House emphatically passed Representative Debra Tendrich’s survivor-backed domestic violence bill effective July 1, 2026.
The bill — signature legislation for Tendrich — seeks tougher consequences for repeat abusers while expanding legal tools available to domestic violence victims.
Years after escaping an abusive relationship with her daughter and little else, Lake Worth Beach Democratic Rep. Debra Tendrich passed legislation in the House designed to protect other domestic violence survivors.
House members approved the bill (HB 277) by a 112-0 vote. All those present added their names as co-sponsors to the measure, which promises to be signature legislation for the freshman lawmaker.
HB 277 would enhance penalties for repeat domestic violence offenders, hiking violation classifications by one degree. It would increase Florida’s victim-relocation allowance from $1,500 to $2,500, which Tendrich said reflects “the real cost of relocating safely in our state.”
It would also allow threats and cruelty to pets and service animals to be included in protective injunctions.
The measure would strengthen coordination around military protective orders by allowing them to be considered when civilian injunctions are sought, while improving communication between civilian and military law enforcement when violations are suspected.
Further, HB 277 would create a pilot program in Pinellas County allowing courts to order electronic monitoring for certain offenders on probation who pose a threat to victims, with the goal of creating a statewide program in the future.
Tendrich compared living with domestic violence to being held at gunpoint, as victims must calculate every step for fear that the proverbial trigger will be pulled.
“Living in fear does more than cause pain; it slowly erodes freedoms that every American is supposed to have — the rights to live, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” she said. “Yet, for victims of domestic violence, those rights are taken away behind closed doors.”
Tendrich spoke of how every Tuesday after Mother’s Day, she celebrates breaking free of domestic abuse she suffered until 2012, when she fled from Georgia to Florida with her daughter, a suitcase with two changes of clothes and $15.
Leaving was the hardest part, she said, not because she wanted to stay, but because that’s when it’s most dangerous for survivors.
“I remember looking over my shoulder at every noise,” she said. “This year, members, I will reflect on how my survivor story led me to bring forward a bill designed to help save lives across our state, for those who are walking in the same shoes I once wore.”
Source: https://floridapolitics.com/archives/783401-house-emphatically-passes-debra-tendrichs-survivor-backed-domestic-violence-bill/
