HB 507 Florida House · 2026 Regular Session

Special Protections in Judicial Proceedings

Summary

Special Protections in Judicial Proceedings; Authorizes court to require pro se defendant to question certain victims & witnesses through standby counsel at any trial, hearing, or deposition upon specified findings.

Issues: ✗ Criminal Justice

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Nov 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Nov 20, 2025 Last action Mar 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

H 507 Filed → H 507 c1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to change the court's authority from a mandatory requirement to a discretionary option. Additionally, the amendment adds specific conditions requiring the court to make findings on the record and use questions approved by the defendant before requiring a pro se defendant to communicate with a protected witness through standby counsel.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's application was narrowed by removing the mandatory nature of the requirement and adding specific procedural hurdles (court findings and defendant-approved questions) that must be met before the rule applies.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the court's obligation from 'shall require' (mandatory) to 'may require' (discretionary), giving judges the choice to apply the rule or not.

Added a new condition requiring the court to make specific findings on the record that direct communication would cause emotional or mental harm to the witness.

Added a new condition requiring that any questions used must be provided by or approved by the pro se defendant.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jan 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

Now in Judiciary Committee

lower

Jan 16, 2026

Committee

Referred to Judiciary Committee

lower

Jan 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Criminal Justice Subcommittee

lower

Jan 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Favorable with CS by Criminal Justice Subcommittee

lower

Jan 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Added to Criminal Justice Subcommittee agenda

lower

Nov 24, 2025

Lower · Passed

Now in Criminal Justice Subcommittee

lower

Nov 24, 2025

Committee

Referred to Judiciary Committee

lower

Nov 24, 2025

Committee

Referred to Criminal Justice Subcommittee

lower

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors