Text of FL S 1388 (2026)

Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1388 By Senator Smith 17-00449A-26 20261388__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to offenses evidencing prejudice; 3 amending s. 775.085, F.S.; expanding grounds for the 4 reclassification of offenses to include acts based on 5 the gender or gender identity of any person; requiring 6 that the reclassification occur if the offense was 7 based in whole or in part on specified characteristics 8 of any person; defining the term “gender identity”; 9 revising the definitions of the terms “advanced age” 10 and “homeless status”; providing that it is an 11 essential element of a certain offense that the 12 defendant perceived, knew, or had reasonable grounds 13 to know or perceive that a person was included in a 14 certain class; amending s. 775.0863, F.S.; replacing 15 the term “mental or physical disability” with the term 16 “disability” and revising the definition; requiring 17 that the reclassification of a certain offense occur 18 if the offense was based in whole or in part on a 19 disability of any person; providing penalties; 20 amending s. 817.034, F.S.; conforming provisions to 21 changes made by the act; amending s. 877.19, F.S.; 22 expanding the data the Governor, through the 23 Department of Law Enforcement, is required to collect 24 and disseminate to include specified incidents; 25 providing an effective date. 26 27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 28 29 Section 1. Section 775.085, Florida Statutes, is amended to 30 read: 31 775.085 Evidencing prejudice while committing offense; 32 reclassification.— 33 (1)(a) The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be 34 reclassified as provided in this subsection if the commission of 35 such felony or misdemeanor evidences prejudice based in whole or 36 in part on the gender, race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, 37 religion, sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status, 38 or advanced age, or gender identity of any person the victim: 39 1. A misdemeanor of the second degree is reclassified to a 40 misdemeanor of the first degree. 41 2. A misdemeanor of the first degree is reclassified to a 42 felony of the third degree. 43 3. A felony of the third degree is reclassified to a felony 44 of the second degree. 45 4. A felony of the second degree is reclassified to a 46 felony of the first degree. 47 5. A felony of the first degree is reclassified to a life 48 felony. 49 (b) As used in paragraph (a), the term: 50 1. “Advanced age” means that the person victim is older 51 than 65 years of age. 52 2. “Gender identity” means a person’s gender-related 53 identity, appearance, or behavior, regardless of whether such 54 gender-related identity, appearance, or behavior is different 55 from that traditionally associated with the person’s physiology 56 or assigned sex at birth. 57 3.2. “Homeless status” means that the person victim: 58 a. Lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime 59 residence; or 60 b. Has a primary nighttime residence that is: 61 (I) A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter 62 designed to provide temporary living accommodations; or 63 (II) A public or private place not designed for, or 64 ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human 65 beings. 66 (2) A person or an organization that establishes by clear 67 and convincing evidence that it has been coerced, intimidated, 68 or threatened in violation of this section has a civil cause of 69 action for treble damages, an injunction, or any other 70 appropriate relief in law or in equity. Upon prevailing in such 71 civil action, the plaintiff may recover reasonable attorney fees 72 and costs. 73 (3) It is an essential element of this section that the 74 record reflect that the defendant perceived, knew, or had 75 reasonable grounds to know or perceive that the person victim 76 was included in a within the class delineated in this section. 77 Section 2. Section 775.0863, Florida Statutes, is amended 78 to read: 79 775.0863 Evidencing prejudice while committing offense 80 against person with mental or physical disability; 81 reclassification.— 82 (1)(a) The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be 83 reclassified as provided in this subsection if the commission of 84 such felony or misdemeanor evidences prejudice based in whole or 85 in part on a mental or physical disability of any person the 86 victim: 87 1. A misdemeanor of the second degree is reclassified to a 88 misdemeanor of the first degree. 89 2. A misdemeanor of the first degree is reclassified to a 90 felony of the third degree. 91 3. A felony of the third degree is reclassified to a felony 92 of the second degree. 93 4. A felony of the second degree is reclassified to a 94 felony of the first degree. 95 5. A felony of the first degree is reclassified to a life 96 felony. 97 (b) As used in paragraph (a), the term “mental or physical 98 disability” means a physical or mental impairment that 99 substantially limits one or more of a person’s major life 100 activities a condition of mental or physical incapacitation due 101 to a developmental disability, organic brain damage, or mental 102 illness, and one or more mental or physical limitations that 103 restrict a person’s ability to perform the normal activities of 104 daily living. 105 (2) A person or an organization that establishes by clear 106 and convincing evidence that it has been coerced, intimidated, 107 or threatened in violation of this section has a civil cause of 108 action for treble damages, an injunction, or any other 109 appropriate relief in law or in equity. Upon prevailing in such 110 civil action, the plaintiff may recover reasonable attorney fees 111 and costs. 112 (3) It is an essential element of this section that the 113 record reflect that the defendant perceived, knew, or had 114 reasonable grounds to know or perceive that the person victim 115 was included in within the class delineated in this section. 116 Section 3. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section 117 817.034, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraphs (a) and 118 (b) that subsection are republished, to read: 119 817.034 Florida Communications Fraud Act.— 120 (4) OFFENSES.— 121 (a) Any person who engages in a scheme to defraud and 122 obtains property thereby commits organized fraud, punishable as 123 follows: 124 1. If the amount of property obtained has an aggregate 125 value of $50,000 or more, the person commits a felony of the 126 first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, 127 or s. 775.084. 128 2. If the amount of property obtained has an aggregate 129 value of $20,000 or more, but less than $50,000, the person 130 commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in 131 s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 132 3. If the amount of property obtained has an aggregate 133 value of less than $20,000, the person commits a felony of the 134 third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, 135 or s. 775.084. 136 (b) Any person who engages in a scheme to defraud and, in 137 furtherance of that scheme, communicates with any person with 138 intent to obtain property from that person commits, for each 139 such act of communication, communications fraud, punishable as 140 follows: 141 1. If the value of property obtained or endeavored to be 142 obtained by the communication is valued at $300 or more, the 143 person commits a third degree felony, punishable as set forth in 144 s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 145 2. If the value of the property obtained or endeavored to 146 be obtained by the communication is valued at less than $300, 147 the person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable 148 as set forth in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 149 (c) The penalty for committing an offense specified in 150 paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) against a person age 65 years or 151 older, against a minor, or against a person with a mental or 152 physical disability, as defined in s. 775.0863(1)(b), shall be 153 reclassified as follows: 154 1. A misdemeanor of the first degree is reclassified to a 155 felony of the third degree. 156 2. A felony of the third degree is reclassified to a felony 157 of the second degree. 158 3. A felony of the second degree is reclassified to a 159 felony of the first degree. 160 4. A felony of the first degree is reclassified to a life 161 felony. 162 Section 4. Subsection (2) of section 877.19, Florida 163 Statutes, is amended to read: 164 877.19 Hate Crimes Reporting Act.— 165 (2) ACQUISITION AND PUBLICATION OF DATA.—The Governor, 166 through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, shall collect 167 and disseminate data on incidents of criminal acts that evidence 168 prejudice based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, color, 169 ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or 170 national origin. All law enforcement agencies shall report 171 monthly to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement concerning 172 such offenses in such form and in such manner as prescribed by 173 rules adopted by the department. Such information must shall be 174 compiled by the department and disseminated upon request to any 175 local law enforcement agency, unit of local government, or state 176 agency. 177 Section 5. This act shall take effect October 1, 2026.