Bill Text: FL S0288 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Domestic Violence Against Family Pets
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2012-03-09 - Died in Criminal Justice [S0288 Detail]
Download: Florida-2012-S0288-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2012 SB 288 By Senator Fasano 11-00344-12 2012288__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to domestic violence against family 3 pets; amending s. 741.28, F.S.; redefining the term 4 “domestic violence” to include inflicting, or 5 attempting to inflict, physical injury against an 6 animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by one 7 family or household member by another family or 8 household member, or placing a family or household 9 member in fear of physical harm to an animal owned, 10 possessed, leased, kept, or held by that family or 11 household member; amending s. 741.30, F.S.; providing 12 that a court may issue an injunction for protection 13 against domestic violence granting the petitioner the 14 exclusive care, custody, or control of any animal 15 owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by the 16 petitioner, the respondent, or a minor child residing 17 in the residence or household of the petitioner or 18 respondent; amending s. 741.31, F.S.; providing that 19 it is a first-degree misdemeanor for a person to 20 willfully violate an injunction for protection against 21 domestic violence by knowingly and intentionally 22 injuring or threatening to injure any animal owned, 23 possessed, leased, kept, or held by the petitioner, 24 the respondent, or a minor child of the petitioner or 25 respondent; providing criminal penalties; reenacting 26 s. 61.1825(3), F.S., relating to the State Case 27 Registry, to incorporate the amendment made to s. 28 741.30, F.S., in a reference thereto; reenacting s. 29 901.15(7), F.S., relating to an arrest without warrant 30 by a law enforcement officer, to incorporate the 31 amendment made to s. 741.31, F.S., in a reference 32 thereto; providing an effective date. 33 34 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 35 36 Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 741.28, Florida 37 Statutes, is amended to read: 38 741.28 Domestic violence; definitions.—As used in ss. 39 741.28-741.31: 40 (2) “Domestic violence” means any assault, aggravated 41 assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual 42 battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false 43 imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical 44 injury or death of one family or household member by another 45 family or household member. The term also includes inflicting, 46 or attempting to inflict, physical injury against an animal 47 owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by one family or 48 household member by another family or household member, or 49 placing a family or household member in fear of physical harm to 50 an animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by that family 51 or household member. 52 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section 53 741.30, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 54 741.30 Domestic violence; injunction; powers and duties of 55 court and clerk; petition; notice and hearing; temporary 56 injunction; issuance of injunction; statewide verification 57 system; enforcement.— 58 (6)(a) Upon notice and hearing, when it appears to the 59 court that the petitioner is either the victim of domestic 60 violence as defined by s. 741.28 or has reasonable cause to 61 believe he or she is in imminent danger of becoming a victim of 62 domestic violence, the court may grant such relief as the court 63 deems proper, including an injunction: 64 1. Restraining the respondent from committing any acts of 65 domestic violence. 66 2. Awarding to the petitioner the exclusive use and 67 possession of the dwelling that the parties share or excluding 68 the respondent from the residence of the petitioner. 69 3. On the same basis as provided in chapter 61, providing 70 the petitioner with 100 percent of the time-sharing in a 71 temporary parenting plan that shall remain in effect until the 72 order expires or an order is entered by a court of competent 73 jurisdiction in a pending or subsequent civil action or 74 proceeding affecting the placement of, access to, parental time 75 with, adoption of, or parental rights and responsibilities for 76 the minor child. 77 4. On the same basis as provided in chapter 61, 78 establishing temporary support for a minor child or children or 79 the petitioner. An order of temporary support remains in effect 80 until the order expires or an order is entered by a court of 81 competent jurisdiction in a pending or subsequent civil action 82 or proceeding affecting child support. 83 5. Ordering the respondent to participate in treatment, 84 intervention, or counseling services to be paid for by the 85 respondent. When the court orders the respondent to participate 86 in a batterers’ intervention program, the court, or any entity 87 designated by the court, must provide the respondent with a list 88 of all certified batterers’ intervention programs and all 89 programs which have submitted an application to the Department 90 of Children and Family Services to become certified under s. 91 741.32, from which the respondent must choose a program in which 92 to participate. If there are no certified batterers’ 93 intervention programs in the circuit, the court shall provide a 94 list of acceptable programs from which the respondent must 95 choose a program in which to participate. 96 6. Referring a petitioner to a certified domestic violence 97 center. The court must provide the petitioner with a list of 98 certified domestic violence centers in the circuit which the 99 petitioner may contact. 100 7. Granting to the petitioner the exclusive care, custody, 101 or control of any animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held 102 by the petitioner, the respondent, or a minor child residing in 103 the residence or household of the petitioner or the respondent; 104 ordering the respondent to stay away from the animal; or 105 forbidding the respondent from taking, transferring, 106 encumbering, concealing, harming, or otherwise disposing of the 107 animal. 108 8.7.Ordering such other relief as the court deems 109 necessary for the protection of a victim of domestic violence, 110 including injunctions or directives to law enforcement agencies, 111 as provided in this section. 112 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 113 741.31, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 114 741.31 Violation of an injunction for protection against 115 domestic violence.— 116 (4)(a) A person who willfully violates an injunction for 117 protection against domestic violence issued pursuant to s. 118 741.30, or a foreign protection order accorded full faith and 119 credit pursuant to s. 741.315, by: 120 1. Refusing to vacate the dwelling that the parties share; 121 2. Going to, or being within 500 feet of, the petitioner’s 122 residence, school, place of employment, or a specified place 123 frequented regularly by the petitioner and any named family or 124 household member; 125 3. Committing an act of domestic violence against the 126 petitioner; 127 4. Committing any other violation of the injunction through 128 an intentional unlawful threat, word, or act to do violence to 129 the petitioner; 130 5. Telephoning, contacting, or otherwise communicating with 131 the petitioner directly or indirectly, unless the injunction 132 specifically allows indirect contact through a third party; 133 6. Knowingly and intentionally coming within 100 feet of 134 the petitioner’s motor vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is 135 occupied; 136 7. Defacing or destroying the petitioner’s personal 137 property, including the petitioner’s motor vehicle;or138 8. Refusing to surrender firearms or ammunition if ordered 139 to do so by the court; or 140 9. Knowingly and intentionally injuring or threatening to 141 injure any animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by the 142 petitioner, the respondent, or a minor child of the petitioner 143 or respondent, 144 145 commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as 146 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 147 Section 4. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 148 made by this act to section 741.30, Florida Statutes, in a 149 reference thereto, subsection (3) of section 61.1825, Florida 150 Statutes, is reenacted to read: 151 61.1825 State Case Registry.— 152 (3)(a) For the purpose of this section, a family violence 153 indicator must be placed on a record when: 154 1. A party executes a sworn statement requesting that a 155 family violence indicator be placed on that party’s record which 156 states that the party has reason to believe that release of 157 information to the Federal Case Registry may result in physical 158 or emotional harm to the party or the child; or 159 2. A temporary or final injunction for protection against 160 domestic violence has been granted pursuant to s. 741.30(6), an 161 injunction for protection against domestic violence has been 162 issued by a court of a foreign state pursuant to s. 741.315, or 163 a temporary or final injunction for protection against repeat 164 violence has been granted pursuant to s. 784.046; or 165 3. The department has received information on a Title IV-D 166 case from the Domestic Violence and Repeat Violence Injunction 167 Statewide Verification System, established pursuant to s. 168 784.046(8)(b), that a court has granted a party a domestic 169 violence or repeat violence injunction. 170 (b) Before the family violence indicator can be removed 171 from a record, the protected person must be afforded notice and 172 an opportunity to appear before the court on the issue of 173 whether the disclosure will result in harm. 174 Section 5. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 175 made by this act to section 741.31, Florida Statutes, in a 176 reference thereto, subsection (7) of section 901.15, Florida 177 Statutes, is reenacted to read: 178 901.15 When arrest by officer without warrant is lawful.—A 179 law enforcement officer may arrest a person without a warrant 180 when: 181 (7) There is probable cause to believe that the person has 182 committed an act of domestic violence, as defined in s. 741.28, 183 or dating violence, as provided in s. 784.046. The decision to 184 arrest shall not require consent of the victim or consideration 185 of the relationship of the parties. It is the public policy of 186 this state to strongly discourage arrest and charges of both 187 parties for domestic violence or dating violence on each other 188 and to encourage training of law enforcement and prosecutors in 189 these areas. A law enforcement officer who acts in good faith 190 and exercises due care in making an arrest under this 191 subsection, under s. 741.31(4) or s. 784.047, or pursuant to a 192 foreign order of protection accorded full faith and credit 193 pursuant to s. 741.315, is immune from civil liability that 194 otherwise might result by reason of his or her action. 195 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.