Six laws address sexual offenses and target predators. One targets animal cruelty during hurricanes, and four create harsher punishments for driving offenses, such as fleeing the police and obscuring license plates.
By Faith Montalvo
TAMPA, Fla. — 28 new laws took effect in Florida on Oct. 1. Many of these create harsher penalties meant to crack down on crimes involving sexual offenses and predatory behavior, restraining and abandoning animals during a hurricane, and driving offenses.
The Six Sexual Offenses and Predator Laws
Under House Bill (HB) 1451, sexual cyberharassment is now a third-degree felony if done for financial gain, and deepfake pornography has been criminalized under HB 757. According to the bills, victims will be able to sue offenders for both offenses. The bill also makes owning and selling child sexual abuse materials a third-degree felony, including possessing images depicting “lewd or lascivious” acts or exposure of children.
Another law created a capital sex trafficking felony. Under this law, sex trafficking children under 12 or mentally incapacitated persons is punishable by life in prison or the death penalty. Missouri is the only other state that has a similar law, which states that trafficking a child in the first degree can be punishable by the death penalty.
There are also three laws that specifically target predators.
One sets harsher minimum sentencing if an offender is convicted of a crime for a second time. Another law creates harsher penalties for luring children into a building, and makes it illegal to lure a child out of a building, home, or vehicle. It also raises the age of the child to 14, and mistaking a child’s age cannot be used as a defense for the crime. The third law requires sexual offenders to report where they work and their phone number, and confirm their address with law enforcement four times a year.
Chaining Animals During Natural Disasters
Named after a bull terrier that was rescued near Interstate-75 as Hurricane Milton flooded the area, “Trooper’s Law” makes it a third-degree felony to restrain and abandon animals during natural disasters. This is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, up to five years in prison, or both.
When Governor Ron DeSantis signed this bill into law last May, he also signed “Dexter’s Law,” which went into effect in July and requires the Department of Law Enforcement to create a public animal abuser registry by Jan. 1, 2026.
“Across Florida, we have seen horrifying instances of animal cruelty that demand a stronger response,” said DeSantis in a press release.
The Four Driving Offense Laws
HB 113 increases minimum penalties for fleeing police and creates a sentence multiplier for reoffenders. Fleeing police is now a level five offense and is a level six offense if it causes property damage or injury. It also eliminates the defense of police vehicles not being clearly marked in pursuit. At the same time, HB 253 prohibits owning, buying, or selling devices that obscure license plates to make them unreadable. The third bill allows courts to order individuals who struck property while fleeing a crash to make restitution to the property owner for damages.
“Trenton’s Law” was named after an 18-year-old who was struck and killed by an impaired driver who had previously committed vehicular homicide. It makes some crimes a second-degree felony when people are convicted a second time. Those crimes are driving under the influence (DUI) manslaughter, boating under the influence (BUI) manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and vessel homicide.
It also makes the first refusal of a breath or urine test after a DUI arrest a second-degree misdemeanor.
To see a full list of bills that passed this year, including the laws that took effect on July 1 and Oct. 1, visit the Florida Senate’s official website.
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Legal Gavel & Open Law Book. Photo courtesy of howtostartablogonline.net, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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