Florida’s domestic violence laws got their biggest overhaul in years on July 1, 2026, when House Bill 277 took effect. The Legislature passed it without a single no vote, and it changes the stakes on both sides of these cases: for people accused, for people seeking protection, and, notably for my clients, it puts two pilot programs right here in our home courts.
What changed
The headline changes: a new domestic violence offense committed by someone with a prior domestic violence conviction now carries an enhanced penalty, and a second violation of a protective injunction is now a felony rather than a repeat misdemeanor. The law also creates a statewide domestic violence database, and it gives judges weighing an injunction petition new risk factors to consider, including whether the respondent has threatened to injure or kill a family pet, a service animal, or an emotional support animal, and whether a military protective order already exists.
The monitoring pilots start in our backyard
From July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2028, two electronic monitoring pilot programs run in exactly the courts where I practice. In Pinellas County, a court can order electronic monitoring as a probation condition in misdemeanor domestic violence cases and injunction violation cases where a no-contact order is in place. Across the Sixth Judicial Circuit, which covers Pinellas and Pasco, a court can order monitoring in felony domestic violence cases, and must order it when there is clear and convincing evidence that the defendant poses a threat of violence to the victim. If you have a domestic violence case in Pinellas or Pasco over the next two years, electronic monitoring is now part of the conversation.
What it means on both sides
If you are accused, the margin for error just shrank. A first case matters more than ever, because it becomes the prior that enhances everything after it, and an injunction on your record is now one violation away from a felony. I cover the defense side in my domestic violence defense section, including how bond and no-contact orders work.
If you are the one who needs protection, the new risk factors matter, and so does presenting them properly at the hearing. My injunctions and protective orders section walks through the process.
Questions about how the new law lands on your situation, on either side of it? The practice pages linked above are the place to start. Every case is different and no outcome is promised. You are better Safir than sorry.
