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HB1505 • 2026

Prosecution of Defendants

Prosecution of Defendants

Crime
Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
Weinberger
Last action
2026-03-13
Official status
House - Died in Criminal Justice Subcommittee
Effective date
2026-10-01

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's text does not provide details about how specialized treatment will be funded or its potential impacts on existing cases.

Changes to Mental Health Defenses in Court

This bill modifies how mental health conditions can be used as defenses and requires experts to assess if defendants are pretending to have a mental illness.

What This Bill Does

  • Specifies that it is a defense for a defendant, due to mental disease or defect, to lack the culpable mental state required for the crime charged.
  • Removes the affirmative defense that at the time of committing an offense, the defendant was insane.
  • Requires experts examining a defendant's mental competence to assess if the defendant is malingering and include this in their report.
  • Allows specialized treatment for mental health issues within sentences but does not allow it as grounds for departing from minimum sentencing.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who are charged with crimes and claim they lacked a culpable mental state due to mental disease or defect at the time of committing an offense.
  • Courts and judges when deciding if a defendant is competent to stand trial.
  • Experts examining defendants' mental competence.

Terms To Know

culpable mental state
The required level of intent or knowledge needed for someone to be guilty of a crime.
affirmative defense
A legal argument that, if proven, can result in the defendant not being found guilty of the charges.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how mental health treatment will be funded.
  • It is unclear how this change will affect existing cases where insanity was used as a defense.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-13 House

    • Died in Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  2. 2026-01-15 House

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

  3. 2026-01-13 House

    • 1st Reading (Original Filed Version)

  4. 2026-01-09 House

    • Filed

Official Summary Text

Prosecution of Defendants; Specifies that it is defense to prosecution under any law that defendant, as result of mental disease or defect, lacked culpable mental state required as element of crime charged; specifies that mental disease or defect is not otherwise defense to prosecution under any law; removes affirmative defense to criminal prosecution that, at time of commission of acts constituting offense, defendant was insane; revises mitigating circumstance under which departure from lowest permissible sentence is reasonably justified; authorizes incorporation into convicted defendant's criminal sentence certain specialized treatment for mental health disease or defects; specifies that certain provisions do not prevent sentencing court from considering defendant's mental disease or defect when imposing sentence within permissible sentencing range.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB 1505 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1505-00
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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 V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the prosecution of defendants; 2
amending s. 775.027, F.S.; specifying that it is a 3
defense to a prosecution under any law that a 4
defendant, as a result of mental disease or defect, 5
lacked the culpable mental state required as an 6
element of the crime charged; specifying that mental 7
disease or defect is not otherwise a defense to a 8
prosecution under any law; deleting the affirmative 9
defense to a criminal prosecution that, at the time of 10
the commission of the acts constituting the offense, 11
the defendant was insane; deleting provisions for 12
establishing the affirmative defense; deleting a 13
provision relating to the burden of proof relating to 14
the affirmative defense; amending s. 916.12, F.S.; 15
requiring an expert examining a defendant's mental 16
competence to proceed to administer a clinically 17
recognized instrument to determine whether the 18
defendant is malingering and include the results in 19
his or her report; amending s. 921.0026, F.S.; 20
revising a mitigating circumstance under which a 21
departure from the lowest permissible sentence is 22
reasonably justified; creating s. 921.245, F.S.; 23
authorizing the incorporation into a convicted 24
defendant's criminal sentence certain specialized 25

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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 V E S

treatment for mental health disease or defects; 26
prohibiting such treatment from providing a basis for 27
a sentencing court to depart from the lowest 28
permissible sentence; specifying that certain 29
provisions do not prevent a sentencing court from 30
considering a defendant's mental disease or defect 31
when imposing a sentence within the permissible 32
sentencing range; providing an effective date. 33
34
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 35
36
Section 1. Section 775.027, Florida Statutes, is amended 37
to read: 38
775.027 Insanity Defense of lack of culpable mental 39
state.— 40
(1) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.—All persons are presumed to be 41
sane. It is a defense to a prosecution under any law that a 42
defendant, as a result of mental disease or defect, lacked the 43
culpable mental state required as an element of the crime 44
charged. Mental disease or defect is not otherwise a defense to 45
a prosecution under any law an affirmative defense to a criminal 46
prosecution that, at the time of the commission of the acts 47
constituting the offense, the defendant was insane. Insanity is 48
established when: 49
(a) The defendant had a mental infirmity, disease, or 50

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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 V E S

defect; and 51
(b) Because of this condition, the defendant: 52
1. Did not know what he or she was doing or its 53
consequences; or 54
2. Although the defendant knew what he or she was doing 55
and its consequences, the defendant did not know that what he or 56
she was doing was wrong. 57
58
Mental infirmity, disease, or defect does not constitute a 59
defense of insanity except as provided in this subsection. 60
(2) BURDEN OF PROOF.—The defendant has the burden of 61
proving the defense of insanity by clear and convincing 62
evidence. 63
Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 916.12, Florida 64
Statutes, is amended to read: 65
916.12 Mental competence to proceed.— 66
(3) In considering the issue of competence to proceed, an 67
examining expert shall first consider and specifically include 68
in his or her report the defendant's capacity to: 69
(a) Appreciate the charges or allegations against the 70
defendant. 71
(b) Appreciate the range and nature of possible penalties, 72
if applicable, that may be imposed in the proceedings against 73
the defendant. 74
(c) Understand the adversarial nature of the legal 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 V E S

process. 76
(d) Disclose to counsel facts pertinent to the proceedings 77
at issue. 78
(e) Manifest appropriate courtroom behavior. 79
(f) Testify relevantly. 80
81
In addition, an examining expert shall administer a clinically 82
recognized instrument to determine whether the defendant is 83
malingering consider and include the results of this instrument 84
in his or her report, along with any other factor deemed 85
relevant by the expert. 86
Section 3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 87
921.0026, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 88
921.0026 Mitigating circumstances.—This section applies to 89
any felony offense, except any capital felony, committed on or 90
after October 1, 1998. 91
(2) Mitigating circumstances under which a departure from 92
the lowest permissible sentence is reasonably justified include, 93
but are not limited to: 94
(d) The defendant requires specialized treatment for a 95
mental disorder that is unrelated to substance abuse or 96
addiction or for a physical disability, and the defendant is 97
amenable to treatment. 98
Section 4. Section 921.245, Florida Statutes, is created 99
to read: 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 V E S

921.245 Mental health treatment for convicted defendants.— 101
(1) If a convicted defendant requires specialized 102
treatment for a mental disease or defect that is unrelated to 103
substance abuse or addiction, and the defendant is amenable to 104
treatment, such treatment may be incorporated into his or her 105
criminal sentence, but the treatment may not provide a basis for 106
a sentencing court to depart from the lowest permissible 107
sentence established by the Criminal Punishment Code. 108
(2) This section does not prevent a sentencing court from 109
considering a defendant's mental disease or defect when imposing 110
a sentence within the permissible sentencing range established 111
by the Criminal Punishment Code. 112
Section 5. This act shall take effect October 1, 2026. 113