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1 RESOLUTION NO. _____ _
2
3 A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami
4 requesting that the Florida Legislature amend Florida Statutes, Section
5 775.085, to include enhanced penalties for felonies and misdemeanors
6 committed against law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency
7 services personnel due to their employment status.
8
9 WHEREAS, in 1989, the Florida Legislature enacted several statutes designed to address
10 the issue of hate crimes. Section 775.085, Florida Statutes, was created to increase penalties for
11 convictions of crimes where there was evidence of certain prejudice; and
12 WHEREAS, the legislature enacted the Hate Crimes Reporting Act, section 877.19,
13 Florida Statutes, that requires law enforcement agencies to report hate crimes to the Florida
14 Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE); and
15 WHEREAS, the 1995 report of the Florida Attorney General found that a hate crime is
16 among the most insidious acts taken by one person against another, founded in prejudice and
17 intolerance. The report defined a hate crime as an act committed or attempted by one person or
18 group against another person or group, or their property, that in any way constitutes an
19 expression of hatred toward the victim based on his or her personal characteristics; and
20 WHEREAS, under section 775.085, Florida Statutes, criminal penalties are enhanced for
21 such hate-based acts. As the Florida Department of Law Enforcement notes in its Hate Crime
22 Report Manual, the motivation behind the act is the key element in determining whether an
23 incident is hate-related. Reported hate crime offenses ranged in seriousness from vandalism and
24 intimidation to aggravated battery and murder; and
25 WHEREAS, there have been an increasing number of hate crimes against law
26 enforcement, firefighters and emergency personnel.
27 NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
28 COMMISSIONERS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA:
29
30 Section 1. The Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami hereby
31 encourages the Florida Legislature to amend Florida Statute, Section 775.085 to include
32 employment as law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency services personnel among
33 the classifications that are protected against hate crimes as follows:
34 775.085 Evidencing prejUdice while committing offense;
35 reclassification.-
36 (1) (a) The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be reclassified as
37 provided in this subsection if the commission of such felony or misdemeanor
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evidences prejudice based on the race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual
orientation, national origin, homeless status, mental or physical disability, Sf
advanced age of the victim, or because of actual or perceived employment as a
law enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergency services personnel:
1. A misdemeanor of the second degree is reclassified to a misdemeanor
of the first degree.
2. A misdemeanor of the first degree is reclassified to a felony of the third
degree.
3. A felony of the third degree is reclassified to a felony of the second
degree.
degree.
4. A felony of the second degree is reclassified to a felony of the first
5. A felony of the first degree is reclassified to a life felony.
(b) As used in paragraph (a), the term:
1. "Mental or physical disability" means that the victim suffers from a
condition of physical or mental incapacitation due to a developmental disability,
organic brain damage, or mental illness, and has one or more physical or mental
limitations that restrict the victim's ability to perform the normal activities of
daily living.
2. "Advanced age" means that the victim is older than 65 years of age.
3. "Homeless status" means that the victim:
a. Lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; or
b. Has a primary nighttime residence that is:
(1) A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide
temporary living accommodations; or
(II) A public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a
regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
4. "Emergency services personnel" shall mean anyone who provides
emergency medical services and other public safety services to the scene of an
emergency.
5. "Firefighter" means any firefighter regularly employed by a fire
department of any municipality, county, or Special Fire Control District of the
state of Florida.
6. "Law enforcement officer" means any active or retired municipal,
county, or state law enforcement officer, state and county correctional officer, or
Public Service Aids, and those employees of any municipal, county, state or
federal law enforcement agencies whose duties include the enforcement of
municipal, county, state or federal laws.
(2) A person or organization that establishes by clear and convincing
evidence that it has been coerced, intimidated, or threatened in violation of this
section has a civil cause of action for treble damages, an injunction, or any other
appropriate relief in law or in equity. Upon prevailing in such civil action, the
plaintiff may recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
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1 (3) It is an essential element of this section that the record reflect that the
2 defendant perceived, knew, or had reasonable grounds to know or perceive that
3 the victim was within the class delineated in this section.
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5 Section 2. The City Clerk is hereby instructed to send a copy of this resolution to the
6 members of the Florida Legislature, the Governor and his cabinet, the Florida Department of
7 Law Enforcement as well as to all of the law enforcement agencies of all of the Florida counties
8 and municipalities.
9
10 Section 3. Severability. If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for
11 any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall
12 not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution.
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14 Section 4. Effective Date. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon
15 adoption by vote of the City Commission.
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PASSED AND ADOPTED this __ day of _____ ,' 2016.
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK.
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM,
LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND
EXECUTION THEREOF
CITY ATTORNEY
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APPROVED:
MAYOR
COMMISSION VOTE:
Mayor Stoddard:
Vice Mayor Welsh:
Commissioner Harris:
Commissioner Edmond:
Commissioner Liebman: