A bill that would allow courts to require parents who share custody of children to make timesharing exchanges at “neutral safe exchange” locations is ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Senate voted 37-1 on Wednesday to approve the bill (HB 385), which unanimously passed the House last month. Under the bill, courts could order child exchanges at the neutral locations if, for example, “the court finds that there is a risk or an imminent threat of harm to one party or the child during the exchange.”
It would require county sheriffs to designate at least one parking lot at sheriff’s offices or substations as safe exchange locations. Such locations would have to meet various requirements, such as providing adequate lighting, video surveillance and being accessible 24 hours a day.
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Sen. Lori Berman, a Boca Raton Democrat who cast the only dissenting vote Wednesday, said she was “concerned about how the courts will interpret” the bill.
“I do feel like if there is an imminent threat of harm, there should not be an exchange. Or at a very minimum, it should be a supervised exchange,” Berman said.
Senate sponsor Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, characterized the bill as not tying the hands of courts when what are known as “court-ordered parenting plans” are involved. “I would say we’re still giving the court the discretion to take all the factors into consideration, make sure there’s no threats that have not been brought that they did not consider,” Yarborough said.
The bill is called the “Cassi Carli Law,” named after a Northwest Florida mother who disappeared after meeting the father of her child to make a timeshare exchange. Carli was later found dead in Alabama.
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