SB 500 Florida Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Security for Statewide Constitutional Office Candidates

Summary
Security for Statewide Constitutional Office Candidates; Requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to provide certain candidates with a protective security detail for a specified time period, etc.
Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Mar 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

S 500 Filed S 500 c1 · 2 edits
MINOR
This bill establishes a protective security detail for nominees of major political parties running for statewide constitutional offices in Florida. The security detail must be provided by the Department of Law Enforcement starting after the primary election results are certified and continuing until the nominee concedes the general election or assumes office. The committee substitute version adds a specific definition for 'minor political party' by referencing an existing statute.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on providing security for statewide office candidates, but the committee substitute version clarifies eligibility by explicitly defining which political parties qualify for protection.
DEFINITION

Added a specific reference to s. 97.021(20) to define what constitutes a 'minor political party' for purposes of determining who receives security details.

TECHNICAL

Changed formatting from original draft to committee substitute format with updated bill numbers and metadata.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
13
Key actions
6
Committee
7
Feb 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
CS by Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; YEAS 5 NAYS 2
upper
Feb 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice, 02/25/26, 1:30 pm, 37 Senate Building
upper
Jan 14, 2026
Upper · Passed
Now in Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Introduced
Introduced
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
Favorable by Ethics and Elections; YEAS 6 NAYS 2
upper
Jan 8, 2026
Upper · Passed
On Committee agenda-- Ethics and Elections, 01/13/26, 4:00 pm, 37 Senate Building
upper
Dec 1, 2025
Committee
Referred to Ethics and Elections; Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Fiscal Policy
upper
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors