SESSION WATCH
Died HOUSE · SESSION 2026

No. HB 861

Grandparent Visitation Rights
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SPONSOR
Bankson
FILED BY
Douglas Bankson — District 39, Republican [search donations]
EFFECTIVE
7/1/2026
DIED IN
Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee
PROVIDED SUMMARY

Grandparent Visitation Rights; Authorizes grandparent of minor child to petition court for court-ordered visitation with child in certain circumstances; making technical changes.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Lets grandparents who helped raise a child petition for visitation.

House Bill 861 adds a new way for a grandparent to ask a court for visitation. It applies when one parent has died, disappeared, or is in a persistent vegetative state and the child lived mainly with the grandparent.

To qualify, the child must not have lived with the surviving parent for at least six months, and cutting off the grandparent would have to threaten the child's well-being.

Unlike an existing ground for visitation, this new path does not require the surviving parent to have committed a crime. Most of the rest of the bill only renumbers existing subsections.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Creates a residency-based ground for grandparent visitation majors. 752.011

AIA grandparent may now petition for visitation if the child lived with the grandparent for at least six months before a parent died, disappeared, or became incapacitated, and the child did not live with the surviving parent during that same period.

“The child resided in the same household as the grandparent for at least 6 months during the 12-month period immediately preceding the parent's death” bill text, line 34 →
§ 2 Requires proof that losing the grandparent would harm the child moderates. 752.011

AIThis new ground only applies if eliminating the child's contact with the grandparent would pose a substantial threat of harm to the child's physical, mental, or emotional well-being, a separate showing from the residency requirement.

“Eliminating the child's contact with the grandparent would pose a substantial threat of harm to the physical, mental, or emotional well-being of the child.” bill text, line 41 →
TIMELINE
3/13/2026
Died in Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee
1/13/2026
1st Reading (Original Filed Version)
1/5/2026
Now in Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee
1/5/2026
Referred to Judiciary Committee
1/5/2026
Referred to Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee
12/23/2025
Filed
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 752.011
+153 / −13
s. 752.011
+0 / −0
s. 752.011
+0 / −0
s. 752.015
+0 / −0
s. 752.071
+0 / −0