House panel advances ‘HAVEN Act’ expanding safeguards for domestic, dating violence victims

Two weeks after its companion Senate bill passed with unanimous support, bipartisan legislation to expand protections for victims of domestic and dating violence is gaining traction in the House.

Members of the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee voted 15-0 for HB 269, dubbed the “Helping Abuse Victims Escape Now (HAVEN) Act.”

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.

“There is no magic button or instant connection to law enforcement, and this is what this bill addresses. … There is no immediate method of calling,” said Highland Beach Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who is sponsoring the legislation with fellow Republican Rep. Rachel Plakon of Lake Mary.

“This would provide the technology and connect them immediately to emergency services with an identification, a location and, if needed, a passcode, and that would allow (police) to immediately answer and hopefully save more victims than we are saving at this point.”

Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman of Boynton Beach filed similar legislation (SB 296, SB 298) in the Senate.

HB 269 would require the Florida Division of Telecommunications, within the Department of Management Services, to conduct a feasibility study on creating a web-based 911 alert system for victims of domestic and dating violence.

The proposed system would allow users to have a unique phone number and code that signals an immediate need for law enforcement assistance. It would also enable real-time data sharing between public safety answering points and law enforcement agencies.

The division must report its findings to legislative leaders by Jan. 31, 2027.

HB 269 would also expand Florida’s Address Confidentiality Program to include victims of dating violence, allowing them to apply for a substitute mailing address designated by the Attorney General.

The bill would make other conforming changes in state law, too, to ensure victims of dating violence receive the same confidentiality protections and victim-related information as domestic violence victims.

Representatives from Crime Survivor Speaks, the Dominic Paul Maron Farrell Foundation, Florida NOW, Florida Smart Justice Alliance, Alliance for Safety and Justice, and the Christian Coalition of Florida signaled support for HB 269 Thursday.

The bill will next go to the House State Affairs Committee, its penultimate stop before reaching a floor vote.

State lawmakers are also advancing another set of bills (SB 682, HB 277) by Miami Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud, Democratic Rep. Debra Tendrich and Placida Republican Rep. Danny Nix aimed at expanding and strengthening other protections against domestic violence.

Among other things, those bills would enhance sentencing for repeat violations of protective injunctions, require better 911 recordkeeping of homes with prior domestic violence incidents, mandate domestic violence training for paramedics and firefighters, and increase an existing state relocation allowance.