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SB 890FLORIDA · STATEWIDESession 2026dead

Proposed Changes to Felony Battery and Strangulation Laws

Original title: Felony Battery

December 12, 2025

criminal lawdomestic violencesentencingfelony batterystrangulation

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Where This Stands

Currently dead. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Introduced.

Last action
Died in Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil JusticeMar 13, 2026

Procedural history

8 actions
  1. Jan 22, 2026Senate
    CS by Criminal Justice read 1st time
  2. Jan 22, 2026Senate
    Now in Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice
  3. Jan 21, 2026Senate
    Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)
  4. Jan 20, 2026Senate
    CS by Criminal Justice; YEAS 8 NAYS 0
  5. Jan 15, 2026Senate
    On Committee agenda-- Criminal Justice, 01/20/26, 3:30 pm, 37 Senate Building
  6. Jan 13, 2026SenateIntroduced
    Introduced
Show 2 earlier actions
  1. Dec 16, 2025SenateCommittee
    Referred to Criminal Justice; Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Fiscal Policy
  2. Dec 12, 2025SenateIntroduced
    Filed

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

The Frame

What this does

If enacted, this change would have lowered the legal threshold for prosecutors to charge individuals with felony , potentially increasing the number of incidents qualifying for third-degree felony charges.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Criminal defendants

The bill would have altered the legal elements required to secure a conviction for battery by strangulation.

Prosecutors

The bill would have changed the evidentiary requirements needed to charge individuals with felony battery.

What changed

Last recorded activity December 12, 2025.

What's next

Introduced.

Summary

This bill proposed removing the requirement that strangulation must cause or risk 'great bodily harm' to be prosecuted as . It also sought to reclassify these offenses within the state's criminal punishment severity ranking chart.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Why It Matters

If enacted, this change would have lowered the legal threshold for prosecutors to charge individuals with felony , potentially increasing the number of incidents qualifying for third-degree felony charges.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main change this bill proposed?
It proposed removing the requirement that strangulation must cause or risk 'great bodily harm' to be charged as a felony.
Does this bill affect medical procedures?
No, the bill explicitly states that the provisions do not apply to authorized medical diagnosis, treatment, or prescriptions.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Voting Record

Motion succeededhouse1/20/2026Official roll call ↗

Favorable with Committee Substitute

Total

9

Yes

9

No

0

Present

0

Not Voting

0

Abstain

0

Full roll-call analysis →

Sponsors

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift100% confidence

Lowering evidentiary threshold

The bill sought to remove the 'great bodily harm' requirement, which would have made it easier to prosecute strangulation cases without proving severe physical injury.

Florida Statutes

Connected Entities

organizationFiscal Policy“Committee involved in the bill's consideration”Map →
organizationCriminal Justice“Committee overseeing the bill”Map →
locationSenate Building“Location of a committee meeting”Map →
bill_numberRule 4.7(2)“Committee Substitute process”Map →
organizationAppropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice“Committee reviewing the bill's fiscal implications”Map →

Sources

Open source document

openstates.org

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance65
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy50
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz20
    Current news / social attention level

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