FL
Florida House Bill H0729

Florida 2024 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0729 Compare Versions

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1010 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
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1414 A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to lethality assessments; amending s. 2
1616 741.29, F.S.; requiring law enforcement officers who 3
1717 investigate an alleged incident of domestic violence 4
1818 to administer a lethality assessment under certain 5
1919 circumstances; requiring the Department of La w 6
2020 Enforcement to consult with specified entities to 7
2121 develop and implement a statewide lethality 8
2222 assessment; requiring certain policies, procedures, 9
2323 and training for specified purposes; requiring the 10
2424 department to adopt a specified form by a date 11
2525 certain; requiring that training on administering 12
2626 lethality assessments and the adopted form be 13
2727 available to law enforcement officers in an online 14
2828 format; requiring certain law enforcement officers to 15
2929 be trained in administering lethality assessments by a 16
3030 specified date; prohibiting law enforcement officers 17
3131 from administering a lethality assessment without the 18
3232 required training; prohibiting law enforcement 19
3333 officers from administering a lethality assessment if 20
3434 they have not completed lethality assessment training; 21
3535 requiring law enforcement officers administering a 22
3636 lethality assessment to ask a victim specified 23
3737 questions; requiring law enforcement officers to 24
3838 advise the victim of the results of the lethality 25
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4747 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
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5151 assessment and refer the victim to certain domestic 26
5252 violence centers under certain circumstances; 27
5353 requiring law enforcement officers to document in the 28
5454 written police report a victim's refusal or inability 29
5555 to provide information necessary for the lethality 30
5656 assessment; prohibiting law enforcement officers from 31
5757 disclosing in certain statements and reports the 32
5858 domestic violence center to which the victim was 33
5959 referred; requiring that written police reports for 34
6060 domestic violence incidents include the score of the 35
6161 lethality assessment, if one was administered; making 36
6262 technical changes; reenacting s. 39.906, F.S., 37
6363 relating to referral to domestic violence centers and 38
6464 notice of rights, to incorporate the amendment made to 39
65-s. 741.29, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing 40
66-appropriations; providing an effective date. 41
65+s. 741.29, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an 40
66+effective date. 41
6767 42
6868 Be It Enacted by the Legislat ure of the State of Florida: 43
6969 44
7070 Section 1. Section 741.29, Florida Statutes, is amended to 45
7171 read: 46
7272 741.29 Domestic violence; investigation of incidents; 47
7373 notice to victims of legal rights and remedies; reporting. — 48
7474 (1) Any law enforcement officer who inv estigates an 49
7575 alleged incident of domestic violence shall : 50
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8484 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
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8888 (a) Assist the victim to obtain medical treatment if such 51
8989 is required as a result of the alleged incident to which the 52
9090 officer responds;. Any law enforcement officer who investigates 53
9191 an alleged incident of domestic violence shall 54
9292 (b) Advise the victim of such violence that there is a 55
9393 domestic violence center from which the victim may receive 56
9494 services;. 57
9595 (c) Administer a lethality assessment consistent with the 58
9696 requirements established in subsec tion (2) if the allegation of 59
9797 domestic violence is against an intimate partner, regardless of 60
9898 whether an arrest is made; and 61
9999 (d) The law enforcement officer shall Give the victim 62
100100 immediate notice of the legal rights and remedies available on a 63
101101 standard form developed and distributed by the department. As 64
102102 necessary, the department shall revise the Legal Rights and 65
103103 Remedies Notice to Victims to include a general summary of s. 66
104104 741.30 using simple English as well as Spanish, and shall 67
105105 distribute the notice as a model form to be used by all law 68
106106 enforcement agencies throughout this the state. The notice must 69
107107 shall include: 70
108108 1.(a) The resource listing, including telephone number, 71
109109 for the area domestic violence center designated by the 72
110110 Department of Children and Families; and 73
111111 2.(b) A copy of the following statement: 74
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121121 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
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125125 "IF YOU ARE THE VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, you may 76
126126 ask the state attorney to file a criminal complaint. 77
127127 You also have the right to go to court and file a 78
128128 petition requesting an injunction for pro tection from 79
129129 domestic violence which may include, but need not be 80
130130 limited to, provisions which restrain the abuser from 81
131131 further acts of abuse; direct the abuser to leave your 82
132132 household; prevent the abuser from entering your 83
133133 residence, school, business, or place of employment; 84
134134 award you custody of your minor child or children; and 85
135135 direct the abuser to pay support to you and the minor 86
136136 children if the abuser has a legal obligation to do 87
137137 so." 88
138138 89
139139 (2) The department shall consult with the Department of 90
140140 Children and Families and at least one domestic violence 91
141141 advocacy organization to develop the policies, procedures, and 92
142142 training necessary for implementation of a statewide evidence -93
143143 based lethality assessment. Such policies, procedures, and 94
144144 training must provide how to determine if a victim and an 95
145145 aggressor are intimate partners and must establish a statewide 96
146146 process for referring a victim to a certified domestic violence 97
147147 center. By January 1, 2025, the department must adopt a 98
148148 statewide lethality assessment form that includes all of the 99
149149 information in paragraph (b). Training on how to administer a 100
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158158 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
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162162 lethality assessment and the adopted lethality assessment form 101
163163 must be accessible to a law enforcement officer in an online 102
164164 format. 103
165165 (a) By October 1, 2026, all law enforcement officers who 104
166166 respond to or investigate crimes of domestic violence must be 105
167167 trained on the policies and procedures for administering a 106
168168 lethality assessment. A law enforcement officer may not 107
169169 administer a lethality assessment to a victim if the o fficer has 108
170170 not received training on administering a lethality assessment. 109
171171 (b) To administer a lethality assessment, a law 110
172172 enforcement officer shall ask the victim, in the same or similar 111
173173 wording and in the same order, all of the following questions: 112
174174 1. Did the aggressor ever use a weapon against you or 113
175175 threaten you with a weapon? 114
176176 2. Did the aggressor ever threaten to kill you or your 115
177177 children? 116
178178 3. Do you believe the aggressor will try to kill you? 117
179179 4. Has the aggressor ever choked you or attempted t o choke 118
180180 you? 119
181181 5. Does the aggressor have a gun or could the aggressor 120
182182 easily obtain a gun? 121
183183 6. Is the aggressor violently or constantly jealous, or 122
184184 does the aggressor control most of your daily activities? 123
185185 7. Did you leave or separate from the aggresso r after you 124
186186 were living together or married? 125
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195195 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
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199199 8. Is the aggressor unemployed? 126
200200 9. To the best of your knowledge, has the aggressor ever 127
201201 attempted suicide? 128
202202 10. Do you have a child whom the aggressor believes is not 129
203203 the aggressor's biological child? 130
204204 11. Has the aggressor ever followed, spied on, or left 131
205205 threatening messages for you? 132
206206 12. Is there anything else that worries you about your 133
207207 safety and, if so, what worries you? 134
208208 (c) A law enforcement officer shall advise a victim of the 135
209209 results of the lethality assessment and refer the victim to the 136
210210 nearest locally certified domestic violence center if: 137
211211 1. The victim answers affirmatively to any of the 138
212212 questions in subparagraphs (a)1. -4.; 139
213213 2. The victim answers negatively to the questions in 140
214214 subparagraphs (a)1.-4., but affirmatively to at least four of 141
215215 the questions in subparagraphs (a)5. -11.; or 142
216216 3. As a result of the victim's response to subparagraph 143
217217 (a)12., the law enforcement officer believes the victim is in a 144
218218 potentially lethal situation. 145
219219 (d) If a victim does not, or is unable to, provide 146
220220 information to a law enforcement officer sufficient to allow the 147
221221 law enforcement officer to administer a lethality assessment, 148
222222 the law enforcement officer must document the lack of a 149
223223 lethality assessment in the written police report required in 150
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232232 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
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236236 subsection (3) and refer the victim to the nearest locally 151
237237 certified domestic violence center. 152
238238 (e) A law enforcement officer may not include in a 153
239239 probable cause statement, written police report, or incident 154
240240 report the domestic violence center to which a victim was 155
241241 referred. 156
242242 (3)(2) When a law enforcement officer investigates an 157
243243 allegation that an incident of domestic violence has occurred, 158
244244 the officer shall handle the incident pursuant to the arrest 159
245245 policy provided in s. 901.15(7), and as developed in accordance 160
246246 with subsections (4) (3), (5) (4), and (6) (5). Regardless of 161
247247 whether or not an arrest is made, the officer shall make a 162
248248 written police report that is complete and clearly indicates the 163
249249 alleged offense was an incident of domestic violence. Such 164
250250 report must shall be given to the officer's supervisor and filed 165
251251 with the law enforcement agency in a manner that will permit 166
252252 data on domestic violence cases to be compiled. Such report must 167
253253 include all of the following : 168
254254 (a) A description of physical injuries observed, if any. 169
255255 (b) If a law enforcement officer decides not to make an 170
256256 arrest or decides to arrest two or more parties, the officer 171
257257 shall include in the report the grounds for not arresting anyone 172
258258 or for arresting two or more parties. 173
259259 (c) A statement which indicates that a copy of the legal 174
260260 rights and remedies notice was given to the victim. 175
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269269 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
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273273 (d) A notation of the score of a lethality assessment, if 176
274274 one was administered pursuant to paragraph (1)(c). 177
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276276 Whenever possible, the law enforcement officer shall obtain a 179
277277 written statement from the victim and witnesses concerning the 180
278278 alleged domestic violence. The officer shall submit the report 181
279279 to the supervisor or other person to whom the employer's rules 182
280280 or policies require reports of similar allegations of criminal 183
281281 activity to be made. The law enforcement agency shall, without 184
282282 charge, send a copy of the initial police report, as well as any 185
283283 subsequent, supplemental, or related report, which excludes 186
284284 victim/witness statements or other materials that are part of an 187
285285 active criminal investigation and are exempt from disclosure 188
286286 under chapter 119, to the nearest locally certified domestic 189
287287 violence center within 24 hours after the agency's receipt of 190
288288 the report. The report furnished to the domestic violence center 191
289289 must include a narrative description of the domestic violence 192
290290 incident. 193
291291 (4)(3) Whenever a law enforcement officer determines upon 194
292292 probable cause that an act of domestic violence has been 195
293293 committed within the jurisdiction the officer may arrest the 196
294294 person or persons suspected of its commission and charge such 197
295295 person or persons with the appropriate crime. The decision to 198
296296 arrest and charge shall not require consent of the victim or 199
297297 consideration of the relationship of the parties. 200
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306306 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
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310310 (5)(a)(4)(a) When complaints are received from two or more 201
311311 parties, the officers shall evaluate each complaint separately 202
312312 to determine whether there is probable cause for arrest. 203
313313 (b) If a law enforcement officer has probable cause to 204
314314 believe that two or more persons have committed a misdemeanor or 205
315315 felony, or if two or more persons make complaints to the 206
316316 officer, the officer must shall try to determine who was the 207
317317 primary aggressor. Arrest is the preferred response only with 208
318318 respect to the primary aggressor and not the preferred response 209
319319 with respect to a person who acts in a reasonable manner to 210
320320 protect or defend oneself or another family or household member 211
321321 from domestic violence. 212
322322 (6)(5) A No law enforcement officer may not shall be held 213
323323 liable, in any civil action, for an arrest based on probable 214
324324 cause, enforcement in good faith of a court order, or service of 215
325325 process in good faith under this chapter arising from an alleged 216
326326 incident of domestic violence brought by any party to the 217
327327 incident. 218
328328 (7)(6) A person who willfully violates a condition of 219
329329 pretrial release provided in s. 903.047, when the original 220
330330 arrest was for an act of domestic violence as defined in s. 221
331331 741.28, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as 222
332332 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, and shall be held in 223
333333 custody until his or her first appearance. 224
334334 Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 225
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343343 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
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347347 made by this act to section 741.29, Florida Statutes, in a 226
348348 reference thereto, section 39.906, Florida Statutes, is 227
349349 reenacted to read: 228
350350 39.906 Referral to centers and notice of rights. —Any law 229
351351 enforcement officer who investigates an alleged incident of 230
352352 domestic violence shall advise the victim of su ch violence that 231
353353 there is a domestic violence center from which the victim may 232
354354 receive services. The law enforcement officer shall give the 233
355355 victim immediate notice of the legal rights and remedies 234
356356 available in accordance with the provisions of s. 741.29. 235
357- Section 3. For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, one full -time 236
358-equivalent position with ass ociated salary rate of 41,108 is 237
359-authorized and the sums of $76,427 in recurring funds and 238
360-$66,167 in nonrecurring funds from the Criminal Justice 239
361-Standards and Training Trust Fund are appropriated to the 240
362-Department of Law Enforcement for the purpose of im plementing 241
363-this act. 242
364- Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 243
357+ Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 236