Overview
- The governor signed SB 156 in mid‑June, which DeSantis signed on June 16 and which the state promulgated immediately so its provisions apply to conduct occurring after that action.
- The law requires life without parole in specified cases of murder or attempted murder when the victim is a protected public‑safety worker acting in the line of duty.
- SB 156 expands who is protected to include state and local police, correctional and probation officers, certain federal agents and other public‑safety and critical‑infrastructure staff.
- The statute reclassifies many assaults and resistance offenses against those workers to higher felonies and sets mandatory minimum prison terms in some aggravated cases, including three‑ and five‑year floors.
- The law limits claims that force to resist an arrest is justified by barring that defense when an officer acted in “good faith” and was reasonably identifiable, a change that will shape prosecutions, defense strategy and local policing outreach.