Florida HB 17: Damages

Bill Text

CS/HB 17 2026

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hb17-01-c1
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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

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to criminal offenses against law 2
enforcement officers and other personnel; providing a 3
short title; amending s. 776.051, F.S.; revising a 4
prohibition on the use or threatened use of force to 5
resist arrest or detention; defining the term "acting 6
in good faith"; amending s. 782.065, F.S.; providing 7
for enhanced punishment for manslaughter when 8
committed against specified officers; revising 9
applicability; amending s. 784.07, F.S.; revising the 10
definition of the term "law enforcement officer"; 11
revising provisions concerning assault or battery upon 12
specified officers and other personnel; amending s. 13
843.01, F.S.; revising a provision concerning 14
resisting, obstructing, or opposing specified officers 15
or legally authorized persons; amending s. 921.0022, 16
F.S.; increasing the level on the offense severity 17
ranking chart for committing battery on law 18
enforcement officers and other specified personnel; 19
providing an effective date. 20
21
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22
23
Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Officer Jason 24
Raynor Act." 25

CS/HB 17 2026

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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

Section 2. Section 776.051, Florida Statutes, is amended 26
to read: 27
776.051 Use or threatened use of force in resisting arrest 28
or detention making an arrest or in the execution of a legal 29
duty; prohibition.— 30
(1) A person is not justified in the use or threatened use 31
of force to resist any an arrest or detention by a law 32
enforcement officer, or to resist a law enforcement officer who 33
is engaged in the performance of his or her official duties as 34
described in s. 943.10(1) execution of a legal duty, if the law 35
enforcement officer was acting in good faith and he or she is 36
known, or reasonably appears, to be a law enforcement officer. 37
As used in this section, the term "acting in good faith" means 38
to make sincere and reasonable efforts to comply with legal 39
requirements, even if the arrest, detention, or other act is 40
later found to have been unlawful. 41
(2) A law enforcement officer, or any person whom the 42
officer has summoned or directed to assist him or her, is not 43
justified in the use of force if the arrest or execution of a 44
legal duty is unlawful and known by him or her to be unlawful. 45
Section 3. Section 782.065, Florida Statutes, is amended 46
to read: 47
782.065 Murder; law enforcement officer, correctional 48
officer, correctional probation officer.—Notwithstanding ss. 49
775.082, 775.0823, 782.04, 782.051, and chapter 921, a defendant 50

CS/HB 17 2026

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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

must shall be sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility 51
for release upon findings by the trier of fact that, beyond a 52
reasonable doubt: 53
(1) The defendant committed murder in the first degree in 54
violation of s. 782.04(1) and a death sentence was not imposed; 55
murder in the second or third degree in violation of s. 56
782.04(2), (3), or (4); attempted murder in the first or second 57
degree in violation of s. 782.04(1)(a)1. or (2); or attempted 58
felony murder in violation of s. 782.051; or manslaughter in 59
violation of s. 782.07(1); and 60
(2) The victim of any offense described in subsection (1) 61
was a law enforcement officer, part-time law enforcement 62
officer, auxiliary law enforcement officer, correctional 63
officer, part-time correctional officer, auxiliary correctional 64
officer, correctional probation officer, part-time correctional 65
probation officer, or auxiliary correctional probation officer, 66
as those terms are defined in s. 943.10, who was engaged in the 67
performance of his or her official duties as described in s. 68
943.10 lawful performance of a legal duty. 69
Section 4. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) and subsection 70
(2) of section 784.07, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 71
784.07 Assault or battery of law enforcement officers and 72
other specified personnel; reclassification of offenses; minimum 73
sentences.— 74
(1) As used in this section, the term: 75

CS/HB 17 2026

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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

(e) "Law enforcement officer" includes a law enforcement 76
officer, a correctional officer, a correctional probation 77
officer, a part-time law enforcement officer, a part-time 78
correctional officer, an auxiliary law enforcement officer, and 79
an auxiliary correctional officer, as those terms are 8