Florida SB 1326: Comprehensive Review Study of the Central and Southern Florida Project

Bill Text

1326 
Prosecution of Defendants 
2026-02-04T07:23:13Z 
Revising the qualifications for an insanity defense; updating reporting requirements for examining experts; revising requirements for dismissal of charges; requiring involuntary commitment for persons found not guilty by reason of insanity in certain circumstances; revising mitigating circumstances for sentencing, etc. 
Committee Substitute 1 
2026 
S 
2026-10-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
c1 

 Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 1326 

 By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Martin 

 591-02425-26 20261326c1 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to the prosecution of defendants; 
 3 amending s. 775.027, F.S.; revising the qualifications 
 4 for an insanity defense; amending s. 916.12, F.S.; 
 5 updating reporting requirements for examining experts; 
 6 amending s. 916.145, F.S.; revising requirements for 
 7 dismissal of charges; amending s. 916.15, F.S.; 
 8 requiring involuntary commitment for persons found not 
 9 guilty by reason of insanity in certain circumstances; 
 10 amending s. 921.0026, F.S.; revising mitigating 
 11 circumstances for sentencing; providing an effective 
 12 date. 
 13 
 14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 15 
 16 Section 1. Section 775.027, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
 17 read: 
 18 775.027 Insanity defense.— 
 19 (1) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.—All persons are presumed to be 
 20 sane. It is an affirmative defense to a criminal prosecution 
 21 that, at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the 
 22 offense, the defendant was insane. Insanity is established when 
 23 the defendant had a mental infirmity, disease, or defect and 
 24 because of this condition, the defendant did not know what he or 
 25 she was doing or its consequences.: 
 26 (a) The defendant had a mental infirmity, disease, or 
 27 defect; and 
 28 (b) Because of this condition, the defendant: 
 29 1. Did not know what he or she was doing or its 
 30 consequences; or 
 31 2. Although the defendant knew what he or she was doing and 
 32 its consequences, the defendant did not know that what he or she 
 33 was doing was wrong. 
 34 
 35 Mental infirmity, disease, or defect does not constitute a 
 36 defense of insanity except as provided in this subsection. 
 37 (2) BURDEN OF PROOF.—The defendant has the burden of 
 38 proving the defense of insanity by clear and convincing 
 39 evidence. 
 40 Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 916.12, Florida 
 41 Statutes, is amended to read: 
 42 916.12 Mental competence to proceed.— 
 43 (3) In considering the issue of competence to proceed, an 
 44 examining expert shall first consider and specifically include 
 45 in his or her report the defendant’s capacity to: 
 46 (a) Appreciate the charges or allegations against the 
 47 defendant. 
 48 (b) Appreciate the range and nature of possible penalties, 
 49 if applicable, that may be imposed in the proceedings against 
 50 the defendant. 
 51 (c) Understand the adversarial nature of the legal process. 
 52 (d) Disclose to counsel facts pertinent to the proceedings 
 53 at issue. 
 54 (e) Manifest appropriate courtroom behavior. 
 55 (f) Testify relevantly. 
 56 
 57 In addition, an examining expert shall consider and include in 
 58 his or her report whether the expert finds that the defendant is 
 59 malingering, what instrument or method was used as the basis for 
 60 any such finding, and any other factor deemed relevant by the 
 61 expert. 
 62 Section 3. Section 916.145, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
 63 read: 
 64 916.145 Dismissal of charges.— 
 65 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the charges 
 66 against a defendant adjudicated incompetent to proceed due to 
 67 mental illness may not shall be dismissed unless: without 
 68 prejudice to the state if 
 69 (a) The defendant remains incompetent to proceed for a 
 70 duration of time equal to the maximum statutory sentence for 
 71 such charges; and 
 72 (b) The maximum statutory sentence for such charges is more 
 73 than 5 years. 
 74 (2) If the defendant’s maximum statutory sentence is equal 
 75 to or less than 5 years, 5 continuous, uninterrupted years after 
 76 such determination, unless the court in its order specifies its 
 77 reasons for believing that the defendant will become competent 
 78 to proceed within the foreseeable future and specifies the time 
 79 within which the defendant is expected to become competent to 
 80 proceed. the court may dismiss such charges at least 3 years 
 81 after such determination of incompetency, unless the charge is: 
 82 (a) Arson; 
 83 (b) Sexual battery; 
 84 (c) Robbery; 
 85 (d) Kidnapping; 
 86 (e) Aggravated child abuse; 
 87 (f) Aggravated abuse of an elderly person or disabled 
 88 adult; 
 89 (g) Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; 
 90 (h) Murder; 
 91 (i) Manslaughter; 
 92 (j) Aggravated manslaughter of an elderly person or 
 93 disabled adult; 
 94 (k) Aggravated manslaughter of a chi