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SB 50 Florida Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Veterans Affairs

Summary
Veterans Affairs; Revising the admissions process for veterans treatment court programs; authorizing the multidisciplinary team to determine eligibility for veterans treatment court programs; authorizing sentencing courts to divert defendants to veterans treatment court programs under certain circumstances; requiring that a defendant’s satisfactory completion of the program be a condition of the defendant’s probation or community control, etc.
Issues: ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeAuthorizes veterans treatment court diversion, promoting rehabilitation over incarceration to reduce recidivism in criminal justice reform.90% confidence ✓ VeteransSupports VeteransBill revises admissions for veterans treatment courts, enabling court-authorized diversion for veterans, directly supporting access to specialized judicial services for veterans.95% confidence
Bill status in committee 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Feb 26, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

S 50 Filed → S 50 c1 · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was updated from an original filing to a committee substitute version, shifting the authority to determine eligibility for veterans treatment courts from the court to a multidisciplinary team. The revised text also clarifies that satisfactory program completion must be a condition of probation and updates the effective date to July 1, 2026.
Scope change
The bill's scope was refined to explicitly require that program completion be a condition of probation or community control and to define the term 'nonviolent felony' for diversion eligibility.
ELIGIBILITY

Authority to determine eligibility shifted from the court consulting with a team to the multidisciplinary team determining eligibility independently.

REQUIREMENT

Explicit requirement added that satisfactory completion of the program must be a condition of the defendant's probation or community control.

TIMELINE

The effective date for the new diversion provisions was updated from July 1, 2016, to July 1, 2026.

DEFINITION

A specific definition for 'nonviolent felony' was added to clarify which offenses qualify for the program.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 10, 2026

How they voted

24–0
Passed
Total votes 24
Feb 10, 2026
D Democratic5
5 Yea
100% Yea
I Independent1
1 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican18
18 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
19
Key actions
7
Committee
7
Feb 10, 2026
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (24-0)
senate
Feb 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Favorable by- Rules; YEAS 24 NAYS 0
upper
Feb 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
On Committee agenda-- Rules, 02/10/26, 9:00 am, 412 Knott Building
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
Favorable by Judiciary; YEAS 11 NAYS 0
upper
Jan 29, 2026
Upper · Passed
On Committee agenda-- Judiciary, 02/03/26, 1:00 pm, 110 Senate Building
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Introduced
Introduced
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)
upper
Jan 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
On Committee agenda-- Criminal Justice, 01/12/26, 1:30 pm, 37 Senate Building
upper
Oct 6, 2025
Committee
Referred to Criminal Justice; Judiciary; Rules
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Don Gaetz
Don Gaetz
RRepublican
FL
1