SB 494 Florida Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Aggravated Animal Cruelty

Summary

Aggravated Animal Cruelty; Citing this act as "Dexter’s Law"; requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to post on its website the names of certain individuals who have violated specified animal cruelty provisions; providing a sentencing multiplier for specified offenses of aggravated animal cruelty, etc.

Issues: ✗ Criminal Justice

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 4, 2025 Last action Apr 29, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

S 494 Filed → S 494 c1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to expand its scope from general animal cruelty to specifically address aggravated animal cruelty, adding a new short title 'Dexter's Law' and introducing a sentencing multiplier for these offenses. The amendment also adds a new checkbox category for 'Aggravated Animal Cruelty' in the Criminal Punishment Code worksheet, allowing courts to apply a 1.25x multiplier to sentence points when the primary offense involves intentional torture or torment of an animal that caused injury, mutilation, or death.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded from general animal cruelty provisions to specifically include aggravated animal cruelty offenses with a defined sentencing multiplier, and added a new checkbox category to the state's Criminal Punishment Code worksheet.

SCOPE

Added a new short title 'Dexter's Law' to the bill.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new checkbox category 'Aggravated Animal Cruelty' to the Criminal Punishment Code worksheet for tracking prior offenses.

ENFORCEMENT

Added a sentencing multiplier of 1.25x to sentence points when the primary offense is aggravated animal cruelty involving intentional torture or torment that injured, mutilated, or killed an animal.

DEFINITION

Clarified that the term 'animal' in the aggravated cruelty context does not include animals used for agricultural purposes or permitted as captive wildlife.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 22, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable by- Fiscal Policy; YEAS 18 NAYS 0

upper

Apr 17, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Fiscal Policy, 04/22/25, 11:00 am, 412 Knott Building

upper

Apr 10, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable by Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; YEAS 8 NAYS 0

upper

Apr 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice, 04/10/25, 11:00 am, 37 Senate Building

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Now in Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Mar 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Criminal Justice, 03/25/25, 1:30 pm, 37 Senate Building

upper

Mar 4, 2025

Introduced

upper

Feb 20, 2025

Committee

Referred to Criminal Justice; Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Fiscal Policy

upper

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors