Florida SB 1128 Failed: No New Time-Sharing Rules (2026)

The Bottom Line: SB 1128 Did Not Become Law

Florida Senate Bill 1128 did not take effect on July 1, 2026. It died in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice on March 13, 2026, and never received a floor vote. The proposed parenting-plan priority scheduling and time-sharing enforcement deadlines are not law. Florida's existing time-sharing rules under Chapter 61 remain unchanged.

The News Hook

Several roundups of "new Florida laws taking effect July 1, 2026" and at least one law-firm blog described SB 1128 as though it had passed, introducing priority scheduling for parenting-plan disputes and new enforcement mechanics for time-sharing orders. That framing is inaccurate.

The official Florida Senate bill history tells a different story. SB 1128 was filed January 5, 2026, and cleared the Judiciary Committee 11-0 on February 10, 2026. A committee substitute (CS/SB 1128) followed on February 12. But the bill then stalled and died in the Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice on March 13, 2026. Its House companion, HB 971, died the same day in the Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee.

July 1 was only the effective date the bill would have carried had it passed. A dormant effective date inside a dead bill is not a law. If you were told Florida changed its time-sharing enforcement rules on July 1, 2026, that did not happen.

What SB 1128 Would Have Done

Understanding the proposal helps explain why its failure matters. CS/SB 1128 aimed to:

• Require priority scheduling for certain family-law matters, including motions on temporary parental responsibility.
• Establish procedural timelines for hearings on the enforcement of existing time-sharing orders.
• Tighten the process for resolving parenting-plan disputes so a parent denied court-ordered time-sharing could get a hearing faster.

These were procedural reforms, not a rewrite of how Florida decides time-sharing on the merits. The best-interest-of-the-child standard in F.S. 61.13 was never on the chopping block. The bill was about speed and enforcement, not the underlying custody framework.

Because the bill died, none of these procedural changes exist. Enforcement of a time-sharing order today follows the same path it did before the 2026 session.

Legal Implications for Florida Divorce Cases

For anyone with a Florida divorce, parenting plan, or time-sharing order, the practical implication is simple: nothing changed on July 1, 2026, because of SB 1128.

Florida's governing rules remain:

• F.S. 61.13 governs parenting plans and time-sharing, applying the best-interest factors and, since 2023, the rebuttable presumption that equal (50/50) time-sharing is in a child's best interest.
• F.S. 61.046 defines "time-sharing" and "parenting plan" — Florida abolished the words "custody" and "visitation" years ago.
• F.S. 61.13(4) already provides remedies when one parent refuses to honor a time-sharing schedule, including make-up time-sharing, modification, and fees.

The 2023 reforms under SB 1416 changed alimony, not time-sharing enforcement. Those remain fully in force. SB 1128 would have layered new scheduling deadlines on top of the existing enforcement remedies; without it, parents rely on the tools already in Chapter 61.

If you were counting on faster statutory hearing deadlines to enforce your parenting plan, that mechanism does not exist. You still enforce a time-sharing order the traditional way — by filing a motion for civil contempt or enforcement and setting it for hearing on the court's ordinary docket.

Florida-Specific Analysis

Bills like SB 1128 tend to recur. Florida legislators have repeatedly floated proposals to speed up family-court dockets because parenting-time disputes are time-sensitive by nature — a delayed hearing can mean months of lost time with a child. The 11-0 Judiciary Committee vote signals genuine bipartisan interest, which often means a similar bill returns in a later session.

But recurring interest is not law. Florida attorneys and self-represented parents should treat only enacted, chaptered statutes as controlling. A useful habit: before relying on any "new law," confirm it on flsenate.gov and check that the final action reads "Approved by Governor" or "Chapter No." — not "Died in Committee." SB 1128's final action reads "Died in Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice." That is dispositive.

This distinction matters most for uncontested divorces. In an uncontested case, both spouses already agree on the parenting plan and time-sharing schedule, so enforcement deadlines are largely irrelevant — you are submitting an agreed plan, not litigating one. The parents who would have felt SB 1128 are those in contested enforcement fights, not couples finalizing an agreement.

Practical Takeaways

• SB 1128 is dead. It did not take effect July 1, 2026. Ignore any "new July 1 time-sharing rule" claim tied to this bill.
• Your existing parenting plan and time-sharing order are unaffected. Nothing about how you enforce them changed.
• Enforcement still runs through F.S. 61.13(4) — make-up time-sharing, contempt, modification, and fees — on the court's ordinary schedule.
• The 2023 SB 1416 alimony reforms are unrelated and remain in force.
• A similar bill may return in a future session. Verify any future "reform" on flsenate.gov before relying on it.
• If your divorce is uncontested and you both agree on the parenting plan, none of this affects your case. You can move forward now.

At the Law Office of Antonio G. Jimenez, we handle uncontested Florida divorces for a flat $750 attorney fee. When there are minor children, that same fee includes a compliant parenting plan, the child support guidelines worksheet, and the UCCJEA affidavit — built on the current, in-force version of Chapter 61, not a bill that never passed. See how to file an uncontested divorce with children in Jacksonville or ask Victoria, our AI intake assistant, whether your case qualifies.

For related coverage, see our earlier reporting that SB 1128 died in committee and that SB 1128 did not take effect July 1, 2026.

Legal Disclaimer

This article is provided by Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. (Florida Bar No. 21022) for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. Legislative status can change and statutes are subject to amendment; confirm the current status of any bill at flsenate.gov and consult a licensed Florida attorney about your specific situation.