The Florida House of Representatives is advancing a bill that would allow courts to require parents who share custody of their children to use “secure exchange locations” at county sheriff's offices.
The measure (HB 385) is called the “Cassie Carli Act” after a mother who disappeared in 2022 – and was later found dead – after meeting with the father of her child in northwest Florida for a so-called To carry out timeshare exchanges.
The House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously Monday to approve the bill, which was sponsored by Maj. Roman Jackson of the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office.
“On March 28, 2022, our community was shocked by the disappearance of Cassie Carli, a young, vibrant mother who was scheduled to meet the father of her child on Navarre Beach the day before. “Cassie disappeared and the subsequent investigation took our investigators over 1,500 miles through three states before discovering her lifeless body in a shallow grave in Spring Hill, Alabama,” Jackson told the House panel.
Charges are being filed against the child's father in the case.
Under the proposal, courts could include a requirement that exchanges of children in cases where custody is shared take place at a “neutral safe exchange location” as part of court-ordered parenting plans.
An exchange at the sites could be required if there is “substantial substantive evidence that there is a risk or imminent risk of harm to a party or the child” and if the court finds that such a requirement is necessary to protect the safety of the child The draft law states that ensuring that the parent serves the best interests of the child.
County sheriffs would be required to designate at least one parking lot at sheriff's offices or substations to serve as safe exchange locations. Sites would be required to have purple lights or signs in parking lots to identify designated areas. The sites would also need to be accessible 24 hours a day, have adequate lighting and continuous video surveillance.
The bill can be presented to the full House during the annual legislative session, which begins Tuesday. According to a December Florida Bar News story, it received support from the Florida Bar's Family Law Section, which helped draft the legislation.
“Establishing safe exchange sites provides additional protection for families by strengthening the ability of courts to order the safe exchange of a child to a neutral, safe location when he or she reaches the threshold,” Sarah Kay, chair of the family law section, said in a prepared statement.
“It also allows sheriffs across the state to designate an additional secure exchange location – critical in our larger counties where distance and time may prevent caregivers from utilizing a secure exchange location,” Kay said.
“Establishing safe exchange sites provides additional protection for families by strengthening the courts’ ability to order the safe exchange of a child to a neutral, safe location when he or she reaches the threshold.”
Sarah Kay
Attorney Anya Stern, who spoke to the House panel on behalf of the Family Law Division, said many exchanges in “high-conflict cases” take place in public parking lots such as grocery stores and drug stores.
“But they don’t have the responsibility to make sure it’s always well lit and that there’s always CCTV. But this bill does just that,” Stern said.
Another part of the bill would revise a form that people can file with courts to request protection from domestic violence and add a section requiring that timeshare exchanges take place in secure exchange locations.
Bill sponsor Joel Rudman, R-Navarre, called that part of the measure the most important. Rudman said a similar bill passed the House last year but ultimately failed in the Senate. Several changes have been made to this year's version, Rudman said.
“For two years I have tried to do Cassie Carli justice and honor her memory. And I realize that this committee can honor Cassie Carli here today by voting for this bill,” Rudman told the House panel.
A similar Senate bill is scheduled to be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
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