# Florida HB 1159: Sexual Offenses Florida HB 1159, Sexual Offenses, is a 2026 House bill sponsored by Berny Jacques (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-04-01 (Chapter No. 2026-20; Companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 245 (Ch. 2026-18)) (as of 2026-10-13). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-HB1159-2026 - As of: 2026-10-13 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Florida HB 1159 - State: Florida - Session: 2026 - Title: Sexual Offenses - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-07 - Last action: 2026-04-01, Chapter No. 2026-20; Companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 245 (Ch. 2026-18) - Sponsor: Berny Jacques (Republican) - Cosponsors: 2 - Subjects: Appropriation, Criminal Justice Subcommittee, Justice Budget Subcommittee, Judiciary Committee, House Calendar, Rules - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 2 (142 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 9 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Protection for good-faith abuse image reporting: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, good-faith sharing of links, access codes, or similar information is protected from prosecution under the transmission section. The recipient must be law enforcement, a prosecuting authority, or an authorized forensic examiner. The purpose must be reporting suspected materia… - Felony penalties for animal sexual abuse: cost, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, knowingly engaging in sexual contact with an animal is a second-degree felony. The defined contact includes sexual touching or penetration for sexual gratification, abuse, or financial gain; knowingly causing or helping another person's contact is also a second-degree felony… - Felony penalties for computer-generated abuse images: cost, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, intentionally creating generated child sexual abuse material becomes a second-degree felony, up from third-degree. Generated material includes computer-created images of a fictitious person who reasonably appears younger than 18. Transmitting this material is also a second-d… - Higher penalties for possessing child abuse images: cost, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, knowingly possessing child sexual abuse material becomes a second-degree felony under the covered rule, up from third-degree. Each item remains a separate offense; an item showing multiple children also counts separately for each child. The enhanced offense level applies whe… - Longer prison minimums for repeat sex offenders: cost, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, qualifying repeat offenders face longer mandatory prison terms for three covered offenses. The minimum for the covered sexual battery offense rises from 10 to 15 years. Minimums for the covered child sexual performance and child solicitation offenses each rise from 20 to 30… - Animal abuse convictions restrict homes and jobs: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, courts must restrict animal access after a conviction under the animal sexual abuse law. The order bars harboring, owning, possessing, or controlling animals and living in a household where animals are present. It also bars working or volunteering at an establishment where a… - Felony penalties for child-like sex dolls: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, knowingly possessing an obscene, child-like sex doll is a third-degree felony instead of a separate misdemeanor. A second or later conviction for covered acts involving these dolls is a second-degree felony. - Child performance penalties with narrow sentencing relief: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, knowingly using a child in a sexual performance becomes a first-degree felony, up from second-degree. Convicted offenders who were at least 18 at the time face a 15-year mandatory minimum. Knowingly employing, authorizing, or inducing a child under 12 to participate is a lif… - Tougher penalties for sharing child abuse images: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, transmitting child sexual abuse material rises from a third-degree to a second-degree felony. This applies when the sender knew or reasonably should have known what the material was. Sharing cloud links or access codes that let others obtain the material also counts as trans… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Berny Jacques (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Criminal Justice Subcommittee - Cosponsor: Judiciary Committee ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-09 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 37 | 0 | | | 2026-03-03 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 105 | 0 | | ## Actions (45) - 2026-04-01: Chapter No. 2026-20; Companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 245 (Ch. 2026-18) - 2026-03-31: Approved by Governor - 2026-03-30: Signed by Officers and presented to Governor - 2026-03-09: Ordered enrolled (House) - 2026-03-09: In Messages (House) - 2026-03-09: CS passed; YEAS 37 NAYS 0 -SJ 695 (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Read 3rd time -SJ 695 (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Read 2nd time -SJ 695 (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Substituted for CS/SB 1750 -SJ 695 (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Withdrawn from Rules -SJ 695 (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Received (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Referred to Rules (Senate) - 2026-03-03: In Messages (Senate) - 2026-03-03: CS passed; YEAS 105, NAYS 0 (House) - 2026-03-03: Read 3rd time (House) - 2026-03-03: Added to Third Reading Calendar (House) - 2026-03-03: Read 2nd time (House) - 2026-02-26: 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 2) (House) - 2026-02-26: Bill added to Special Order Calendar (3/3/2026) (House) - 2026-02-26: Bill referred to House Calendar (House) - 2026-02-26: CS Filed (House) - 2026-02-26: Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a) (House) - 2026-02-26: Reported out of Judiciary Committee (House) - 2026-02-26: Favorable with CS by Judiciary Committee (House) - 2026-02-24: PCS added to Judiciary Committee agenda (House) - 2026-02-12: Now in Judiciary Committee (House) - 2026-02-12: Reported out of Justice Budget Subcommittee (House) - 2026-02-12: Favorable by Justice Budget Subcommittee (House) - 2026-02-10: Added to Justice Budget Subcommittee agenda (House) - 2026-02-06: Now in Justice Budget Subcommittee (House) - 2026-02-06: Referred to Judiciary Committee (House) - 2026-02-06: Referred to Justice Budget Subcommittee (House) - 2026-02-05: 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1) (House) - 2026-02-05: CS Filed (House) - 2026-02-05: Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a) (House) - 2026-02-05: Reported out of Criminal Justice Subcommittee (House) - 2026-02-05: Favorable with CS by Criminal Justice Subcommittee (House) - 2026-02-03: Added to Criminal Justice Subcommittee agenda (House) - 2026-01-15: Now in Criminal Justice Subcommittee (House) - 2026-01-15: Referred to Judiciary Committee (House) - 2026-01-15: Referred to Justice Budget Subcommittee (House) - 2026-01-15: Referred to Criminal Justice Subcommittee (House) - 2026-01-13: 1st Reading (Original Filed Version) (House) - 2026-01-07: Filed (House) ## Bill text - er, 2026-07-01: [PDF](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/1159/BillText/er/PDF) - c2, 2026-02-26: [PDF](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/1159/BillText/c2/PDF) - c1, 2026-02-05: [PDF](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/1159/BillText/c1/PDF) - Filed, 2026-01-07: [PDF](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/1159/BillText/Filed/PDF) ## Related bills - SB 14: Relief of Jose Correa by Miami-Dade County (signed) - HB 6507: Relief/L.E./Department of Children and Families (signed) - HB 6509: Relief/Estate of Mark LaGatta/Department of Transportation (signed) - HB 6515: Relief/Lourdes Latour and Edward Latour/Miami-Dade County (signed) - HB 6517: Relief/Heriberto A. Sanchez-Mayen/City of St. Petersburg (signed) - HB 4103: Apalachicola Water and Sewer District, Franklin County (signed) ## Sources - [er (PDF)](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/1159/BillText/er/PDF) - [c2 (PDF)](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/1159/BillText/c2/PDF) - [c1 (PDF)](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/1159/BillText/c1/PDF) - [Filed (PDF)](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/1159/BillText/Filed/PDF) ## Related - [SB 14: Relief of Jose Correa by Miami-Dade County](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-SB14-2026) - [HB 6507: Relief/L.E./Department of Children and Families](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-HB6507-2026) - [HB 6509: Relief/Estate of Mark LaGatta/Department of Transportation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-HB6509-2026) - [HB 6515: Relief/Lourdes Latour and Edward Latour/Miami-Dade County](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-HB6515-2026) - [HB 6517: Relief/Heriberto A. Sanchez-Mayen/City of St. Petersburg](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-HB6517-2026) - [HB 4103: Apalachicola Water and Sewer District, Franklin County](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-HB4103-2026) - [Florida bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/florida/bills) - [Florida state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/florida) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-HB1159-2026 (as of 2026-10-13).