Jesse Scheckner
If you’re at risk of serious violence, Sen. Barbara Sharief wants to provide more access to safety measures.
That’s the goal of legislation (SB 32) she has refiled for the coming Session.
If passed, the measure would expand protections under existing injunction statutes, substituting “repeat violence” with “repeat or serious violence.”
In short, the changes would expand a court’s ability to issue restraining orders and take other protective actions. Under current law, someone seeking help from courts must show repeat incidents of threats or violence.
Under SB 32, a single serious act — bodily injury or a death threat directed at the petitioner — would qualify.
“Every Floridian deserves to feel safe,” Sharief, a Broward County Democrat, said in a statement. “SB 32 would ensure victims have access to protection before tragedy strikes.”
The measure, which pends a House companion, would maintain the existing definition of violence as “any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, or false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death, by a person against any other person.”
It would also update Florida Statutes to align with those changes, “covering risk protection orders, domestic violence and electronic tracking devices to create a more consistent and effective framework for public safety,” a press note from Sharief’s Office said.
Sharief’s Office added that Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony all support the bill, which is a retooled version of legislation (SB 308, HB 285) she and St. Petersburg Democratic Rep. Michele Rayner carried during the 2025 Session.
Both the Senate and House versions of the bill died without a hearing.
SB 32 was among seven bills Sharief filed Monday. Others focus on rate filings for property insurers, historic cemeteries and four health care-focused bills.
One such bill is a refiled version (SB 42) of “Patterson’s Law,” which received unanimous approval in the Senate earlier this year and would, if passed, help innocent parents disprove false child abuse claims in cases where their children have rare illnesses that cause physical injuries.
