House emphatically passes Debra Tendrich’s survivor-backed domestic violence bill

Years after escaping an abusive relationship with her daughter and little else, Lake Worth Beach Democratic Rep. Debra Tendrich passed legislation in the House designed to protect other domestic violence survivors.

House members approved the bill (HB 277) by a 112-0 vote. All those present added their names as co-sponsors to the measure, which promises to be signature legislation for the freshman lawmaker.

HB 277 would enhance penalties for repeat domestic violence offenders, hiking violation classifications by one degree. It would increase Florida’s victim-relocation allowance from $1,500 to $2,500, which Tendrich said reflects “the real cost of relocating safely in our state.”

It would also allow threats and cruelty to pets and service animals to be included in protective injunctions.

The measure would strengthen coordination around military protective orders by allowing them to be considered when civilian injunctions are sought, while improving communication between civilian and military law enforcement when violations are suspected.

Further, HB 277 would create a pilot program in Pinellas County allowing courts to order electronic monitoring for certain offenders on probation who pose a threat to victims, with the goal of creating a statewide program in the future.

Every year in Florida, nearly 107,000 cases of domestic violence are reported, Department of Children and Families data shows. And according to the Center for Relationship Abuse Awareness, 75% of domestic violence-related homicides occur after separation, meaning victims are most at risk of severe harm after they leave their abuser.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, meanwhile, estimates that 38% of Florida women and 29% of Florida men experience intimate-partner violence in their lifetimes — among the highest rates in the country.

Tendrich compared living with domestic violence to being held at gunpoint, as victims must calculate every step for fear that the proverbial trigger will be pulled.

“Living in fear does more than cause pain; it slowly erodes freedoms that every American is supposed to have — the rights to live, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” she said. “Yet, for victims of domestic violence, those rights are taken away behind closed doors.”

Tendrich spoke of how every Tuesday after Mother’s Day, she celebrates breaking free of domestic abuse she suffered until 2012, when she fled from Georgia to Florida with her daughter, a suitcase with two changes of clothes and $15.

Leaving was the hardest part, she said, not because she wanted to stay, but because that’s when it’s most dangerous for survivors.

“I remember looking over my shoulder at every noise,” she said. “This year, members, I will reflect on how my survivor story led me to bring forward a bill designed to help save lives across our state, for those who are walking in the same shoes I once wore.”

HB 277, of which Placida Republican Rep. Danny Nix is a co-prime sponsor, won bipartisan plaudits from House members ahead of the chamber’s final vote.

Democratic Reps. Robin Bartleman, Kimberly Daniels, Anna Eskamani, Michele Rayner, Felicia Robinson, Mitch Rosenwald and Marie Woodson, and Republican Reps. Linda Chaney and Michelle Salzman praised Tendrich for crafting the bill and building a consensus. Several referenced horrific, tragic stories of domestic violence in their districts.

Tendrich also detailed fatal stories of domestic violence victims in her closing remarks, acknowledging some of their family members who attended Wednesday’s vote in the House gallery.

“If we want victims to become survivors, then survivor voices must lead the way,” she said. “That is why every year that I serve in this Legislature, domestic violence reform will remain my priority until every gap in our statute is closed and every tool that we need to protect victims is in my toolbox. Florida will become the national standard for how domestic violence is addressed, and I will not stop until it is.”

HB 277 will now cross the rotunda and be taken up in the Senate, where its companion (SB 682) by Miami Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud awaits a floor vote after clearing all three Committees to which it was referred.

The two measures are largely similar, but there is one notable difference that needs to be addressed before the Legislature ultimately passes either measure.

The Senate bill would authorize, and in some cases require, electronic monitoring statewide in domestic violence cases and protective injunction violations. The House bill, meanwhile, envisions a two-year electronic monitoring pilot program in Pinellas County as a way to test the initiative for statewide implementation.

Lawmakers this year are also close to passing another bipartisan couplet of bills (SB 298, HB 269) by Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman of Boca Raton and Republican Reps. Peggy Gossett-Seidman of Highland Beach and Rachel Plakon of Lake Mary.

Those proposals, dubbed the “Helping Abuse Victims Escape Now (HAVEN) Act,” would expand confidentiality protections for dating violence victims and require a study on creating a specialized 911 alert system to more quickly, safely and discreetly enable domestic violence victims to seek police help.

They too await floor votes in their respective chambers after receiving broad support during the Committee process.