Florida Senate - 2026                                    SB 1488
       
       
        
       By Senator Davis
       
       
       
       
       
       5-00893A-26                                           20261488__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to booking officer duties related to
    3         minor children of arrested persons; providing a short
    4         title; creating s. 901.45, F.S.; providing
    5         definitions; requiring a booking officer to ask
    6         certain questions of arrested persons during the
    7         booking process and take certain actions related to
    8         the arrested person’s minor children; providing an
    9         effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Child Protection
   14  at Time of Parental Arrest Act.”
   15         Section 2. Section 901.45, Florida Statutes, is created to
   16  read:
   17         901.45 Booking officer duties related to minor children of
   18  arrested persons.—
   19         (1) For purposes of this section, the term:
   20         (a) “Guardian” means a parent, relative, caregiver, or
   21  other person legally designated by a court to be responsible for
   22  the safety and welfare of a minor child.
   23         (b) “Minor child” means an unmarried person under the age
   24  of 18 years who has not been emancipated by order of the court
   25  and who is the legal or biological child of an arrested person.
   26         (2) In addition to any other duty, whenever a booking
   27  officer is committing an arrested person to custody, the booking
   28  officer must ask the arrested person if he or she has a minor
   29  child.
   30         (3) If the arrested person states that he or she has a
   31  minor child, the booking officer must ask the person, in the
   32  same or similar wording, the following questions, and take the
   33  following actions:
   34         (a) Is the minor child safe with a responsible guardian?
   35         (b) Do I need to contact someone to confirm the care of the
   36  minor child?
   37         (c) Verify the minor child’s safety and current placement
   38  or location.
   39         (d) Notify the central abuse hotline, if the booking
   40  officer determines that the minor child is unprotected and at
   41  risk of or vulnerable to abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or is
   42  without a responsible guardian.
   43         (4) If the arrested person states that he or she does not
   44  have a minor child, but a previous arrest record states that a
   45  minor child lives with the person, the booking officer may
   46  contact the central abuse hotline and request an immediate
   47  protective investigation.
   48         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.