SESSION WATCH
Became law HOUSE · SESSION 2026 · CHAPTER 2026-20

No. CS/CS/HB 1159

Sexual Offenses
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SPONSOR
Judiciary Committee; Criminal Justice Subcommittee; Jacques
FILED BY
Berny Jacques — District 59, Republican [search donations]
EFFECTIVE
7/1/2026

Filed under Criminal Justice.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Sexual Offenses; Replaces term "child pornography" with term "child sexual abuse material"; revises criteria related to reclassification of specified offenses; revises mandatory minimum sentences for certain sexual offenses by persons previously convicted of sexual offenses; increases penalty for employing, authorizing, or inducing child of specified age to engage in sexual performance; prohibits person from employing, authorizing, or inducing child younger than 12 years of age to engage in sexual performance; requires mandatory minimum sentences for certain offenses when committed by specified offenders; increases penalty for knowingly soliciting, possessing, controlling, or intentionally viewing certain materials that include child sexual abuse material; provides applicability of specified mandatory minimum sentences; increases penalty for intentionally creating generated child sexual abuse material; prohibits person from transmitting child sexual abuse material to another person; revises punishments for certain sexual activities involving animals; requires certain court order to be effective for certain number of years; increases criminal penalties for possessing child-like sex doll; provides that prosecution for certain acts in connection with obscene, lewd, etc., materials does not prohibit person from prosecution for other specified offenses; requires mandatory minimum sentences for certain offenses when committed by specified offenders; ranks offenses on offense severity ranking chart of Criminal Punishment Code.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Raises penalties for child sexual abuse material offenses.

The bill replaces the term "child pornography" with "child sexual abuse material" throughout Florida law. This change updates the legal language to reflect current terminology used in criminal statutes.

It creates new mandatory minimum prison sentences for several sexual offenses. Offenders face longer required terms, particularly if they have prior convictions for sexual crimes.

New felony charges are added for transmitting child sexual abuse material. This includes sharing links to cloud-stored files, making it a second-degree felony with a five-year minimum sentence.

Possessing a child-like sex doll is elevated from a misdemeanor to a felony. The penalty increases further for repeat offenders, reflecting a significant shift in how the state treats this conduct.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 New life felony for employing a child under 12 in a sexual performance majors. 827.071(2)(b)

AICreates a new life felony offense with a 25-year mandatory minimum for adults who employ, authorize, or induce a child younger than 12 to engage in a sexual performance.

“employs, authorizes, or induces a child younger than 12 years of age to engage in a sexual performance” bill text, line 289 →
§ 2 Mandatory minimums raised for repeat sexual offenders majors. 775.0847(2)

AIIncreases mandatory minimum prison terms for certain sexual offenses when committed by persons previously convicted of sexual offenses, including raising the minimum for sexual performance by a child from 20 to 30 years.

“827.071(2) 30 20 years” bill text, line 249 →
§ 3 New second-degree felony for transmitting generated child sexual abuse material majors. 827.072(2)(b)

AIMakes it a second-degree felony to knowingly transmit generated child sexual abuse material to another person in or into Florida, with extraterritorial reach for out-of-state senders.

“transmitting generated child sexual abuse material to another person in this state or in another jurisdiction commits a felony of the second degree” bill text, line 377 →
§ 4 Possession of child-like sex doll elevated to felony majors. 847.011(5)(a)

AIElevates the penalty for possessing an obscene, child-like sex doll from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, with a second-degree felony for repeat offenders.

“have in his or her possession, custody, or control; have in his or her possession, custody, or control with the intent to sell” bill text, line 631 →
§ 5 New mandatory minimums for sexual performance offenses majors. 827.071(2)(a)

AIImposes a 15-year mandatory minimum for employing a child in a sexual performance and a 5-year mandatory minimum for promoting a sexual performance by a child, subject to a judicial exception.

“must be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years” bill text, line 285 →
§ 6 Mandatory minimum for transmitting child sexual abuse material majors. 847.0137(2)

AIRaises the offense from a third-degree to a second-degree felony and imposes a 5-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for adults who transmit child sexual abuse material.

“a person 18 years of age or older at the time of the offense who is convicted of a violation of this subsection must be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 5” bill text, line 283 →
§ 7 New offense for transmitting child sexual abuse material via cloud storage majors. 847.0137(1)(e)

AICriminalizes sharing links, access credentials, or other means to access child sexual abuse material stored in cloud storage, treating it as a transmission.

“The term also includes the act of providing access to any image, information, or data in cloud storage by sharing, publishing, or otherwise making available a link” bill text, line 786 →
§ 8 Judicial exception to mandatory minimums for sexual performance offenses moderates. 827.071(7)(a)

AIAllows a court to waive mandatory minimum sentences for sexual performance offenses if the depicted child was 14 or older, gave permission, the offender was no more than 4 years older, and the offender did not promote the performance to a third party.

“The child depicted in the sexual performance was 14 years of age or older at the time the sexual performance was created” bill text, line 338 →
TIMELINE
4/1/2026
Chapter No. 2026-20 ; Companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 245 (Ch....
3/31/2026
Approved by Governor
3/30/2026
Signed by Officers and presented to Governor
3/9/2026
Ordered enrolled
3/9/2026
In Messages
3/9/2026
CS passed; YEAS 37 NAYS 0 -SJ 695
3/9/2026
Read 3rd time -SJ 695
3/9/2026
Read 2nd time -SJ 695
3/9/2026
Substituted for CS/SB 1750 -SJ 695
3/9/2026
Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading
3/9/2026
Withdrawn from Rules -SJ 695
3/3/2026
Received
3/3/2026
Referred to Rules
3/3/2026
In Messages
3/3/2026
CS passed; YEAS 105, NAYS 0
3/3/2026
Read 3rd time
3/3/2026
Added to Third Reading Calendar
3/3/2026
Read 2nd time
2/26/2026
1st Reading (Committee Substitute 2)
2/26/2026
Bill added to Special Order Calendar (3/3/2026)
2/26/2026
Bill referred to House Calendar
2/26/2026
CS Filed
2/26/2026
Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a)
2/26/2026
Reported out of Judiciary Committee
2/26/2026
Favorable with CS by Judiciary Committee
2/24/2026
PCS added to Judiciary Committee agenda
2/12/2026
Now in Judiciary Committee
2/12/2026
Reported out of Justice Budget Subcommittee
2/12/2026
Favorable by Justice Budget Subcommittee
2/10/2026
Added to Justice Budget Subcommittee agenda
2/6/2026
Now in Justice Budget Subcommittee
2/6/2026
Referred to Judiciary Committee
2/6/2026
Referred to Justice Budget Subcommittee
2/5/2026
1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1)
2/5/2026
CS Filed
2/5/2026
Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a)
2/5/2026
Reported out of Criminal Justice Subcommittee
2/5/2026
Favorable with CS by Criminal Justice Subcommittee
2/3/2026
Added to Criminal Justice Subcommittee agenda
1/15/2026
Now in Criminal Justice Subcommittee
1/15/2026
Referred to Judiciary Committee
1/15/2026
Referred to Justice Budget Subcommittee
1/15/2026
Referred to Criminal Justice Subcommittee
1/13/2026
1st Reading (Original Filed Version)
1/7/2026
Filed
39 EARLIER →
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 39.0138
+3 / −1
s. 92.56
+3 / −1
s. 92.561
+21 / −7
s. 435.07
+6 / −2
s. 456.074
+3 / −1
s. 775.0847
+10 / −4
STAFF ANALYSES