5 Florida bills that increase punishments for street racers, porch pirates, other crimes
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Florida’s lawmakers this year sought to address crime problems they saw in their communities, or feared coming to their communities. In several instances, they did it by creating harsher punishments.
Here are five bills that would increase penalties for criminals. All are awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature.
Porch pirating
People who steal packages off a porch could soon face more prison time.
The bill makes it easier to charge someone who steals from a home with grand theft by lowering the threshold for the crime. Under the proposal, the thief could be charged with a third-degree felony if they steal a package worth as little as $40. That’s compared with the current threshold of $100 or more.
A person could still be charged with a third-degree felony if they steal something worth less than $40 but have been previously convicted of theft. A third-degree felony can carry a prison sentence of up to five years.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which opposed the bill, pointed out that because a package on a porch may not be labeled, someone could be charged with either a felony or a misdemeanor for doing the same thing: taking the package.
The bill also creates a new penalty for groups of people who organize on social media to swarm a retail establishment, causing a distraction to steal merchandise.
DeSantis backed the bill and said those measures were meant to keep Florida as the “anti-New York” and “anti-California.”
Digital voyeurism
Florida lawmakers pointed to a Broward County case when passing this bill that increases the penalties for illegally recording someone privately dressing or undressing.
Sponsors Rep. Hillary Cassel, D-Dania Beach, and Senate Democratic leader Lauren Book said people should be charged for each instance of secretly recording, viewing or distributing illegally filmed footage, instead of facing one charge no matter the amount of footage. The idea stemmed from the case in which a woman’s stepfather secretly recorded more than 8,000 hours of her in the bathroom.
Cassel said because of current law’s “inconsistencies,” the stepfather was charged with one count of video voyeurism — which can be a third- or second-degree felony for an adult over 19 — and was sentenced to just under a year in jail. If the bill were in effect, Cassel said he could have faced 835 counts of voyeurism.
If someone older than 19 secretly records someone and is in a “position of trust” — such as a relative, coach or employer — they could also face an increased charge under the bill. A third-degree felony would become a second-degree felony, and a second-degree felony would become a first-degree felony, which can be punished by up to 30 years in prison.
Street racing
Florida law enforcement has issued more than 9,000 citations in the last five years for people either street racing or watching street racing events. Lawmakers say such events have resulted in serious injury or death around the state.
A bipartisan bill makes it a third-degree felony to violate certain street racing laws while participating in a coordinated street takeover, where 10 or more cars commandeer a street for an illicit race. That crime is punishable by up to a five-year prison sentence and a fine of between $2,500 and $4,000. Participants’ driver’s licenses would be suspended for two years.
The bill also increases penalties for people who drag-race within a year of another racing conviction, making it a third-degree felony instead of a misdemeanor. It also makes it a felony for drag racers to obstruct the path of an emergency vehicle.
Most of the 9,214 citations issued between 2018 and 2023 were given to people between the ages of 16 and 24, according to data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Hillsborough and Pinellas saw 1,359 citations during that time period, with a peak in 2020 of nearly 400 citations issued.
The numbers were higher for Broward and Miami-Dade counties, with 2,918 citations issued during those years.
Sexual conversations with minors
Another bill aims to crack down on predatory sexual behavior by creating a third-degree felony for “harmful communication to a minor.”
Rep. Jessica Baker, R-Jacksonville, said the penalty targets people who have inappropriate conversations with kids about sexual activity that doesn’t rise to the level of soliciting a minor.
Some Democrats expressed concern about the bill not having an exception for sex education, but Baker said she didn’t think a “birds and the bees” conversation would rise to the level of harm needed to prosecute.
Other Democratic representatives expressed concern about how the bill could impact 17- and 18-year-olds who are in a relationship and speak explicitly to each other, but Baker said she didn’t think a jury would find harm in those cases.
Squatters
Declaring that there aren’t enough legal assurances for property owners in the face of squatters, legislators this year passed a bill that allows a property owner to request the county sheriff’s office to remove a squatter. Certain conditions must be met, however, including that the property owner must have already asked the person to leave, that the building wasn’t open to the public when the squatter entered and that the squatter isn’t a current or former tenant.
Under the bill, someone who unlawfully occupies a home and who causes more than $1,000 in damage commits a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The bill also aims to crack down on people who list homes for sale or rent without having the legal authority to do so, seeking to scam other individuals. The bill makes it a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
