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HB0779 • 2026

Juvenile Justice

Juvenile Justice

Children Crime
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Young
Last action
2026-03-13
Official status
House - Died in Criminal Justice Subcommittee
Effective date
2026-07-01

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's status indicates it did not pass the Criminal Justice Subcommittee in the House, making its enactment unlikely.

Juvenile Justice Changes

This bill requires courts to set a minimum time for children in juvenile justice programs and allows certain low-risk minors to be committed for up to six months.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the court to determine a minimum period of time for a child to remain in a commitment program until completion.
  • Authorizes a specified minimum period of time for a minimum-risk nonresidential commitment for misdemeanor offenses, not exceeding six months.
  • Recommends that children have an objective performance-based treatment plan while in the program.
  • Reduces the age requirement from 13 to 10 years old for committing a child to a maximum-risk residential facility for murder or manslaughter.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Children involved in the juvenile justice system
  • Courts and judges making decisions about children's commitment periods

Terms To Know

Commitment program
A structured plan for a child to follow as part of their punishment or treatment.
Maximum-risk residential facility
A secure place where children who have committed serious crimes are sent for rehabilitation and supervision.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass the Criminal Justice Subcommittee in the House, so it is unlikely to become law.
  • It does not specify how courts will determine if a child is at low risk or high risk.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-13 House

    • Died in Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  2. 2026-01-13 House

    • 1st Reading (Original Filed Version)

  3. 2026-01-05 House

    • Referred to Criminal Justice Subcommittee • Referred to Justice Budget Subcommittee • Referred to Judiciary Committee • Now in Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  4. 2025-12-16 House

    • Filed

Official Summary Text

Juvenile Justice; Requires court to determine minimum period of time for child to remain in commitment program; requires child to remain in program until completion; authorizes specified minimum period of time for minimum-risk nonresidential commitment for misdemeanor of second degree; requires child to have objective performance-based treatment plan while in program; reduces minimum required age for child to be committed to maximum-risk residential facility for murder or manslaughter.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB 779 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb779-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I VE S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to juvenile justice; amending s. 2
985.455, F.S.; requiring the court to determine a 3
minimum period of time for a child to remain in a 4
commitment program; requiring the child to remain in 5
the program until completion; authorizing a specified 6
minimum period of time for a minimum-risk 7
nonresidential commitment for a misdemeanor of the 8
second degree; requiring the child to have an 9
objective performance-based treatment plan while in 10
the program; amending s. 985.465, F.S.; reducing the 11
minimum required age for a child to be committed to a 12
maximum-risk residential facility for murder or 13
manslaughter; providing an effective date. 14
15
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16
17
Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 985.455, Florida 18
Statutes, is amended to read: 19
985.455 Other dispositional issues.— 20
(3) Any commitment of a delinquent child to the department 21
must require the court to determine a minimum be for an 22
indeterminate period of time for the child to remain in the 23
commitment program, which may include periods of temporary 24
release; however, the child must remain in the commitment 25

HB 779 2026

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I VE S

program until he or she completes the program. The minimum 26
period of time may not exceed the maximum term of imprisonment 27
that an adult may serve for the same offense, except that the 28
minimum period of time for a minimum-risk nonresidential 29
commitment for an offense that is a misdemeanor of the second 30
degree may be for a period not to exceed 6 months. The child 31
shall have an objective performance-based treatment plan while 32
The duration of the child's placement in the a commitment 33
program of any restrictiveness level shall be based on objective 34
performance-based treatment planning. The child's treatment plan 35
progress and adjustment-related issues shall be reported to the 36
court quarterly, unless the court requests monthly reports. If 37
the child is under the jurisdiction of a dependency court, the 38
court may receive and consider any information provided by the 39
Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office or the child's attorney ad 40
litem, if one is appointed. The child's length of stay in a 41
commitment program may be extended if the child fails to comply 42
with or participate in treatment activities. The child's length 43
of stay in the program shall not be extended for purposes of 44
sanction or punishment. Any temporary release from such program 45
must be approved by the court. Any child so committed may be 46
discharged from institutional confinement or a program upon the 47
direction of the department with the concurrence of the court. 48
The child's treatment plan progress and adjustment-related 49
issues must be communicated to the court at the time the 50

HB 779 2026

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I VE S

department requests the court to consider releasing the child 51
from the commitment program. The department shall give the court 52
that committed the child to the department reasonable notice, in 53
writing, of its desire to discharge the child from a commitment 54
facility. The court that committed the child may thereafter 55
accept or reject the request. If the court does not respond 56
within 10 days after receipt of the notice, the request of the 57
department shall be deemed granted. This section does not limit 58
the department's authority to revoke a child's temporary release 59
status and return the child to a commitment facility for any 60
violation of the terms and conditions of the temporary release. 61
Section 2. Subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section 62
985.465, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3), 63
(4), and (5), respectively, subsection (1) is amended, and a new 64
subsection (2) is added to that section, to read: 65
985.465 Maximum-risk residential facilities.—A maximum-66
risk residential facility is a physically secure residential 67
commitment program with a designated length of stay from 18 68
months to 36 months, primarily serving children 13 years of age 69
to 19 years of age or until the jurisdiction of the court 70
expires. Each child committed to this level must meet one of the 71
following criteria: 72
(1) The child is at least 13 years of age at the time of 73
the disposition for the current offense and has been adjudicated 74
on the current offense for: 75

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I VE S

(a) Arson; 76
(b) Sexual battery; 77
(c) Robbery; 78
(d) Kidnapping; 79
(e) Aggravated child abuse; 80
(f) Aggravated assault; 81
(g) Aggravated stalking; 82
(h) Murder; 83
(i) Manslaughter; 84
(h)(j) Unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a 85
destructive device or bomb; 86
(i)(k) Armed burglary; 87
(j)(l) Aggravated battery; 88
(k)(m) Carjacking; 89
(l)(n) Home-invasion robbery; 90
(m)(o) Burglary with an assault or battery; 91
(n)(p) Any lewd or lascivious offense committed upon or in 92
the presence of a person less than 16 years of age; or 93
(o)(q) Carrying, displaying, using, threatening to use, or 94
attempting to use a weapon or firearm during the commission of a 95
felony. 96
(2) The child is at least 10 years of age at the time of 97
the disposition for the current offense and has been adjudicated 98
on the current offense for: 99
(a) Murder; or 100

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I VE S

(b) Manslaughter. 101
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 102