Driving and Boating Offenses:
HB 687, titled “Trenton’s Law,” revises Florida’s criminal penalties for driving under the influence (DUI) and boating under the influence (BUI) offenses, with a focus on repeat offenders and cases involving death. The bill increases penalties for DUI manslaughter and BUI manslaughter when the offender has a prior conviction for DUI manslaughter, BUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, or vessel homicide. It also creates a new criminal penalty for a first refusal to submit to a lawful breath or urine test after a DUI arrest, and it clarifies the warnings law enforcement must give about the consequences of refusing testing.
The bill also strengthens penalties for vehicular homicide and vessel homicide by making those offenses first-degree felonies when the defendant has a prior conviction for the specified homicide offenses. In addition, it updates the Criminal Punishment Code severity ranking chart to reflect the new penalty structure and offense rankings for these crimes. The act takes effect October 1, 2025.
HB 687 amends multiple sections of the Florida Statutes, including ss. 316.193, 316.1932, 316.1939, 327.35, 782.071, 782.072, and 921.0022. Its main legal effect is to elevate punishment for repeat DUI/BUI-related fatal offenses and to create a standalone misdemeanor penalty for a first refusal to submit to breath or urine testing after a DUI arrest, while also revising required implied-consent warnings. It also reclassifies several offenses in the Criminal Punishment Code offense severity ranking chart, which can affect sentencing scores and prison exposure for defendants convicted under these provisions.
The bill appears to have been treated as a tough-on-DUI and boating safety measure, with its title and structure signaling a strong punitive response to repeat fatal impaired-driving and impaired-boating offenses. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of opposition or debate in the supplied materials. Based on the text alone, the measure reflects a generally enforcement-oriented approach and likely broad support for increasing penalties in serious repeat-offense cases.
The most notable policy issue is the creation of a criminal penalty for a first refusal to submit to breath or urine testing, which raises the stakes of implied-consent enforcement and may be viewed as controversial by civil-liberties or defense advocates. Another point of potential contention is the bill’s use of prior convictions to elevate DUI manslaughter, BUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and vessel homicide to first-degree felonies, which substantially increases sentencing exposure for repeat offenders. Because no transcripts or votes were provided, specific supporters or opponents cannot be identified from the record supplied.