SB 572 Florida Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Dangerous Dogs

Summary

Dangerous Dogs; Citing this act as the “Pam Rock Act”; requiring certain dog owners to securely confine their dogs in a proper enclosure; requiring, rather than authorizing, that dogs subject to certain dangerous dog investigations which have killed or bitten a human being to a certain severity be immediately confiscated, placed in quarantine if necessary, impounded, and held; requiring that certain dogs not impounded with the animal control authority be confined in a proper enclosure by the owner; requiring the owner of a dog classified as a dangerous dog to obtain dangerous dog liability insurance coverage and provide proof of such insurance to a certain animal control authority, etc.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 4, 2025 Last action Apr 28, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

S 572 c1 → S 572 c2 · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill was amended to strengthen dangerous dog regulations by clarifying when dogs must be confiscated, adding euthanasia requirements for dogs that kill or severely injure humans, and increasing penalties for violations. The changes make the law more specific about when dangerous dogs must be impounded versus when they can remain with owners, and add criminal penalties for obstructing animal control authorities.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include explicit euthanasia requirements for dogs that kill humans or cause severe injuries, and to clarify when dogs can be held versus released to owners pending investigation.

REQUIREMENT

Changed mandatory confiscation rules to require immediate impoundment only for dogs that killed or severely injured humans, while allowing other dangerous dogs to remain with owners pending investigation if properly confined.

Added requirement that animal control authorities must humanely euthanize dogs that killed humans or caused severe injuries with bite marks scoring 5 or higher on the Dunbar bite scale.

Added requirement that dangerous dogs surrendered to animal control authorities must be euthanized if they killed a human or caused severe injuries with high-scoring bite marks.

ENFORCEMENT

Added criminal penalties for persons who resist or obstruct animal control authorities enforcing dangerous dog laws.

Increased penalties for dangerous dog violations from noncriminal infractions to misdemeanors in some cases, and added felony charges for dogs that cause severe injury or death to humans.

DEFINITION

Reordered and clarified definitions in Section 767.11 to better organize dangerous dog criteria and enclosure requirements.

TIMELINE

Maintained July 1, 2025 effective date while clarifying hearing timelines and appeal procedures for dangerous dog classifications.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 23, 2025

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Apr 17, 2025

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Apr 2, 2025

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 27, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Judiciary, 04/01/25, 4:00 pm, 110 Senate Building

upper

Mar 4, 2025

Introduced

upper

Mar 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable by Agriculture; YEAS 6 NAYS 0

upper

Feb 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Agriculture, 03/03/25, 3:30 pm, 301 Senate Building

upper

Feb 20, 2025

Committee

Referred to Agriculture; Judiciary; Fiscal Policy

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor