Booking Officer Duties Related to Minor Children of Arrested Persons

Children Parental Rights

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor: Davis
Last action: 2026-03-13
Official status: Senate - Died in Children, Families, and Elder Affairs
Effective date: 2026-07-01

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on verification methods for the safety and care of minor children.

Booking Officer Duties Related to Minor Children of Arrested Persons

This law requires booking officers in Florida to ask arrested persons if they have minor children and to ensure the safety and care of those children.

What This Bill Does

Creates a new section in Florida Statutes called '901.45' which sets rules for booking officers when dealing with arrested persons who have minor children.
Requires booking officers to ask arrested people if they have any minor children during the booking process.
If an arrested person has a minor child, the booking officer must check if the child is safe and cared for by a responsible guardian.
The booking officer needs to contact someone or a hotline if there are concerns about the safety of the minor child.

Who It Names or Affects

Booking officers in Florida who handle arrested persons.
Arrested parents with minor children.
Minor children whose parents have been arrested.

Terms To Know

Guardian: A person, like a parent or relative, who is legally responsible for the safety and welfare of a child.
Minor Child: An unmarried person under 18 years old who has not been emancipated by court order and lives with their arrested parent.

Limits and Unknowns

The law does not specify what happens if no guardian is available to care for the minor child.
It's unclear how booking officers will verify the safety and placement of minor children in all situations.

Bill History

2026-03-13 Senate
• Died in Children, Families, and Elder Affairs
2026-02-03 Senate
• Now in Children, Families, and Elder Affairs
2026-02-02 Senate
• Favorable by Criminal Justice; YEAS 7 NAYS 0
2026-01-28 Senate
• On Committee agenda-- Criminal Justice, 02/02/26, 3:30 pm, 37 Senate Building
2026-01-22 Senate
• Introduced
2026-01-16 Senate
• Referred to Criminal Justice; Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Rules
2026-01-08 Senate
• Filed

Official Summary Text

Booking Officer Duties Related to Minor Children of Arrested Persons; Citing this act as the “Child Protection at Time of Parental Arrest Act”; requiring a booking officer to ask certain questions of arrested persons during the booking process and take certain actions related to the arrested person’s minor children, etc.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Florida Senate
-
2026

SB 1488

By
Senator Davis

5-00893A-26 20261488__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to booking officer duties related to
3 minor children of arrested persons; providing a short
4 title; creating s. 901.45, F.S.; providing
5 definitions; requiring a booking officer to ask
6 certain questions of arrested persons during the
7 booking process and take certain actions related to
8 the arrested person’s minor children; providing an
9 effective date.
10
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13 Section 1.
This act may be cited as the “Child Protection

14
at Time of Parental Arrest Act.”

15 Section 2. Section 901.45, Florida Statutes, is created to
16 read:
17
901.45

Booking officer duties related to minor children of

18
arrested persons.—

19
(1)

For purposes of this section, the term:

20
(a)

“Guardian” means a parent, relative, caregiver, or

21
other person legally designated by a court to be responsible for

22
the safety and welfare of a minor child.

23
(b)

“Minor child” means an unmarried person under the age

24
of 18 years who has not been emancipated by order of the court

25
and who is the legal or biological child of an arrested person.

26
(2)

In addition to any other duty, whenever a booking

27
officer is committing an arrested person to custody, the booking

28
officer must ask the arrested person if he or she has a minor

29
child.

30
(3)

If the arrested person states that he or she has a

31
minor child, the booking officer must ask the person, in the

32
same or similar wording,

the following questions, and take the

33
following actions:

34
(a)

Is the minor child safe with a responsible guardian?

35
(b)

Do I need to contact someone to confirm the care of the

36
minor child?

37
(c)

Verify the minor child’s safety and current placement

38
or location.

39
(d)

Notify the central abuse hotline
,
if the booking

40
officer determines that the minor child is unprotected and at

41
risk of or vulnerable to abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or
is

42
without a responsible guardian.

43
(4)

If the arrested person states that he or she does not

44
have a minor child, but a previous arrest record states that a

45
minor child lives with the person, the booking officer may

46
contact the central abuse hotline and request an immediate

47
protective investigation.

48 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.