Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1100
By Senator Martin
33-01528-25 20251100__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to protective services for certain
3 victims and witnesses; amending s. 914.25, F.S.;
4 revising the definition of the term “serious felony
5 offense”; reenacting ss. 914.27(1), (2), and (5) and
6 943.031(8)(c), F.S., relating to the confidentiality
7 of victim and witness information and the Victim and
8 Witness Protection Review Committee, respectively, to
9 incorporate the amendment made to s. 914.25, F.S., in
10 references thereto; providing an effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
15 914.25, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
16 914.25 Protective services for certain victims and
17 witnesses.—
18 (1) For purposes of this section, the term:
19 (b) “Serious felony offense” means one of the following
20 offenses, including an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to
21 commit one of the following offenses: murder, manslaughter,
22 sexual battery, aggravated stalking, aggravated battery,
23 carjacking, home invasion robbery, burglary, arson, robbery,
24 kidnapping, racketeering, or trafficking in a controlled
25 substance, battery by strangulation, human smuggling, human
26 trafficking, or any other felony that involves the use or threat
27 of physical force or violence against any individual.
28 Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
29 made by this act to section 914.25, Florida Statutes, in
30 references thereto, subsections (1), (2), and (5) of section
31 914.27, Florida Statutes, are reenacted to read:
32 914.27 Confidentiality of victim and witness information.—
33 (1) Information held by any state or local law enforcement
34 agency, state attorney, the statewide prosecutor, the Victim and
35 Witness Protection Review Committee created pursuant to s.
36 943.031, or the Department of Law Enforcement which discloses:
37 (a) The identity or location of a victim or witness who has
38 been identified or certified for protective or relocation
39 services pursuant to s. 914.25;
40 (b) The identity or location of an immediate family member
41 of a victim or witness who has been identified or certified
42 pursuant to s. 914.25;
43 (c) Relocation sites, techniques, or procedures utilized or
44 developed as a result of the victim and witness protective
45 services afforded by s. 914.25; or
46 (d) The identity or relocation site of any victim, witness,
47 or immediate family member of a victim or witness who has made a
48 relocation of permanent residence by reason of the victim’s or
49 witness’s involvement in the investigation or prosecution giving
50 rise to certification for protective or relocation services
51 pursuant to s. 914.25;
52
53 is confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1)
54 and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. Such information
55 may be shared by law enforcement agencies, state attorneys, and
56 the statewide prosecutor to facilitate the protective or
57 relocation services provided pursuant to s. 914.25 and to
58 support the prosecution efforts of the state attorneys and the
59 statewide prosecutor. Any information so shared must remain
60 confidential and exempt in the hands of any agency or entity to
61 which the information is provided.
62 (2) If a victim or witness is identified for protective
63 services under s. 914.25 and is later denied certification, the
64 identity and location information exempt pursuant to paragraphs
65 (1)(a) and (b) becomes public information, unless otherwise
66 provided by law.
67 (5) For the purposes of effectively implementing s. 914.25,
68 any state or local law enforcement agency, state attorney, or
69 the statewide prosecutor may provide written notification to an
70 agency as defined in s. 119.011 or to a business entity
71 operating under contract with, licensed by, or having any other
72 business relationship with an agency, or providing services
73 pursuant to s. 914.25, that information described in subsection
74 (1) held by that agency or business is confidential and exempt
75 from public disclosure. The state or local law enforcement
76 agency, state attorney, or the statewide prosecutor providing
77 such written notification shall also provide written
78 notification to the agency or business as to when, in accordance
79 with this section, identity and location information exempted
80 pursuant to paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) can be made publicly
81 available.
82 Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
83 made by this act to section 914.25, Florida Statutes, in a
84 reference thereto, paragraph (c) of subsection (8) of section
85 943.031, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
86 943.031 Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council.—
87 (8) VICTIM AND WITNESS PROTECTION REVIEW COMMITTEE.—
88 (c) The lead law enforcement agency providing victim or
89 witness protective or temporary relocation services pursuant to
90 the provisions of s. 914.25 may submit a request for
91 reimbursement to the Victim and Witness Protection Review
92 Committee in a format approved by the committee. The lead law
93 enforcement agency shall submit such reimbursement request on
94 behalf of all law enforcement agencies that cooperated in
95 providing protective or temporary relocation services related to
96 a particular criminal investigation or prosecution. As part of
97 the reimbursement request, the lead law enforcement agency must
98 indicate how any reimbursement proceeds will be distributed
99 among the agencies that provided protective or temporary
100 relocation services.
101 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.