Overview
- DeSantis signed the bills Tuesday in Tampa, with Missy’s Law (HB 445) requiring judges to jail people immediately after a guilty verdict or plea for specified dangerous crimes until sentencing with no bond.
- The second measure (HB 1159) raises mandatory prison terms for child sexual abuse material offenses, creates a life felony for aggravated exploitation of children under 12, and covers AI-generated content while making child-like sex dolls a felony to possess.
- At the signing, the governor urged the Florida House to impeach Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper for releasing Daniel Spencer on bond before sentencing, a step that would require a two‑thirds House vote and a subsequent Senate vote to remove a judge, with no impeachment action reported yet.
- The laws respond to the 2025 case in which Daniel Spencer, previously convicted in an underage sex sting and out on bond, was later charged along with Chloe Spencer in the killing of 5-year-old Melissa “Missy” Mogle.
- Both laws take effect in July 2026, and Attorney General James Uthmeier framed them as part of a broader crackdown that he says has led to more than 1,400 child predator arrests since he took office.