Approved by the Governor on June 6, 2003. The provisions take effect immediately. Chapter 2003_117, Laws of Florida.

This legislation creates "The Victim's Freedom Act" to provide a new type of injunctive relief against sexual violence. A person may obtain protective injunctive relief if: a sexual violence victim has reported the incident to law enforcement and is cooperating in any pending or dismissed criminal proceeding against the offender, or the sexual violence victim's offender state prison term is expired or will expire within 90 days following the filing of the petition for protective injunctive relief. The underlying acts of "sexual violence" include sexual offenses under chapters 787, 794, 800 and 827, F.S., and any other forcible felony offenses involving a sexual act. No filing fee or service charge may be assessed against petitions for injunctions against dating violence, repeat violence, and sexual violence. However, subject to legislative appropriation, the clerks of court can petition the Office of the State Courts Administrator for reimbursement of $40 per petition, of which a maximum of $20 must be allocated to the law enforcement agency serving the injunction. This bill authorizes a correctional officer in lieu of a law enforcement officer to serve process of a sexual violence injunction upon an imprisoned offender. This bill redesignates the statewide injunction verification system as the "Domestic, Dating, Sexual, and Repeat Violence Injunction Statewide Verification System."

HB 835 _ Adoption. Approved by the Governor on May 30, 2003. These provisions take effect immediately. Chapter 2003_58, Laws of Florida.

This legislation makes extensive revisions to the 2001 Florida Adoption Law. A Putative Father Registry is created within the Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics. It requires unmarried biological fathers to register with the Putative Registry in order to preserve any right to notice and consent regarding his parental right to a child placed for adoption. The registry replaces existing constructive notice provisions as previously applied to fathers who could not be identified or located. The category of "fathers" for whom notice and consent may be required is revised to incorporate and conform to the new definition of "unmarried biological father."

The new law deletes the statutory duty of a mother placing a child to identify a potential unmarried biological father; allows for pre_birth execution of an affidavit of non_paternity; broadens the criteria for abandonment to include evidence of little or no communication or lack of emotional support as basis for termination of parental rights; expands placement options to permit out_of_state or out_of_the_country adoption of a child; revises the venue provisions to include 4 primary venue options and a waiver of venue; reduces the statute of repose period from 2 years to 1 year for any challenge to an adoption or termination of parental rights; reduces in half the time period between the date of personal or constructive service and the date of a final hearing, and extending the time period from 7 to 14 days in which make adoption disclosures to birth and prospective adoptive parents; extends from 24 hours to 7 days the time in which to forward a judgment terminating parental rights from the clerk of the court to the Department of Children and Families Services; extends from 24 hours to 7 days, and changing the time frame in which to file a final home investigation from 90 days after the petition is filed to 90 days after placement; revises the statutory forms for consent to adoption, for adoption disclosure and for notice of service of process, and eliminates the statutory forms for affidavits of non-paternity and the waiver of venue to conform with changes in the bill in those areas; revises provisions relating to adoption fees for adoption entities by increasing recovery of pre-approved fees and allowing for flat-fee representation and for birth mothers by expanding recovery of pre-birth and post-birth expenses including toiletries, insurance, investigator fees, birth certificate, medical records, and other expenses for the birth mother's well being; deletes the requirement that all proceedings for adoption be conducted by the same judge that conducted the termination proceedings; allows private adoption entities to intervene in the adoptions of children in Department of Children and Families' custody; creates provisions specific to stepparent, relative, and adult adoptions to facilitate compliance with or to except them from the requirements applicable in typical adoptions; revises provisions relating to preplanned adoption agreements by relocating such provisions into a separately created statutory section and by allowing prospective adoptive parents to agree to pay for lost wages due to the pregnancy and birth, and reasonable compensation for inconvenience, discomfort, and medical risk; revises provisions governing sanctions against adoption entities to make award of attorney fees permissive rather than mandatory, to require an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the actions or failures of the adoption entity directly contributed to a finding of fraud or duress, to require orders of sanctions against the Department of Children and Families to be forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General, to preclude fraudulent representation as a basis for dismissing a petition for termination of parental rights or adoption, and to require willful violation and criminal intent in the imposition of criminal sanctions against an adoption entity; replaces a grandparent's priority right to adopt a grandchild to one of a right to notice of an adoption proceeding of such grandchild; eliminates the right of a non_party to petition for judicial review of a placement's appropriateness; revises the adoption process for abandoned infants including giving the court the discretion to order paternity testing and making conforming changes to the bill; revises provisions relating the duties of an adoption entities when a child in their custody; clarifies that forgiveness by a parent of vested child support arrearages owed in a stepparent adoption does not constitute a felony; allows the department to contract with more than one licensed child_ placing agency to operate the state adoption information center.

CS/SB 2526 _ Putative Father Registry/Public Records. Approved by the Governor on May 29, 2003. These provisions take effect immediately. Chapter 2003_56, Laws of Florida.

This legislation provides that all information contained in the Putative Father Registry and maintained by the Office of Vital Statistics within the Department of Health is confidential and exempt from public disclosure with a few exceptions. The bill permits access to the registry database by the following persons or entities:

An adoption entity in connection with the planned adoption of a child.

A registrant unmarried biological father may receive a copy of his registry entry.

A court, upon issuance of a court order concerning a petitioner acting pro se in an action under the chapter.

Otherwise all such information in the database is to be kept separate from all other local or state databases and may not be accessed by any state or federal agency. Such provisions stand repealed October 2, 2008, unless reviewed and reenacted by the Legislature.

CS/CS/SB 2050 _ Child Custody Evaluations. Approved by the Governor on June 5, 2003. These provisions take effect July 1, 2003. Chapter 2003_112, Laws of Florida.

This bill prescribes the process for pursuing an administrative, civil or criminal claim against a court-appointed psychologist regarding a child custody evaluation in any judicial proceeding. A court-appointed psychologist is statutorily presumed to be acting in good faith if the evaluation is done in accordance with standards that are consistent with the American Psychological Association's guidelines for such evaluations in divorce proceedings. Any administrative claim based on a child custody evaluation by a court-appointed psychologist can no longer be filed anonymously. Any civil claim against a court-appointed psychologist must first be preceded by a petition to replace the psychologist with another court-appointed psychologist. It is within the court's discretion to allocate attorney's fees and costs associated with the subsequent appointment. In any administrative, civil or criminal proceeding against a court-appointed psychologist in which the psychologist is found liable (or not to have acted in good faith), the claimant is entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. If the court-appointed psychologist is not found liable (or to have acted in good faith), the psychologist is entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.