or if two or more persons make complaints to the 206
officer, the officer must shall try to determine who was the 207
primary aggressor. Arrest is the preferred response only with 208
respect to the primary aggressor and not t he preferred response 209
with respect to a person who acts in a reasonable manner to 210
protect or defend oneself or another family or household member 211
from domestic violence. 212
(6)(5) A No law enforcement officer may not shall be held 213
liable, in any civil actio n, for an arrest based on probable 214
cause, enforcement in good faith of a court order, or service of 215
process in good faith under this chapter arising from an alleged 216
incident of domestic violence brought by any party to the 217
incident. 218
(7)(6) A person who willfully violates a condition of 219
pretrial release provided in s. 903.047, when the original 220
arrest was for an act of domestic violence as defined in s. 221
741.28, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as 222
provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, a nd shall be held in 223
custody until his or her first appearance. 224
Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 225
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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
made by this act to section 741.29, Florida Statutes, in a 226
reference thereto, section 39.906, Florida Statutes, is 227
reenacted to read: 228
39.906 Referral to centers and notice of rights. —Any law 229
enforcement officer who investigates an alleged incident of 230
domestic violence shall advise the victim of such violence that 231
there is a domestic violence center from which the victim may 232
receive services. The law enforcement officer shall give the 233
victim immediate notice of the legal rights and remedies 234
available in accordance with the provisions of s. 741.29. 235
Section 3. For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, one full -time 236
equivalent position with ass ociated salary rate of 41,108 is 237
authorized and the sums of $76,427 in recurring funds and 238
$66,167 in nonrecurring funds from the Criminal Justice 239
Standards and Training Trust Fund are appropriated to the 240
Department of Law Enforcement for the purpose of im plementing 241
this act. 242
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 243