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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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An act relating to electronic transmittal of court 2
orders; amending s. 394.463, F.S.; requiring the clerk 3
of the court, within 6 hours after a court issues an 4
ex parte order for involuntary commitment, to submit 5
the order electronically to the sheriff or law 6
enforcement agency in the county where the order is to 7
be served; amending s. 397.68151, F.S.; requiring the 8
clerk of the court, within 6 hours after a cert ain 9
summons is issued, to submit the summons 10
electronically and, if applicable, a copy of the 11
petition for involuntary services and a notice of the 12
hearing to a law enforcement agency to effect service 13
on certain persons; amending s. 790.401, F.S.; 14
requiring the clerk of the court to transmit 15
electronically, within a certain timeframe after the 16
court issues a risk protection order and notice of 17
hearing, a copy of the order, notice of hearing, 18
petition to the appropriate law enforcement agency for 19
service upon the respondent; requiring the clerk of 20
the court to transmit electronically, within a certain 21
timeframe after the court issues a temporary ex parte 22
risk protection order or risk protection order, a copy 23
of the notice of hearing, petition, and temporary ex 24
parte risk protection order or risk protection order, 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
as applicable, to the sheriff; requiring that an 26
electronic copy of a temporary ex parte risk 27
protection order or a risk protection order be 28
certified by the clerk of the court and that the 29
electronic copy be served in the same manner as the 30
certified copy; providing an effective date. 31
32
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 33
34
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 35
394.463, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 36
394.463 Involuntary examination. — 37
(2) INVOLUNTARY EXAMINATION. — 38
(a) An involuntary examination may be initiated by any one 39
of the following means: 40
1. A circuit or county court may enter an ex parte order 41
stating that a person appears to meet the c riteria for 42
involuntary examination and specifying the findings on which 43
that conclusion is based. The ex parte order for involuntary 44
examination must be based on written or oral sworn testimony 45
that includes specific facts that support the findings. If ot her 46
less restrictive means are not available, such as voluntary 47
appearance for outpatient evaluation, a law enforcement officer, 48
or other designated agent of the court, must shall take the 49
person into custody and deliver him or her to an appropriate, or 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
the nearest, facility within the designated receiving system 51
pursuant to s. 394.462 for involuntary examination. The order of 52
the court must shall be made a part of the patient's clinical 53
record. A fee may not be charged for the filing of an order 54
under this subsection. A facility accepting the patient based on 55
this order must send a copy of the order to the department 56
within 5 working days. Within 6 hours after the court issues an 57
order, the clerk of the court shall electronically submit the 58
order to the sheriff or a law enforcement agency in the county 59
where the order is to be served may be submitted electronically 60
through existing data systems, if available . The order is shall 61
be valid only until the person is delivered to the facility or 62
for the period specified in the order itself, whichever comes 63
first. If a time limit is not specified in the order, the order 64
is valid for 7 days after the date that the order was signed. 65
2. A law enforcement officer may take a person who appears 66
to meet the criteria for involuntary examination into custody 67
and deliver the person or have him or her delivered to an 68
appropriate, or the nearest, facility within the designated 69
receiving system pursuant to s. 394.462 for examination. A law 70
enforcement officer transporting a per son pursuant to this 71
section shall restrain the person in the least restrictive 72
manner available and appropriate under the circumstances. If 73
transporting a minor and the parent or legal guardian of the 74
minor is present, before departing, the law enforcemen t officer 75
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must shall provide the parent or legal guardian of the minor 76
with the name, address, and contact information for the facility 77
within the designated receiving system to which the law 78
enforcement officer is transporting the minor, subject to any 79
safety and welfare concerns for the minor. The officer shall 80
execute a written report detailing the circumstances under which 81
the person was taken into custody, which must be made a part of 82
the patient's clinical record. The report must include all 83
emergency contact information for the person that is readily 84
accessible to the law enforcement officer, including information 85
available through electronic databases maintained by the 86
Department of Law Enforcement or by the Department of Highway 87
Safety and Motor Veh icles. Such emergency contact information 88
may be used by a receiving facility only for the purpose of 89
informing listed emergency contacts of a patient's whereabouts 90
pursuant to s. 119.0712(2)(d). Any facility accepting the 91
patient based on this report must send a copy of the report to 92
the department within 5 working days. 93
3. A physician, a physician assistant, a clinical 94
psychologist, a psychiatric nurse, an advanced practice 95
registered nurse registered under s. 464.0123, a mental health 96
counselor, a marriage and family therapist, or a clinical social 97
worker may execute a certificate stating that he or she has 98
examined a person within the preceding 48 hours and finds that 99
the person appears to meet the criteria for involuntary 100
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examination and stating the o bservations upon which that 101
conclusion is based. If other less restrictive means, such as 102
voluntary appearance for outpatient evaluation, are not 103
available, a law enforcement officer must shall take into 104
custody the person named in the certificate and deli ver him or 105
her to the appropriate, or nearest, facility within the 106
designated receiving system pursuant to s. 394.462 for 107
involuntary examination. The law enforcement officer shall 108
execute a written report detailing the circumstances under which 109
the person was taken into custody and include all emergency 110
contact information required under subparagraph 2. Such 111
emergency contact information may be used by a receiving 112
facility only for the purpose of informing listed emergency 113
contacts of a patient's whereabou ts pursuant to s. 114
119.0712(2)(d). The report and certificate must shall be made a 115
part of the patient's clinical record. Any facility accepting 116
the patient based on this certificate must send a copy of the 117
certificate to the department within 5 working day s. The 118
document may be submitted electronically through existing data 119
systems, if applicable. 120
121
When sending the order, report, or certificate to the 122
department, a facility shall, at a minimum, provide information 123
about which action was taken regarding the patient under 124
paragraph (g), which information must shall also be made a part 125
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of the patient's clinical record. 126
Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 397.68151, Florida 127
Statutes, is amended to read: 128
397.68151 Duties of court upon filing of petition fo r 129
involuntary services. — 130
(3) A copy of the petition and notice of the hearing must 131
be provided to the respondent; the respondent's parent, 132
guardian, or legal custodian, in the case of a minor; the 133
respondent's attorney, if known; the petitioner; the 134
respondent's spouse or guardian, if applicable; and such other 135
persons as the court may direct. If the respondent is a minor, a 136
copy of the petition and notice of the hearing must be 137
personally delivered to the respondent. The clerk shall also 138
issue a summons to the person whose admission is sought, and, 139
unless a circuit court's chief judge authorizes disinterested 140
private process servers to serve parties under this chapter, 141
within 6 hours after the summons being issued, the clerk of the 142
court shall electronica lly submit the summons and, if 143
applicable, a copy of the petition and notice of hearing to a 144
law enforcement agency to must effect such service on the person 145
whose admission is sought for the initial treatment hearing. 146
Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) and subsection 147
(5) of section 790.401, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 148
790.401 Risk protection orders. — 149
(3) RISK PROTECTION ORDER HEARINGS AND ISSUANCE. — 150
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(a) Upon receipt of a petition, the court mus t order a 151
hearing to be held no later than 14 days after the date of the 152
order and must issue a notice of hearing to the respondent for 153
the same. 154
1. The clerk of the court shall electronically transmit 155
within 6 hours after the court issues an order and n otice of 156
hearing cause a copy of the order, notice of hearing, and 157
petition to be forwarded on or before the next business day to 158
the appropriate law enforcement agency for service upon the 159
respondent as provided in subsection (5). 160
2. The court may, as p rovided in subsection (4), issue a 161
temporary ex parte risk protection order pending the hearing 162
ordered under this subsection. Such temporary ex parte order 163
must be served concurrently with the notice of hearing and 164
petition as provided in subsection (5). 165
3. The court may conduct a hearing by telephone pursuant 166
to a local court rule to reasonably accommodate a disability or 167
exceptional circumstances. The court must receive assurances of 168
the petitioner's identity before conducting a telephonic 169
hearing. 170
(5) SERVICE.— 171
(a) Within 6 hours after the court issues a temporary ex 172
parte risk protection order or risk protection order, the clerk 173
of the court shall electronically transmit furnish a copy of the 174
notice of hearing, petition, and temporary ex parte ris k 175
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protection order or risk protection order, as applicable, to the 176
sheriff of the county where the respondent resides or can be 177
found, who shall serve it upon the respondent as soon thereafter 178
as possible on any day of the week and at any time of the day o r 179
night. An electronic When requested by the sheriff, the clerk of 180
the court may transmit a facsimile copy of a temporary ex parte 181
risk protection order or a risk protection order must be that 182
has been certified by the clerk of the court, and the electronic 183
this facsimile copy must may be served in the same manner as a 184
certified copy. Upon receiving an electronic a facsimile copy, 185
the sheriff must verify receipt with the sender before 186
attempting to serve it upon the respondent. The clerk of the 187
court is shall be responsible for furnishing to the sheriff 188
information on the respondent's physical description and 189
location. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the 190
contrary, the chief judge of each circuit, in consultation with 191
the appropriate sheriff, may authorize a law enforcement agency 192
within the jurisdiction to effect service. A law enforcement 193
agency effecting service pursuant to this section shall use 194
service and verification procedures consistent with those of the 195
sheriff. Service under this se ction takes precedence over the 196
service of other documents, unless the other documents are of a 197
similar emergency nature. 198
(b) All orders issued, changed, continued, extended, or 199
vacated after the original service of documents specified in 200
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paragraph (a) must be certified by the clerk of the court and 201
delivered to the parties at the time of the entry of the order. 202
The parties may acknowledge receipt of such order in writing on 203
the face of the original order. If a party fails or refuses to 204
acknowledge the receipt of a certified copy of an order, the 205
clerk must shall note on the original order that service was 206
effected. If delivery at the hearing is not possible, the clerk 207
must shall mail certified copies of the order to the parties at 208
the last known address o f each party. Service by mail is 209
complete upon mailing. When an order is served pursuant to this 210
subsection, the clerk shall prepare a written certification to 211
be placed in the court file specifying the time, date, and 212
method of service and shall notify th e sheriff. 213
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 214