Florida Senate - 2024                                     SB 788
       
       
        
       By Senator Powell
       
       
       
       
       
       24-00767-24                                            2024788__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public safety; amending s. 836.10,
    3         F.S.; revising the definition of the term “electronic
    4         record”; revising a prohibition on making threats to
    5         conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism to
    6         include audio and video telephone calls; prohibiting
    7         planning to conduct a mass shooting or an act of
    8         terrorism; defining the term “plan to conduct a mass
    9         shooting or an act of terrorism”; specifying what
   10         constitutes a plan to conduct a mass shooting or an
   11         act of terrorism; providing criminal penalties; making
   12         technical changes; providing an effective date.
   13          
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Section 836.10, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   17  read:
   18         836.10 Written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily
   19  injury, or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism;
   20  punishment; exemption from liability.—
   21         (1) As used in this section, the term “electronic record”
   22  means any record created, modified, archived, received, or
   23  distributed electronically which contains any combination of
   24  text, graphics, video, audio, or pictorial represented in
   25  digital form, but does not include a telephone call.
   26         (2) It is unlawful for any person to send, post, or
   27  transmit, or procure the sending, posting, or transmission of, a
   28  writing or other record, including an electronic record, in any
   29  manner in which it may be viewed by another person, when in such
   30  writing or record the person makes a threat to:
   31         (a) kill or to do bodily harm to another person; or
   32         (b) Conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.
   33         (3) It is unlawful for any person to threaten to conduct a
   34  mass shooting or an act of terrorism, regardless of whether
   35  orally, in writing, or by any electronic record, including, but
   36  not limited to, audio or video telephone calls.
   37         (4) It is unlawful for any person to plan to conduct a mass
   38  shooting or an act of terrorism. As used in this section, the
   39  term “plan to conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism”
   40  means to take two or more actions in preparation to conduct a
   41  mass shooting or an act of terrorism. Any combination of two or
   42  more of the following actions, along with a written or stated
   43  desire or intent to commit a mass shooting or an act of
   44  terrorism, constitutes planning such an act:
   45         (a) Identifying, orally or in writing or in any electronic
   46  record, the location where an individual or a group plans to
   47  conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.
   48         (b) Identifying, orally or in writing or in any electronic
   49  record, the date upon which an individual or a group plans to
   50  conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.
   51         (c) Purchasing weapons, ammunition, body armor, bomb-making
   52  materials, camera equipment, or any other item intended to be
   53  used in the course of conducting a mass shooting or an act of
   54  terrorism.
   55         (d) Conducting drills or simulations in preparation for
   56  conducting a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.
   57         (e) Setting up an Internet live stream for the purpose of
   58  broadcasting a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.
   59         (f) Writing a manifesto or detailed plan as to how or why
   60  an individual or a group plans to conduct a mass shooting or an
   61  act of terrorism.
   62  
   63  A person who violates this subsection commits a felony of the
   64  second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083,
   65  or s. 775.084.
   66         (5)(3) This section does not impose liability on a provider
   67  of an interactive computer service, communications services as
   68  defined in s. 202.11, a commercial mobile service, or an
   69  information service, including, but not limited to, an Internet
   70  service provider or a hosting service provider, if it provides
   71  the transmission, storage, or caching of electronic
   72  communications or messages of others or provides another related
   73  telecommunications service, commercial mobile radio service, or
   74  information service for use by another person who violates this
   75  section. This exemption from liability is consistent with and in
   76  addition to any liability exemption provided under 47 U.S.C. s.
   77  230.
   78         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.