Bill
HB 279
Strengthens penalties for false 911 calls and requiring restitution to agencies and victims, with new felony charges and earlier enhancements for repeat misuse.
Note — discrepancy in materials
- The Bill Information you listed (HB 279 — “First grade enrollment; allow child who turns six on or before December 31…”) does not match the committee reports and documents you attached. The documents you provided are for CS/CS/HB 279 (Florida) titled “False Reporting” (sponsored by Representative Partington / companion SB 726).
- Below I summarize the False Reporting version (the one supported by the attached committee reports and fiscal analyses). If you intended the first‑grade enrollment education bill instead, tell me the state and share the bill text or link and I will summarize that version.
Summary — CS/CS/HB 279 (False Reporting) (Florida)
Purpose / intent
- Strengthen criminal penalties and court-ordered financial accountability for people who misuse emergency reporting systems (911) or give false information to law enforcement, and to broaden liability to people who cause others to place false emergency calls.
Key provisions and changes
- Prohibits causing another person to access the 911 system to make a false alarm, false complaint, or report false information that could trigger an emergency response (expands existing prohibition beyond the caller).
- Creates new felony offenses tied to the consequences of the false 911 call’s response:
- Third-degree felony (up to 5 years prison / $5,000 fine) if the emergency response proximately results in great bodily harm, permanent disfigurement, or permanent disability.
- Second-degree felony (up to 15 years / $10,000 fine) if the response proximately results in death.
- Lowers the threshold for an enhanced felony penalty for repeat misuse of the 911 system: previously required four prior convictions; under the bill a person’s third conviction for misusing 911 is a third-degree felony (the bill defines “conviction” to include pleas and trials, even where adjudication is withheld).
- Removes the prior enhancement that turned misuse into a third-degree felony based on obtaining services valued over $100.
- Requires courts to order people convicted of misusing 911 or giving false information to law enforcement to:
- Pay costs of prosecution and investigation (under s. 938.27, F.S.), and
- Make restitution to responding public safety agencies and any other victims for damage or injury proximately resulting from lawful actions taken during the emergency or law enforcement response (including full payment of costs incurred by responding agencies).
- Offense severity chart placement: the new third-degree felony is ranked Level 2; the new second-degree felony is ranked Level 5.
Who is affected
- Individuals who place false emergency calls or cause others to do so.
- Repeat offenders (face felony enhancement sooner).
- Public safety agencies and local governments (eligible for restitution; may have reduced fiscal burden when restitution is collected).
- Courts, prosecutors, and law enforcement (new requirements to seek costs and restitution).
- Victims harmed by emergency responses triggered by false reports (can receive restitution).
Fiscal and operational impact
- Possible indeterminate increase in prison/jail bed demand due to creation of new felony-level offenses and reduced enhancement threshold.
- Potential positive fiscal impacts (state and local) through court-ordered collection of prosecution/investigation costs and restitution to agencies; magnitude indeterminate.
- Operationally, public safety agencies may recover more response costs if courts order full restitution.
Procedure / timeline (per attached documents)
- Committee votes and reports show favorable committee action; House passage recorded (CS passed, Yeas 115, Nays 0 in one report).
- Documents indicate Governor approval (approved May 21, 2025) and effective date July 1, 2025 (ch. 2025-60, L.O.F.), per the committee analysis.
- Note: your metadata states “Status: Died In Committee” and “Introduced: August 20, 2025” — these conflict with the attached Florida reports. Please confirm which jurisdiction and version you want summarized if you need a different HB 279.
Would you like:
- A focused one‑page plain‑language summary for general audiences, or
- A technical brief highlighting statutory text changes and cross‑references to Florida statutes (e.g., s. 365.172, s. 817.49, s. 938.27)?
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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