Grand Jury Testimony and Materials

HB 1225 2026

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to grand jury testimony and materials; 2
amending s. 905.27, F.S.; providing definitions; 3
authorizing a court to disclose certain grand jury 4
testimony and materials in certain circumstances to 5
further justice; creating s. 905.275, F.S.; requiring 6
the clerk of court to take possession of and preserve 7
certain grand jury materials; prohibiting a person 8
from disposing of or destroying such materials; 9
specifying the materials required to be preserved; 10
requiring the clerk of court to maintain a chain of 11
custody list for such materials during a grand jury 12
proceeding; specifying the manner in which the clerk 13
of court shall store and provide access to stored 14
materials; prohibiting certain persons from accessing 15
such materials; requiring documentation of an 16
authorized person's access to such materials; 17
requiring the state attorney and his or her employees 18
to preserve certain grand jury materials; requiring 19
preserved materials to be retained for a certain 20
period of time; requiring the Office of the State 21
Courts Administrator to adopt certain rules; 22
authorizing the Office of the State Courts 23
Administrator to perform inspections for certain 24
purposes; requiring disclosure and provision of access 25

HB 1225 2026

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to materials upon a court order; prohibiting the 26
intentional destruction or alteration of grand jury 27
materials; providing a penalty; requiring the 28
Department of Law Enforcement to investigate alleged 29
violations of preservation requirements; providing an 30
effective date. 31
32
WHEREAS, this state has a precedent for unsealing historic 33
grand jury records in cases of injustice, including through the 34
procedures described in chapter 2024-7, Laws of Florida, and 35
WHEREAS, survivors of sexual abuse exploitation, capital 36
crimes, and other victimization are entitled to transparency, 37
accountability, and protection, and 38
WHEREAS, the review of grand jury proceedings in cases 39
pertaining to sexual abuse and capital crimes for potential 40
investigative or prosecutorial failures or other injustices may 41
improve the public's trust in the courts of this state, NOW, 42
THEREFORE, 43
44
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 45
46
Section 1. Section 905.27, Florida Statutes, is amended to 47
read: 48
905.27 Testimony and materials not to be disclosed; 49
exceptions.— 50

HB 1225 2026

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(1) As used in this section, the term: 51
(a) "Immediate family member" has the same meaning as in 52
s. 252.515(3). 53
(b) "Sexual abuse" means an act of a sexual nature or 54
sexual act that may be prosecuted under any law of this state. 55
(c) "Survivor" means a victim of an alleged crime of 56
sexual abuse or a capital crime who provided testimony, 57
evidence, or statements in connection with a grand jury 58
proceeding relating to such alleged crime. The term includes a 59
victim of an alleged crime of sexual abuse or a capital crime 60
who was interviewed by an investigator or prosecutor in 61
preparation for a grand jury proceeding even if the victim was 62
not called to testify in the proceeding. 63
(2)(1) Persons present or appearing during a grand jury 64
proceeding, including a grand juror, a state attorney, an 65
assistant state attorney, a reporter, a stenographer, or an 66
interpreter, as well as the custodian of a grand jury record, 67
may not disclose the testimony of a witness examined before the 68
grand jury, or other evidence received by it, or materials 69
preserved pursuant to s. 905.275 except when required by a court 70
to disclose the testimony or materials for the purpose of: 71
(a) Ascertaining whether testimony it is consistent with 72
the testimony given by the witness before the court; 73
(b) Determining whether the witness is guilty of perjury; 74
or 75

HB 1225 2026

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(c) Furthering justice, which can encompass furthering a 76
public interest when the disclosure is requested pursuant to 77
paragraph (3)(c) or (d) (2)(c). 78
(3)(2) It is unlawful for any person knowingly to publish, 79
broadcast, disclose, divulge, or communicate to any other 80
person, or knowingly to cause or permit to be published, 81
broadcast, disclosed, divulged, or communicated to any other 82
person, in any manner whatsoever, any testimony of a witness 83
examined before the grand jury or any materials preserved 84
pursuant to s. 905.275, or the content, gist, or import thereof, 85
except when such testimony or materials are or have is or has 86
been disclosed in any of the following circumstances: 87
(a) When a court orders the disclosure of such testimony 88
pursuant to subsection (2) (1) for use in a criminal case, it 89
may be disclosed to the prosecuting attorney of the court in 90
which such criminal case is pending, and by the prosecuting 91
attorney to his or her assistants, legal associates, and 92
employees, and to the defendant and the defendant's attorney, 93
and by the latter to his or her legal associates and employees. 94
However, the grand jury testimony afforded such persons by the 95
court can only be used in the defense or prosecution of the 96
criminal case and for no other purpose. 97
(b) When a court orders the disclosure of such testimony 98
pursuant to subsection (2) (1) for use in a civil case, it may 99
be disclosed to all parties to the case and to their attorneys 100

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and by the latter to their legal associates and employees. 101
However, the grand jury testimony afforded such persons by the 102
court can only be used in the defense or prosecution of the 103
civil case and for no other purpose. 104
(c) When a court orders the disclosure of such testimony 105
or materials pursuant to subsection (2) (1) in response to a 106
request by the media or an interested person, regardless of 107
whether that purpose is for use in a criminal or civil case, it 108
may be disclosed so long as the subject of the grand jury 109
inquiry is deceased, the grand jury inquiry related to criminal 110
or sexual activity between the subject of the grand jury 111
investigation and a person who was a minor at the time of the 112
alleged criminal or sexual activity, the testimony or materials 113
were was previously disclosed by a court order, and the state 114
attorney is provided notice of the request. This paragraph does 115
not limit the court's ability to limit the disclosure of 116
testimony or materials, including, but not limited to, 117
redaction. 118
(d) When a court orders the disclosure of such testimony 119
or materials pursuant to subsection (2) in response to a request 120
by a survivor or an immediate family member of a survivor, 121
regardless of whether that purpose is for use in a criminal or 122
civil case, the testimony or materials may be disclosed so long 123
as the subject of the grand jury inquiry is deceased and the 124
state attorney is provided notice of the request. This paragraph 125

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does not limit the court's ability to limit the disclosure of 126
testimony or materials, including, but not limited to, 127
redaction. 128
(4)(3) This section does not affect the attorney-client 129
relationship. A client has the right to communicate to his or 130
her attorney any testimony given by the client to the grand 131
jury, any matters involving the client discussed in the client's 132
presence before the grand jury, and any evidence involving the 133
client received by or proffered to the grand jury in the 134
client's presence. 135
(5)(4) A person who violates this section commits a 136
misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 137
775.083, or by fine not exceeding $5,000, or both. 138
(6)(5) A violation of this section constitutes criminal 139
contempt of court. 140
Section 2. Section 905.275, Florida Statutes, is created 141
to read: 142
905.275 Preservation of grand jury materials.— 143
(1) The clerk of court shall take possession of and 144
preserve all materials presented or created during a grand jury 145
proceeding. A person may not dispose of or destroy such 146
materials. 147
(2) For purposes of this section, the term "materials" 148
includes all of the following: 149
(a) Digital recordings. 150

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(b) Audio and video materials. 151
(c) Paper records produced by members of the grand jury, 152
witnesses, and the court. 153
(d) Any computer; hard drive; electronic storage device or 154
digital recording medium, including, but not limited to, 155
outdated media such as compact discs, DVDs, and floppy discs; 156
and electronic devices from which evidence is recovered during 157
an investigation that leads to a grand jury proceeding. 158
(e) Subpoenas. 159
(f) Any other materials, documents, storage devices, 160
media, and data associated with a grand jury proceeding. 161
162
The term "materials" does not include internal state attorney 163
work product, legal memoranda, or investigative intelligence not 164
presented to the grand jury or entered into the record. 165
(3) The clerk of court shall: 166
(a) Maintain a chain of custody list for grand jury 167
materials during each grand jury proceeding and restrict access 168
to such list. Such list must include the name of any person who 169
accesses the materials, the materials the person accessed, and 170
the time and date that the person accessed the materials. A 171
redacted version of the chain of custody document is a public 172
record. 173
(b) Store in secured, sealed containers all grand jury 174
related materials that are in his or her possession and shall 175

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keep such containers in a secure location in the courthouse that 176
is free from mold, water, dust, and other storage hazards. 177
(c) Prohibit unauthorized persons, such as maintenance 178
personnel, visitors, and staff who are not employees of the 179
clerk of court, from accessing or viewing the stored materials. 180
(d) Retain a chain of custody list outside the place in 181
which grand jury materials are stored which documents all of the 182
following: 183
1. The name of any person who accesses the materials. 184
2. The materials the person accessed. 185
3. The time and date the person accessed the materials. 186
(4) If the state attorney or any of his or her employees 187
possesses any of the materials described in subsection (2) which 188
were not presented to the grand jury or were not otherwise made 189
part of the court record, he or she shall preserve such 190
materials. 191
(5) All materials preserved pursuant to this section must 192
be retained for 50 years after any criminal proceedings 193
associated with such materials have concluded unless a court 194
orders otherwise. 195
(6) The Office of the State Courts Administrator shall 196
adopt uniform statewide rules for retention, management, and 197
storage of grand jury materials to ensure consistency and reduce 198
burdens on clerks of court. The Office of the State Courts 199
Administrator may perform inspections to confirm that clerks of 200

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court are in compliance with this section. 201
(7) A person or entity who possesses or stores any grand 202
jury materials as described in this section shall disclose and 203
provide access to such materials upon a court order pursuant to 204
s. 905.27. 205
(8) Any person who intentionally destroys or alters any of 206
the materials described in subsection (2) commits a felony of 207
the third degree, as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 208
775.084. The Department of Law Enforcement shall investigate 209
alleged violations of the preservation requirements in this 210
section. 211
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 212