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61 RESOLUTION NO. _____ _ 2 3 4 5 6 A Resolution of the City of South Miami supporting Senate Bill 378 (2015) to expand law enforcement officers' ability to give a warning, inform the parents/guardian or issue civil citations for a diversion program to juveniles in lieu of arrest 7 WHEREAS; Florida Statute 985.11 originally authorized issuance of civil citation m lieu of 8 arrest, but only for first-time juvenile offenders; and 9 10 WHEREAS, Senate Bill 378 has been proposed in an effort to expand law enforcement 11 officers' authority to issue warnings, notices to parents/guardians, participation in diversion 12 programs, or proscribing community service, in lieu of arrests to juveniles beyond first-time 13 offenders of minor crimes; 14 15 WHEREAS, Senate Bill 378 will give young offenders more opportumlies to become 16 productive members of society by including juveniles who have committed minor crimes more than 17 one time and who would otherwise have been arrested. 18 19 NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY 20 COMMISSIONERS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA: 21 22 Section 1. The Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami hereby support Senate 23 Bill 378 (2015) to expand the Florida Stat. Sec. 985.12 titled Civil Citation to issue warnings, notices to 24 parents/guardians, participation in diversion programs, or proscribing community service. A copy of the 25 pertinent portion of Senate Bill 378 is attached. 26 27 Section 2. City Clerk. The City Clerk is hereby directed to send an electronic copy of this 28 Resolution to the Mayor and County Commissioners of Miami-Dade County, Florida, all elected 29 municipal officials in Miami-Dade County, all south Florida municipalities, every City Clerk in the State 30 of Florida, every County Clerk in the State of Florida, every state senator and representative, and the 31 Florida League of Cities, Inc. 32 33 Section 3. Effective Date. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon adoption by 34 vote of the City Commission. 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 PASSED AND ADOPTED this __ day of _____ , 2015. ATTEST: CITY CLERK READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM, LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND EXECUTION THEREOF CITY ATTORNEY APPROVED: MAYOR COMMISSION VOTE: Mayor Stoddard: Vice Mayor Harris: Commissioner Edmond: Commissioner Liebman: Commissioner Welsh: Florida Senate -2015 SB 378 By Senator Garcia 38-00317A-15 2015378 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 A bill to be entitled An act relating to juvenile justice; amending s. 985.12, F.S.; authorizing a law enforcement officer to issue a warning to a juvenile who admits having committed a misdemeanor or to inform the child's parent or guardian of the child's infraction; requiring a law enforcement officer who does not exercise one of these options to issue a civil citation or require participation in a similar diversion program; providing that repeat misdemeanor offenders may participate in the civil citation program or a similar diversion program under certain circumstances; providing that, in exceptional situations, a law enforcement officer may arrest a first-time misdemeanor offender in the interest of protecting public safety; requiring certain written documentation if such an arrest is made; reenacting ss. 943.051(3) (b) and 985.11(1) (b), F.S., relating to the issuance of a civil citation, and the issuance of a civil citation or similar diversion program, respectively, to incorporate the amendments made to s. 985.12, F.S., in references thereto; providing an effective date. 25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 26 27 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 985.12, Florida 28 Statutes, is amended to read: 29 985.12 Civil citation.- Page 1 CODING: Words strieJceR are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida Senate -2015 SB 378 38-00317A-15 2015378 30 (1) There is established a juvenile civil citation process 31 for the purpose of providing an efficient and innovative 32 alternative to custody by the Department of Juvenile Justice for 33 children who commit nonserious delinquent acts and to ensure 34 swift and appropriate consequences. The department shall 35 encourage and assist in the implementation and improvement of 36 civil citation programs or other similar diversion programs 37 around the state. The civil citation or similar diversion 38 program shall be established at the local level with the 39 concurrence of the chief judge of the circuit, state attorney, 40 public defender, and the head of each local law enforcement 41 agency involved. The program may be operated by an entity such 42 as a law enforcement agency, the department, a juvenile 43 assessment center, the county or municipality, or another treffie 44 other entity selected by the county or municipality. An entity 45 operating the civil citation or similar diversion program must 46 do so in consultation and agreement with the state attorney and 47 local law enforcement agencies. Under such a juvenile civil 48 citation or similar diversion program, ~ frfiY law enforcement 49 officer, upon making contact with a juvenile who admits having 50 committed a misdemeanor, may choose to issue a simple warning or 51 inform the child's guardian or parent of the child's infraction, 52 or shall may issue a civil citation or require participation in 53 a similar diversion program, and assess up to Rot more thaR 50 54 community service hours, and require participation in 55 intervention services as indicated by an assessment of the needs 56 of the juvenile, including family counseling, urinalysis 57 monitoring, and substance abuse and mental health treatment 58 services. A copy of each citation issued under this section Page 2 CODING: Words strieiceR are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida Senate -2015 SB 378 38-00317A-15 2015378 59 shall be provided to the department, and the department shall 60 enter appropriate information into the juvenile offender 61 information system. Use of the civil citation or similar 62 diversion program is not limited to first-time offenses and may 63 be used in a second or subsequent offense. In exceptional 64 situations, a local law enforcement officer may arrest a 65 juvenile for a first-time misdemeanor if he or she provides 66 written documentation as to why an arrest was warranted to 67 protect public safety. Only first time misdcmcanor offenders are 68 eligible for the civil citation or similar divcrsion program. At 69 the conclusion of a juvenile's civil citation program or similar 70 diversion program, the agency operating the program shall report 71 the outcome to the department. The issuance of a civil citation 72 is not considered a referral to the department. 73 Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 74 made by this act to section 985.12, Florida Statutes, in a 75 reference thereto, paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 76 943.051, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 77 943.051 Criminal justice information; collection and 78 storage; fingerprinting.- 79 (3) 80 (b) A minor who is charged with or found to have committed 81 the following offenses shall be fingerprinted and the 82 fingerprints shall be submitted electronically to the 83 department, unless the minor is issued a civil citation pursuant 84 to s. 985.12: 85 1.. Assault, as defined in s. 784.011. 86 2. Battery, as defined in s. 784.03. 87 3. Carrying a concealed weapon, as defined in s. 790.01(1). Page 3 CODING: Words strie][cn are deletions; words underlined are additions.