Barbara Sharief bills strengthening safeguards against violence advance to Senate floor

Legislation by Broward County Democratic Sen. Barbara Sharief designed to provide victims of repeat, dating and domestic violence with more access to safety measures in Florida courts just cleared its last upper-chamber hurdle.

Members of the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee voted unanimously for a pair of bills to tackle the issue. One (SB 32) would expand a court’s ability to issue restraining orders and take other protective actions. The other (SB 210) would extend to victims additional public records protections.

Both now await a Senate floor vote after previously clearing two other committee stops with uniform support.

“This bill recognizes that there are situations where a person experiences severe violence at the hands of someone they know but does not fall under the existing injunction category such as domestic, dating or repeat violence,” Sharief said Thursday.

“Under current law, those victims often have no avenue for civil protection.”

SB 32 would create a new type of protective injunction in Florida law for victims of “serious violence by a known person” and define that term as violence between people who know each other that results in serious bodily injury.

The bill would enable victims, parents or legal guardians of minor victims to petition a circuit court for this new injunction without paying a filing fee and would establish procedures for temporary and final orders like those for repeat, dating and sexual violence injunctions.

The new injunctions would be included in a statewide verification system to prevent respondents from working as elder care coordinators. They would also be prohibited from acting as a guardian if they are a respondent to an injunction for protection.

If someone is arrested for violating one of these injunctions by committing serious violence, that person must be held in custody until brought before a Judge.

SB 210, meanwhile, would create a public records exemption for cases to which SB 32 applies.

The bill would make identifying information about the petitioner or respondent, along with related affidavits, notices of hearing and temporary injunctions, confidential until the respondent has been personally served.

If a petition for that type of injunction is dismissed without an injunction being issued, the petition and its contents would still be exempt from public disclosure.

This is Sharief’s second attempt at passing the bills, to which Wellington Republican Rep. Anne Gerwig has filed a companion (HB 547) that awaits a committee hearing in the House.

The legislation has support from Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony, the Global Innovative Foundation, a pertinent section of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers, Women in Distress of Broward County and others.

Domestic and dating violence remain widespread in Florida, with law enforcement reporting more than 120,000 cases reported annually, according to Attorney General James Uthmeier’s Office. Many incidents go unreported.

Lifetime prevalence data from the Florida Sheriffs Association show that approximately 38% of Florida women and 29% of Florida men experience intimate partner violence, dating violence, sexual violence or stalking. Domestic violence is also a significant contributor to severe crime, accounting for about 15% of murders in the state.

Support systems handle large volumes of cases each year, with certified domestic violence centers providing over 603,000 nights of emergency shelter, answering more than 75,000 crisis hotline calls, and creating more than 224,000 survivor safety plans annually.

“This is about keeping victims safe, supporting cooperation with law enforcement and preventing further acts of serious violence,” Sharief said.

Versions of the legislation Sharief carried last year with St. Petersburg Democratic Rep. Michele Rayner (SB 308, HB 285) died without a hearing.