Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 814
By
Senator Jones
34-00191A-26 2026814__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to emergency alerts; creating s.
3 784.072, F.S.; defining terms; requiring a local law
4 enforcement agency to activate the emergency alert
5 system and issue a Ya Ya Alert to public and private
6 schools and child care facilities under certain
7 circumstances; requiring local law enforcement
8 agencies to create and maintain a list of such schools
9 and facilities within their jurisdictions; providing
10 requirements for the maintenance of such list;
11 providing immunity from civil liability to certain
12 persons for damages for complying in good faith with
13 specified provisions; providing a presumption of good
14 faith; providing construction; requiring the
15 Department of Law Enforcement, in cooperation with
16 specified departments, to activate the emergency alert
17 system and issue an Imminent Threat Alert at the
18 request of a local law enforcement agency under
19 certain circumstances; providing requirements for the
20 issuance of Imminent Threat Alerts; providing immunity
21 from civil liability to certain persons for damages
22 for complying in good faith with specified provisions;
23 providing a presumption of good faith; providing
24 construction; providing an effective date.
25
26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
27
28 Section 1. Section 784.072, Florida Statutes, is created to
29 read:
30
784.072 Notification of imminent threat to schools and
31
child care facilities or the public;
Ya Ya Alert;
Imminent
32
Threat Alert.—
33
(1) As used in this section, the term:
34
(a) “Child care facility” has the same meaning as in s.
35
402.302.
36
(b) “Imminent Threat Alert” means a notification issued
37
pursuant to subsection (3) which informs the public that an
38
imminent threat exists such that the lives and safety of
people
39
are endangered, including, but not limited to, instances in
40
which a person suspected of killing or causing serious bodily
41
injury to another person or assaulting another person with a
42
deadly weapon has fled the scene of the offense.
43
(
c
) “Private school” has the same meaning as in s. 1002.01.
44
(
d
) “
Ya Ya Alert”
means a notification issued pursuant to
45
subsection (2) which informs public schools, private schools,
46
and child care facilities that an imminent threat exists,
47
including, but not limited to, instances in which a person
48
suspected of killing or causing serious bodily injury to another
49
person or assaulting another person with a deadly weapon has
50
fled the scene of the offense
, and which
advises the schools and
51
facilities to lock their doors and encourages persons in those
52
schools and facilities to remain in lockdown and be vigilant in
53
watching for and reporting any suspicious activity.
54
(2)(a)
If a
local law enforcement agency that has
55
jurisdiction over the scene of an incident
determines that the
56
scene gives
rise to an imminent threat to the public
, the agency
57
must
activate the
e
mergency
a
lert
s
ystem and issue a
Ya Ya Alert
58
to all public and private schools and child care facilities
59
within a 3-mile radius of the incident location and may activate
60
the system and issue the alert to any other public or private
61
school or child care facility the agency
determines
is
at risk,
62
given
its
proximity to the incident, including an incident in
63
which
all of
the following conditions are satisfied:
64
1. A person has been killed or has suffered serious bodily
65
injury
,
or a person has been assaulted with a deadly weapon by
66
another person.
67
2. The person suspected of committing the offense has fled
68
the scene
of the offense
.
69
3. The law enforcement agency investigating the offense has
70
determined that the suspect poses an imminent threat to the
71
public safety.
72
(b) For purposes of complying with this subsection, each
73
local law enforcement agency shall create and maintain a list of
74
all public schools, private schools, and child care facilities
75
within its jurisdiction.
76
(c) A public or private school or child care facility may
77
contact local law enforcement agencies to verify that it is
78
included on the list of those that will receive a
Ya Ya Alert
or
79
to register to be included on the list. A local law enforcement
80
agency must take a private school or child care facility off the
81
list if the school or facility requests that it be taken off the
82
list.
83
(d)1.
Upon recording, reporting, transmitting, displaying,
84
or releasing information pertaining to a
Ya Ya Alert
, the local
85
law enforcement agency with jurisdiction
;
the Department of Law
86
Enforcement
;
any state or local law enforcement agency and the
87
personnel of
such
agenc
y
; any radio or television network,
88
broadcaster, or other media representative; any dealer of
89
communications services as
those terms are
defined in s. 202.11;
90
or any
other
agency, employee, individual, or entity is immune
91
from civil liability for damages for complying in good faith
92
with this subsection and is presumed to have acted in good faith
93
in recording, reporting, transmitting, displaying, or releasing
94
information pertaining to
the
Ya Ya Alert
. The presumption of
95
good faith is not overcome if a technical or clerical error is
96
made by any agency, employee, individual, or entity acting at
97
the request of the local law enforcement agency having
98
jurisdiction, or if information pertaining to a
Ya Ya Alert
is
99
incomplete or incorrect because the information received from
100
the local law enforcement agency was incomplete or incorrect.
101
2.
T
his subsection
may not be construed to create
a duty of
102
the agency, employee, individual, or entity to record, report,
103
transmit, display, or release the
Ya Ya Alert
information
104
received from the local law enforcement agency having
105
jurisdiction. The decision to record, report, transmit, display,
106
or release information is discretionary with the agency,
107
employee, individual, or entity receiving the information.
108
(3) At the request of a local law enforcement agency, the
109
Department of Law Enforcement, in cooperation with the
110
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the
111
Department of Transportation,
must
activate the
e
mergency
a
lert
112
s
ystem and issue an Imminent Threat Alert to the public when the
113
local law enforcement agency confirms that an imminent threat to
114
the public exists, including, but not limited to, circumstances
115
in which
all of
the following conditions have been satisfied:
116
(a) A person has been killed or has suffered serious bodily
117
injury
,
or a person has been assaulted with a deadly weapon by
118
another person.
119
(b) The person suspected of committing the offense has fled
120
the scene
of the offense
.
121
(c) The
law enforcement
agency has determined that the
122
suspect poses an imminent threat to the public safety.
123
(4)
An Imminent Threat Alert must, to the extent
124
practicable, provide a detailed description of a suspect’s
125
vehicle or other means of escape, the license plate number of
126
the suspect’s vehicle, or any other available information that
127
may assist in averting further harm or in apprehending
the
128
suspect.
129
(5)(a) An Imminent Threat Alert must be immediately
130
disseminated to the public through the
e
mergency
a
lert
s
ystem
131
and through the use of dynamic message signs located along the
132
State Highway System.
133
(b) If a traffic emergency arises
which requires
134
information pertaining to the traffic emergency
to
be displayed
135
on a dynamic message sign on a state highway in lieu of an
136
Imminent Threat Alert, the agency responsible for posting the
137
Imminent Threat Alert on the dynamic message sign does not
138
violate this section.
139
(c)1. Upon receiving a request to record, report, transmit,
140
display, or release Imminent Threat Alert information from the
141
law enforcement agency having jurisdiction, the Department of
142
Law Enforcement
;
any state or local law enforcement agency and
143
the personnel of
such agency
; any radio or television network,
144
broadcaster, or other media representative; any dealer of
145
communications services as
those terms are
defined in s. 202.11;
146
or any agency, employee, individual, or entity is immune from
147
civil liability for damages for complying in good faith with
148
this subsection and is presumed to have acted in good faith in
149
recording, reporting, transmitting, displaying, or releasing
150
information pertaining to a
n
Imminent Threat Alert. The
151
presumption of good faith is not overcome if a technical or
152
clerical error is made by any agency, employee, individual, or
153
entity acting at the request of the local law enforcement agency
154
having jurisdiction, or if information pertaining to a
n
Imminent
155
Threat Alert is incomplete or incorrect because the information
156
received from the local law enforcement agency was incomplete or
157
incorrect.
158
2.
Neither t
his subsection
n
or any other law create
s
a duty
159
of the agency, employee, individual, or entity to record,
160
report, transmit, display, or release the Imminent Threat Alert
161
information received from the local law enforcement agency
162
having jurisdiction. The decision to record, report, transmit,
163
display, or release information is discretionary with the
164
agency, employee, individual, or entity receiving the
165
information.
166 Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2026.