HB 285 — Required Notice of Intent to Contact a Victim

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 HBCS/HB 285 2026 A bill to be entitled An act relating to therequired rightsnotice of crimeintent victims;to contact a victim;

amendingcreating s.

960.001,914.18, F.S.;

providingrequiring thatspecified persons acting on behalf of a criminal defendant to file a specified notice within a specified timeframe before contacting a victim mayin refusea tocriminal communicateproceeding withfor thea defendant'sspecified attorney;purpose;

providing thatapplicability; a victim may require that the prosecutor be notified of and present for communications with the defendant's attorney;

amendingrequiring s.that such notice be filed on a standard form developed by the state attorney in each judicial circuit;

960.0021, F.S.;

revising an announcement by which a court may advise a crime victim of his or her rights;

SubsectionsSection (7),914.18, (8), and (9) of section 960.001, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (8), (9), and (10), respectively, and a new subsection (7) is addedcreated to that section to read:

960.001914.18 GuidelinesRequired fornotice fairof treatmentintent to contact victim.— (1) Before any attorney, investigator, or other agent acting on behalf of victimsa andcriminal witnessesdefendant inmay contact a victim for the purpose of obtaining information relating to a pending criminal justiceproceeding, andhe juvenileor justiceshe systems.—must (7)file Aa notice of intent to contact the victim may:within 72 hours before making, or attempting to make, such contact.

(a)This Refusesubsection does not apply to communicatecontact with thea defendant'svictim attorney.which occurs during a court proceeding or deposition.

(b)(2) RequireThe thatnotice therequired prosecutorunder besubsection notified(1) ofmust andbe presentfiled forPage any1 andof all2 communicationsCODING: between the defendant's attorney and the victim.

Section 2.

Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section Page 1 of 3 CODING:

hb285-00hb285-01-c1 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 HBCS/HB 285 2026 960.0021,on Floridaa Statutes,standard isform amendeddeveloped toand read:made available by the state attorney in each judicial circuit.

960.0021Section Legislative2. intent;

advisement to victims.— (2) The courts may fulfill their obligation to advise crime victims by doing one of the following:

(a) Making the following announcement at any arraignment, sentencing, or case-management proceeding:

"If you are the victim of a crime with a case pending before this court, you are advised that you have the right, upon request:

1.

To be informed.

2.

To be present.

3.

To be heard at all stages of criminal proceedings.

4.

To receive advance notification, when possible, of judicial proceedings and notification of scheduling changes, pursuant to section 960.001, Florida Statutes.

5.

To seek crimes compensation and restitution.

6.

To consult with the state attorney's office in certain felony cases regarding the disposition of the case.

7.

To make an oral or written victim impact statement at the time of sentencing of a defendant.

8.

To refuse to communicate with the defendant's attorney.

9.

To have the prosecutor notified of and present for any and all communications with the defendant's attorney.

Page 2 of 3 CODING:

Words stricken are deletions;

words underlined are additions.