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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In one of the clearest bipartisan votes of the 2026 legislative session, Florida lawmakers have unanimously passed House Bill 277, a sweeping domestic violence measure designed to increase penalties for repeat abusers, strengthen protective injunctions, expand electronic monitoring in certain cases, and provide more financial help to victims trying to escape dangerous situations. The bill was ordered enrolled on March 9 and would take effect July 1, 2026, if signed into law.

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The legislation was driven in part by survivor testimony. According to the WFLA report, Rep. Debra Tendrich said victims and survivors helped shape the bill, while advocates like Jennie Carter, whose former husband killed their two children, also helped push lawmakers to act. Tendrich also shared her own experience with domestic violence during the debate, underscoring how personal the issue was for many of the bill’s supporters.

At its core, HB 277 gives Florida courts a tougher response to repeat domestic violence offenders. Under the enrolled bill text, a domestic violence offense can now be reclassified upward if the offender already has a prior domestic violence conviction. That means a second-degree misdemeanor can be bumped to a first-degree misdemeanor, a first-degree misdemeanor can become a third-degree felony, and higher-level felonies can also be elevated, all the way up to a life felony in the most serious category. The bill specifies that this enhancement does not apply to felony battery under section 784.03(2), Florida Statutes.

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The bill also tightens penalties for repeat violations of protective orders. Under the new language, a person with one prior conviction for domestic violence, or for violating an injunction or foreign protection order, who then violates another injunction or foreign protection order against the same victim can be charged with a third-degree felony. That change lowers the threshold for felony treatment and gives prosecutors another tool in repeat-offender cases.

Another major piece of the bill is electronic monitoring. HB 277 creates one pilot program in Pinellas County for certain misdemeanor domestic violence and injunction-violation offenders who are placed on probation with a no-contact order. It also creates a second pilot program in the Sixth Judicial Circuit for certain felony domestic violence and felony injunction-violation offenders under similar circumstances. In both programs, a judge may order electronic monitoring, and in certain cases must order it if the court finds clear and convincing evidence that the defendant poses a threat of violence or physical harm to the victim. Both pilot programs are set to run from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028.

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HB 277 also expands what judges may consider when deciding whether someone is in imminent danger and should receive an injunction for protection. The bill specifically adds factors such as threats to injure or kill a family pet, including service animals and emotional support animals, whether the respondent physically restrained the petitioner from leaving the home or calling law enforcement, whether the respondent has a criminal history involving violence or threats of violence, and whether there is a prior protective order from another jurisdiction, including a military protective order.

The military protective order language is another notable change. HB 277 formally defines military protective orders in Florida law and requires law enforcement to notify the agency that entered such an order into the National Crime Information Center database if an officer has probable cause to believe both a qualifying injunction and a military protective order were violated. The bill also allows courts to consider those military protective orders when deciding whether to grant a civilian domestic violence injunction.

The legislation also expands Florida’s statewide injunction verification system. Under the bill, the Department of Law Enforcement must include dating violence and sexual violence injunctions in the statewide system used by criminal justice agencies to verify the existence and status of protective orders. Supporters say that should improve enforcement and reduce the risk of protective orders slipping through jurisdictional cracks.

For survivors trying to leave abusive homes, the bill increases relocation assistance from up to $1,500 to up to $2,500 on a single claim, while also raising the lifetime maximum from $3,000 to $5,000. Lawmakers and advocates have argued that the old amounts no longer reflected the real-world cost of getting to safety in Florida.

In a legislative session where the House and Senate have clashed on plenty of issues, HB 277 stood out as a rare area of total agreement. The bill passed the Florida House without a single opposing vote and then cleared the Senate unanimously, reflecting broad support for tougher protections for domestic violence survivors and stronger accountability for repeat offenders.

If signed into law, HB 277 will not solve every gap in Florida’s domestic violence system. But it would give judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, and victims more tools than they have now, and supporters believe those added tools could save lives. Floridians who have followed this issue closely will now be watching to see whether Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the measure before the July 1 effective date.

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