Florida 2025 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0441 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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10	10	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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14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to Gun Violence Prevention Pilot 2
16	16	Program; creating s. 394.4997, F.S.; providing 3
17	17	legislative findings and intent; requiring IMPACT GNV 4
18	18	of the City of Gainesville, in collaboration with 5
19	19	certain entities, to develop and implement the Gun 6
20	20	Violence Prevention Pilot Program; providing 7
21	21	eligibility and program requirements; providing 8
22	22	alternatives to incarceration for specified youth; 9
23	23	providing for referral s to specified programs; 10
24	24	requiring the City of Gainesville, in collaboration 11
25	25	with Alachua County, to annually submit a specified 12
26	26	report to IMPACT GNV by a specified date; requiring to 13
27	27	IMPACT GNV to report specified information to the 14
28	28	Governor and the Legis lature by a specified date; 15
29	29	providing for future repeal of the pilot program; 16
30	30	providing for an appropriation; providing an effective 17
31	31	date. 18
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33	33	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 20
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35	35	Section 1. Section 394.4997, Florida Statutes, is created 22
36	36	to read: 23
37	37	394.4997 Gun Violence Prevention Pilot Program. — 24
38	38	(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. —The Legislature finds 25
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47	47	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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51	51	that persons under 21 years of age in this state are 26
52	52	disproportionately affected by gun violence, which has 27
53	53	significant adverse effects on the health, safety, and well -28
54	54	being of persons under 21 years of age. Further, the Legislature 29
55	55	finds that mental health challenges and unresolved conflicts are 30
56	56	contributing factors to the prevalence of gun violence and that 31
57	57	there is a need for targeted mental health and conflict 32
58	58	resolution education programs to assist persons under 21 years 33
59	59	of age in mitigating these issues. It is the intent of the 34
60	60	Legislature to establish programs that provide mental health 35
61	61	services tailored to the needs of per sons under 21 years of age, 36
62	62	implement conflict resolution training in schools and community 37
63	63	centers to prevent violence, and fund community -based 38
64	64	initiatives that address the root causes of gun violence among 39
65	65	persons under 21 years of age. 40
66	66	(2) CREATION.— 41
67	67	(a) IMPACT GNV of the City of Gainesville shall develop 42
68	68	and implement a Gun Violence Prevention Pilot Program in the 43
69	69	City of Gainesville, in collaboration with the Department of 44
70	70	Juvenile Justice and the state attorney and public defender of 45
71	71	the eighth judicial circuit. 46
72	72	(b) The Gun Violence Prevention Pilot Program shall 47
73	73	provide mental health services, community -based intervention 48
74	74	programs, conflict resolution training, and alternative 49
75	75	opportunities. 50
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84	84	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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88	88	(c) IMPACT GNV shall design the pilot program to al ign 51
89	89	with and complement existing efforts in the City of Gainesville 52
90	90	to address gun violence among youth and young adults. IMPACT GNV 53
91	91	shall, at a minimum, consult with stakeholders before and during 54
92	92	implementation of the pilot program. 55
93	93	(3) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to become an eligible program 56
94	94	participant, he or she must be: 57
95	95	(a) A person who is at least 10 to 21 years of age, who is 58
96	96	at moderate or high risk of being: 59
97	97	1. A victim of gun violence; 60
98	98	2. An offender who has inflicted bodily harm or death; or 61
99	99	3. An individual returning to the community from a 62
100	100	delinquency residential program. 63
101	101	(b) A family member of a person eligible under paragraph 64
102	102	(a). 65
103	103	(4) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. —The program shall: 66
104	104	(a) Provide program participants with access to mental 67
105	105	health services, including, but not limited to, all of the 68
106	106	following: 69
107	107	1. Individual therapy sessions with qualified 70
108	108	professionals or mental health counselors to address personal 71
109	109	mental health issues. 72
110	110	2. Facilitated group therapy sessions to provide pee r 73
111	111	support and shared experiences. 74
112	112	3. Family therapy sessions involving family members to 75
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121	121	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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125	125	address familial issues contributing to mental health problems. 76
126	126	4. Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for 77
127	127	participants who have experienced trauma. 78
128	128	5. Art and music therapies to help participants express 79
129	129	emotions and cope with stress. 80
130	130	6. Substance abuse treatment programs addressing substance 81
131	131	abuse issues that may contribute to violent behavior. 82
132	132	7. Mediation training. 83
133	133	8. Restoration of relationships . 84
134	134	9. Resilience and leadership skills. 85
135	135	(b) In collaboration with the Department of Juvenile 86
136	136	Justice, the state attorney, and the public defender for the 87
137	137	eighth judicial circuit, provide the program participants who 88
138	138	are involved with the delinquency sys tem or on probation with 89
139	139	opportunities to obtain: 90
140	140	1. A graduate equivalency degree. 91
141	141	2. Job training, skills development, or an apprenticeship. 92
142	142	3. Employment at high -risk or critical need positions. 93
143	143	(5) REFERRAL.— 94
144	144	(a) The public defender's office will receive referrals to 95
145	145	the dependency program. 96
146	146	(b) The State Attorney's office will receive referrals to 97
147	147	their diversion program under part III of chapter 985. 98
148	148	(c) The Department of Juvenile Justice will receive 99
149	149	referrals to the class for firearm of fenders under s. 100
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158	158	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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162	162	985.601(11). 101
163	163	(6) REPORTS.- 102
164	164	(a) Beginning October 31, 2026, and annually thereafter, 103
165	165	the City of Gainesville, in collaboration with Alachua County, 104
166	166	shall report to IMPACT GNV and the Department of Juvenile 105
167	167	Justice the number of particip ants in the pilot program; data on 106
168	168	the impact on the rate of gun violence among individuals within 107
169	169	the age group and geographic area served by the program; data on 108
170	170	risk factors for gun violence in the geographic area served by 109
171	171	the program; feedback from pr ogram participants; and 110
172	172	recommendations for improvement and expansion of services based 111
173	173	on the results of the pilot program. 112
174	174	(b) IMPACT GNV shall report to the Governor, the Speaker 113
175	175	of the House of Representatives, and the President of the Senate 114
176	176	by December 31 of each year on the implementation and 115
177	177	performance of the program. 116
178	178	(7) REPEAL.—This section will expire on June 30, 2030. 117
179	179	Section 2. For the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the sum of 118
180	180	$500,000 is appropriated in nonrecurring funds from the General 119
181	181	Revenue Fund to the Department of Children and Families for the 120
182	182	purpose of implementing this act. 121
183	183	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 122