Gov. Ron DeSantis signs South Florida representative's bill to strengthen domestic violence laws

Angie DiMichele, South Florida Sun Sentinel on May 22, 2026

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida representative’s broad domestic violence bill that unanimously passed the Florida Legislature was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday.

HB 277, introduced by Rep. Debra Tendrich, D-Lake Worth Beach, will take effect July 1. The representative’s own experience as a domestic violence survivor inspired the legislation.

The law will increase penalties for repeat domestic violence offenders by making any violation of a protective injunction an automatic third-degree felony and creates GPS electronic monitoring pilot programs, one in Pinellas County for misdemeanor domestic violence cases and one overseen by the Department of Corrections in the Tampa and St. Petersburg judicial area for felony cases.

It also bolsters enforcement of military protective orders and strengthens the protections for petitioners in those cases. Threats of harm against pets and service and emotional support animals will also be added to the current language in protective injunctions, and the relocation assistance for domestic violence survivors to escape their abusers will increase from $1,500 to $2,500, with a lifetime maximum increased to $5,000 from $3,000.

Rep. Robin Bartleman, D-Weston, earlier this year spoke in support of the GPS monitoring aspect of the bill on behalf of the family of Andrew Ferrin, who was one of three people killed in a domestic violence shooting last year in Tamarac.

On Feb. 16, 2025, Nathan Gingles shot his father-in-law David Ponzer to death, then his estranged wife Mary Gingles and her neighbor Ferrin after Mary Gingles ran into Ferrin’s home in an attempt to escape, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Mary Gingles had an active restraining order against her estranged husband and repeatedly had called Broward Sheriff’s deputies to report abusive behavior in the months before the murders.

Bartleman said during debate on the bill earlier this year that had Gingles been required to be GPS monitored, “it would have made a difference.”

The GPS programs on the state’s west coast are to run from July 1 through June 2028, according to the legislation. The Pinellas County sheriff will be required to evaluate the county program’s impact and provide an initial report to the Senate president and speaker of the House next year.