House bill 437, introduced in the Florida House of Representatives on 2/6/25 and was passed by both the House on 4/9/25 and the Senate on 4/24/25 has now been signed into law with a to take effect date on 10/1/2025.
Criminal Defense Lawyer: What Does this Mean for Anyone Arrested in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County, FL?
If you get arrested in Broward County, FL, on or after 10/1/2025 and are released on pretrial with an electronic monitor as a special condition, your penalties for tampering or removing said monitor may have just increased drastically.
If you get arrested in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on or after 10/1/25 and then get sentenced to where you are required to wear an electronic monitor as a condition of probation or community control your penalties for tampering or removing said monitor may have just increased drastically.
In a nutshell: The Florida legislature does NOT want defendants removing and or damaging their electronic monitors and they are cracking down hard on people who do so. The Florida legislature has also made it clear that after an arrest in Broward County, FL, should you violate your pretrial release by tampering with, damaging or removing your electronic monitor, that your pretrial release should be revoked, and you should NOT be granted a monetary bond or any release conditions unless the trial Court can make certain written findings. That means you risk sitting in the Broward County jail until your case is resolved.
The HB essentially will replace the current language of Florida Statue 843.23 with the new legislation that increases the level of crime and punishment for removing or damaging said monitor.
The new section of 843.23, effective on 10/1/2025, is listed below.
CHAPTER 2025-78 Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for House Bill No. 437
An act relating to tampering with an electronic monitoring device; amending s. 843.23, F.S.; revising the offense of tampering with an electronic monitoring device; reclassifying the offense to provide graduated penalties; providing a specified penalty for a person under 18 years of age who commits the offense; requiring revocation of pretrial release of a person who tampers with such a device while on pretrial release; permitting a court to set a new bond under specified conditions; providing an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
Section 1. Section 843.23, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
843.23 Tampering with an electronic monitoring device.
(1) As used in this section, the term “electronic monitoring device” includes any device that is used to track the location of a person.
(2) It is unlawful for a person to intentionally and without authority:
- (a) Remove, destroy, alter, tamper with, damage, or affirmatively act to circumvent the operation of an electronic monitoring device that must be worn or used by that person or another person pursuant to a court order or pursuant to an order by the Florida Commission on Offender Review; or
- (b) Request, authorize, or solicit a person to remove, destroy, alter, tamper with, damage, or affirmatively act to circumvent the operation of an electronic monitoring device required to be worn or used pursuant to a court order or pursuant to an order by the Florida Commission on Offender Review.
(3) Except as provided in subsection (4), a person who violates this section commits a:
- (a) Felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the person who must wear or use the electronic monitoring device is charged with or serving a sentence for a misdemeanor or a third-degree felony.
- (b) Felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the person who must wear or use the electronic monitoring device is charged with or serving a sentence for a second-degree felony. 1 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
- (c) Felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the person who must wear or use the electronic monitoring device is charged with or serving a sentence for a first-degree felony, a first-degree felony punishable by a term of years not exceeding life, a life felony, or a capital felony.
(4) A person under 18 years of age who violates this section commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(5) The court must revoke pretrial release for a person who commits a violation of this section while he or she is on pretrial release. Thereafter, the court may set a new bond with conditions of release upon making a written finding that sufficient conditions of release exist to reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm, ensure the presence of the accused at trial or at other proceedings, and assure the integrity of the judicial process.
Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2025.
Approved by the Governor May 22, 2025.
Filed in Office Secretary of State May 22, 2025.
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