Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Wednesday that will give courts the power to require parents to use “neutral safe exchange” locations when they share custody of children.
Under the measure (HB 385), judges could require the use of such locations if “there is a risk or an imminent threat of harm to one party or the child during the exchange.”
The locations would have to be in the parking lots of sheriff’s offices and meet requirements such as adequate lighting and continuous video surveillance.
Read: Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis Unveils Hope Florida Resources For Law Enforcement
The parking lots would also require purple lights or signs “to clearly identify the designated area as a neutral safe exchange location.” The bill, which will take effect July 1, was called the “Cassi Carli Law,” 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. The bill passed during the legislative session that ended March 8.
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