Florida Senate - 2026 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 296
Ì598500ÃÎ598500
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
12/09/2025 .
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The Committee on Criminal Justice (Berman) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Domestic and dating violence 911 alert system
6 feasibility study.—
7 (1) As used in this section, the term:
8 (a) “Division” means the Division of Telecommunications
9 within the Department of Management Services.
10 (b) “Enhanced 911” has the same meaning as in s.
11 365.172(3), Florida Statutes.
12 (c) “Next Generation 911” has the same meaning as in s.
13 365.172(3), Florida Statutes.
14 (d) “Public safety agency” has the same meaning as in s.
15 365.172(3), Florida Statutes.
16 (e) “Public safety answering point” or “PSAP” has the same
17 meaning as in s. 365.172(3), Florida Statutes.
18 (2) The division shall consult with enhanced 911 and Next
19 Generation 911 service providers; state, county, and municipal
20 PSAPs; and state and local public safety agencies to conduct a
21 feasibility study regarding the creation of a web-based 911
22 alert system for use by victims of domestic violence and dating
23 violence which is capable of:
24 (a) Ensuring real-time data-sharing between PSAPs and law
25 enforcement agencies.
26 (b) Creating a unique telephone number for each user which
27 will connect the user to a PSAP.
28 (c) Creating a user-generated numerical code or phrase that
29 can be utilized by the user after contacting a PSAP and that
30 indicates the user’s need for immediate law enforcement
31 assistance.
32 (d) Transmitting specified data to law enforcement agencies
33 when a user calls from his or her unique telephone number and
34 enters his or her numerical code or phrase.
35 (3) By January 31, 2027, the division shall report to the
36 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
37 Representatives the results of the feasibility study.
38 Section 2. Section 741.401, Florida Statutes, is amended to
39 read:
40 741.401 Legislative findings; purpose.—The Legislature
41 finds that persons attempting to escape from actual or
42 threatened domestic violence or dating violence frequently
43 establish new addresses in order to prevent their assailants or
44 probable assailants from finding them. The purpose of ss.
45 741.401-741.409 is to enable state and local agencies to respond
46 to requests for public records without disclosing the location
47 of a victim of domestic violence or dating violence, to enable
48 interagency cooperation with the Attorney General in providing
49 address confidentiality for victims of domestic violence and
50 dating violence, and to enable state and local agencies to
51 accept a program participant’s use of an address designated by
52 the Attorney General as a substitute mailing address.
53 Section 3. Section 741.402, Florida Statutes, is reordered
54 and amended to read:
55 741.402 Definitions; ss. 741.401-741.409.—Unless the
56 context clearly requires otherwise, as used in ss. 741.401
57 741.409, the term:
58 (1) “Address” means a residential street address, school
59 address, or work address of an individual, as specified on the
60 individual’s application to be a program participant under ss.
61 741.401-741.409.
62 (4)(2) “Program participant” means a person certified as a
63 program participant under s. 741.403.
64 (2) “Dating violence” means any assault, aggravated
65 assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual
66 battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false
67 imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical
68 injury or death, or the threat of any such act, committed by an
69 individual who has or has had a continuing and significant
70 relationship of a romantic or intimate nature as determined by
71 the factors listed in s. 784.046(1)(d) with the victim,
72 regardless of whether these acts or threats have been reported
73 to law enforcement officers.
74 (3) “Domestic violence” means an act as defined in s.
75 741.28 and includes a threat of such acts committed against an
76 individual in a domestic situation, regardless of whether these
77 acts or threats have been reported to law enforcement officers.
78 Section 4. Paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection (1) of
79 section 741.403, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
80 741.403 Address confidentiality program; application;
81 certification.—
82 (1) An adult person, a parent or guardian acting on behalf
83 of a minor, or a guardian acting on behalf of a person
84 adjudicated incapacitated under chapter 744 may apply to the
85 Attorney General to have an address designated by the Attorney
86 General serve as the person’s address or the address of the
87 minor or incapacitated person. To the extent possible within
88 funds appropriated for this purpose, the Attorney General shall
89 approve an application if it is filed in the manner and on the
90 form prescribed by the Attorney General and if it contains all
91 of the following:
92 (a) A sworn statement by the applicant that the applicant
93 has good reason to believe that the applicant, or the minor or
94 incapacitated person on whose behalf the application is made, is
95 a victim of domestic violence or dating violence, and that the
96 applicant fears for his or her safety or his or her children’s
97 safety or the safety of the minor or incapacitated person on
98 whose behalf the application is made.
99 (d) A statement that the new address or addresses that the
100 applicant requests must not be disclosed for the reason that
101 disclosure will increase the risk of domestic violence or dating
102 violence.
103 Section 5. Section 741.408, Florida Statutes, is amended to
104 read:
105 741.408 Assistance for program applicants.—The Attorney
106 General shall designate state and local agencies and nonprofit
107 agencies that provide counseling and shelter services to victims
108 of domestic violence and dating violence to assist persons
109 applying to be program participants. Assistance and counseling
110 rendered by the Office of the Attorney General or its designees
111 to applicants does not constitute legal advice.
112 Section 6. Section 741.4651, Florida Statutes, is amended
113 to read:
114 741.4651 Public records exemption; victims of stalking or
115 aggravated stalking.—The names, addresses, and telephone numbers
116 of persons who are victims of stalking or aggravated stalking
117 are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
118 Constitution in the same manner that the names, addresses, and
119 telephone numbers of participants in the Address Confidentiality
120 Program for Victims of Domestic and Dating Violence which are
121 held by the Attorney General under s. 741.465 are exempt from
122 disclosure, provided that the victim files a sworn statement of
123 stalking with the Office of the Attorney General and otherwise
124 complies with the procedures in ss. 741.401-741.409.
125 Section 7. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section
126 960.001, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
127 960.001 Guidelines for fair treatment of victims and
128 witnesses in the criminal justice and juvenile justice systems.—
129 (1) The Department of Legal Affairs, the state attorneys,
130 the Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile
131 Justice, the Florida Commission on Offender Review, the State
132 Courts Administrator and circuit court administrators, the
133 Department of Law Enforcement, and every sheriff’s department,
134 police department, or other law enforcement agency as defined in
135 s. 943.10(4) shall develop and implement guidelines for the use
136 of their respective agencies, which guidelines are consistent
137 with the purposes of this act and s. 16(b), Art. I of the State
138 Constitution and are designed to implement s. 16(b), Art. I of
139 the State Constitution and to achieve the following objectives:
140 (c) Information concerning protection available to victim
141 or witness.—A victim or witness shall be furnished, as a matter
142 of course, with information on steps that are available to law
143 enforcement officers and state attorneys to protect victims and
144 witnesses from intimidation. Victims of domestic violence and
145 dating violence shall also be given information about the
146 address confidentiality program provided under s. 741.403.
147 Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.
148
149 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
150 And the title is amended as follows:
151 Delete everything before the enacting clause
152 and insert:
153 A bill to be entitled
154 An act relating to victims of domestic violence and
155 dating violence; defining terms; requiring the
156 Division of Telecommunications within the Department
157 of Management Services to consult with certain
158 entities to conduct a feasibility study regarding a
159 specified alert system; providing requirements for
160 such alert system; requiring the division to report to
161 the Legislature the results of the feasibility study
162 by a specified date; amending s. 741.401, F.S.;
163 revising legislative findings to include victims of
164 dating violence; reordering and amending s. 741.402,
165 F.S.; defining the term “dating violence”; amending s.
166 741.403, F.S.; authorizing victims of dating violence
167 to apply to participate in the Attorney General’s
168 address confidentiality program; amending s. 741.408,
169 F.S.; requiring the Attorney General to designate
170 certain entities to assist victims of dating violence
171 applying to be address confidentiality program
172 participants; amending ss. 741.4651 and 960.001, F.S.;
173 conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
174 providing an effective date.