Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 120
By
Senator Garcia
36-00239-26 2026120__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to contract protection for elderly
3 persons and disabled adults; creating s. 430.055,
4 F.S.; providing a short title; defining terms;
5 requiring that all contracts involving an elderly
6 person or a disabled adult be in that person’s primary
7 language; requiring a contracting party to conduct a
8 comprehensive review of the contract before an elderly
9 person or disabled adult signs the contract; requiring
10 that the comprehensive review include certain
11 information; requiring a contracting party to record a
12 video that depicts the contracting process and the
13 elderly person or disabled adult signing the contract;
14 requiring that such video be stored by the contracting
15 entity for a specified amount of time after the
16 contract is signed; providing that the video may be
17 accessed only under certain circumstances; providing
18 penalties; authorizing harmed parties to seek civil
19 remedies; providing an effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. Section 430.055, Florida Statutes, is created to
24 read:
25
430.055
Elderly and disabled adult contract protection.—
26
(1)
SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the
“
Elderly
27
and Disabled Adult Contract Protection
Act.”
28
(2)
DEFINITIONS
.—
As used in this section, the term:
29
(
a
)
“Cognitive
i
mpairment
”
means a deficiency in cognitive
30
functioning
,
including
a
person’s short-term or long-term
31
memory
;
orientation as to person, place, and time
;
deductive or
32
abstract reasoning
;
judgment as it relates to safety awareness
;
33
or
reading comprehension.
34
(
b
)
“Contract” means any agreement that affects an
35
individual’s legal rights or property
, including documents
36
conferring
power of attorney
or a deed instrument
.
37
(c)
“Disabled adult
”
means any person between 18 and 60
38
years of age who has one or more permanent physical or mental
39
limitations that restrict his or her ability to perform the
40
normal activities of daily living or impede his or her capacity
41
to live independently.
42
(
d
)
“Elderly” means
a
person 60 years of age or older.
43
(
e
)
“Primary language” means the language
a person uses
44
most frequently
and comfortably to communicate
or the language
45
in which
a person has the greatest literacy
.
46
(
3
)
REQUIREMENTS
FOR CONTRACT
ING
WITH ELDERLY
PERSONS
AND
47
DISABLED ADULTS
.—
48
(
a
)
Language requirements
.—All contracts
involving
either
49
an elderly person or a disabled adult as a party must be in such
50
person’s primary language.
51
(
b
)
Verification of understanding
.—
52
1.
Before an elderly person or a disabled adult sign
s
any
53
contract that involves the transfer or waiver of rights,
54
including
,
but not limited to
, contracts related to
powers of
55
attorney, deeds, financial
records
, or medical records, the
56
contracting party must conduct a comprehensive review of the
57
contract
.
58
2.
The comprehensive review must include a
detailed
59
explanation of all terms and implications of the contract.
60
(
c
)
Video recording requirement
.—
61
1.
The contracting party shall record a video
of the
62
contracting process which
depicts
the contracting party
63
conducting the
comprehensive review of the contract with the
64
elderly person or the disabled adult and
the
elderly person or
65
disabled adult
signing the contract to ensure that such person
66
is not under duress or undue influence during the contracting
67
process. Such video
must
memorialize
the elderly person’s or
68
disabled adult’s
understanding
of
and agreement
to the contract
.
69
2.
The video recording must be securely stored by the
70
contracting entity for a minimum of 5 years
after
the signing of
71
the contract
.
72
3.
The video may be accessed only
with the consent of the
73
elderly person or the disabled adult or as required by law.
74
(
4
)
ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES.—
75
(a)
Failure to comply with this act constitute
s
a violation
76
punishable by a fine not exceeding $10,000 for the first offense
77
and $25,000 for subsequent offenses.
78
(b)
Individuals harmed by violations of this act may pursue
79
civil remedies, including
,
but not limited to
,
the rescission of
80
the contract and damages
.
81 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.