STATE GOVERNMENT-TECH

104th Regular Session Introduced by John Curran

Raises the protected age to 14 in luring/enticing offenses and removes mistaken-age defenses, increasing penalties and reclassifying these crimes.

Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments

Summary — SB 1136 (Age as an Element of a Criminal Offense)

Status: Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments
Introduced: February 6, 2025
Primary sponsor (committee reports): Senator Collins
Effective date (as drafted): October 1, 2025

SB 1136 (committee substitute) clarifies that a defendant’s ignorance of, misrepresentation of, or a bona fide belief about a victim’s age is not a defense in prosecutions for a set of serious offenses where criminality depends on the victim being below a statutory age. The bill also raises the protected-age threshold and increases penalties and sentencing severity for specified “luring/enticing” offenses.

Key provisions

Creates s. 787.001, Florida Statutes:

States that ignorance of, misrepresentation of, or a bona fide belief that a victim is over a specified age does NOT constitute a legal defense when the crime’s elements hinge on the victim being below that age.
Bars defendants from asserting those defenses in prosecutions for offenses tied to: kidnapping, false imprisonment, luring or enticing a child, interference with custody, removing or concealing minors contrary to state agency or court orders, human trafficking, and human smuggling.
Provides an explicit exception for s. 787.30, F.S. (employment of persons in adult entertainment establishments).

Amends s. 787.025, F.S. (luring/enticing a child):

Increases the statutory age threshold for the protected child from 12 to 14 years (per the latest committee/fiscal documents).
Increases penalties for specified luring/enticing offenses (details in statutory amendment).

Amends s. 921.022, F.S.:

Ranks luring/enticing offenses on the Criminal Punishment Code offense severity ranking chart as a Level 7 offense.

Who is affected

Defendants charged with the listed offenses — the bill removes a potential affirmative defense based on mistaken belief about age.

Prosecutors and defense counsel — charging decisions, plea negotiations, and defenses will be affected.

Courts and sentencing authorities — new offense ranking (Level 7) and raised penalties will affect sentencing calculations.

Department of Corrections — bill may increase prison admissions/bed use.

Employers and regulated entities under s. 787.30 (adult entertainment) retain the carved-out exception.

Fiscal and procedural notes

Fiscal impact: the bill may have a positive but indeterminate prison‑bed impact on the Department of Corrections (per committee fiscal analyses).

Legislative progress (selected): multiple committee substitutes; placed on second-reading calendars; committee substitute was substituted for CS/HB 777 on 4/24/2025 (companion bill activity noted). The bill’s text evolved through committee substitutes — final provisions (notably the exact age increase) changed in committee.

Important implementation detail / drafting history

Committee documents show variations in draft language: some earlier committee versions increased the luring/enticing protected-age to 16; later committee/fiscal documents reflect an increase to 14. The April 2025 committee substitute/fiscal analyses refer to age 14 as the operative change. Review the final enrolled text (or the companion bill that passed) to confirm the enacted age threshold and the precise penalty changes.