Florida SB 1128 Did Not Take Effect: No Priority Time-Sharing (2026)

Did Florida SB 1128 take effect in July 2026?

No. Florida SB 1128 (2026) did not take effect. It died in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice on March 13, 2026, never passing either chamber and never reaching the Governor. Claims that priority time-sharing hearings and faster parenting-plan deadlines began July 2026 are inaccurate. Current time-sharing law is unchanged.

The News Hook: A Bill That Never Became Law

A wave of online commentary has claimed that Florida SB 1128 took effect on July 1, 2026, ushering in priority time-sharing hearings and mandatory 30-day parenting-plan determinations. That claim is wrong.

SB 1128 was a 2026 general bill by Senator Grall relating to family law. It proposed real reforms: requiring courts to give calendar priority to proceedings establishing initial temporary parenting plans, requiring at least one judge in each circuit be available after hours to hear enforcement motions, requiring each parent to file a proposed temporary parenting plan with an initial pleading, and requiring a hearing within 30 days absent good cause. The bill also carried a proposed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Here is the critical distinction: a proposed effective date is not an actual one. A bill only takes effect if it passes both chambers and is signed by the Governor (or becomes law without a signature). SB 1128 never got there. According to the official Florida Senate record, the bill died in the Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice on March 13, 2026. It did not advance to a floor vote in the Senate, did not clear the House, and was never presented to the Governor.

The July 1, 2026 date that circulated in some articles is simply the date the bill would have taken effect if it had passed. It did not.

Legal Implications: Nothing Changed

Because SB 1128 failed, none of its proposed procedures are law. For anyone navigating a Florida divorce or time-sharing dispute, the practical implication is straightforward: the process is exactly what it was before the 2026 session.

There is no new statutory guarantee that a time-sharing motion gets calendar priority. There is no new statutory 30-day deadline for a temporary parenting-plan hearing. There is no new statewide requirement that a judge be on call after hours in every circuit for enforcement motions. Courts continue to manage their dockets under existing rules and local administrative orders, and hearing timelines still vary by circuit and by judicial availability.

Time-sharing and parenting plans remain governed by the statutes already on the books, principally Florida Statutes Chapter 61. Under F.S. 61.13, time-sharing decisions turn on the best interests of the child, evaluated against the statutory factors, and every case involving minor children requires a parenting plan. Florida uses the terms time-sharing and parenting plan, not custody or visitation, per F.S. 61.046 and 61.13.

Florida-Specific Analysis: The Real 2023 Reform Still Controls

When people ask what actually changed Florida time-sharing law recently, the answer is not SB 1128. It is the 2023 reform enacted by SB 1416.

SB 1416, effective July 1, 2023, amended F.S. 61.13 to add a rebuttable presumption that equal (50/50) time-sharing is in the best interests of the child. That presumption can be overcome by a preponderance of the evidence, and the court still applies the best-interest factors in F.S. 61.13(3). This is the operative modern standard in Florida time-sharing cases, and it remains fully in force regardless of what happened to SB 1128.

That 2023 change is likely the source of some of the confusion online. Several articles conflated SB 1128 with a 50/50 time-sharing presumption. But the equal time-sharing presumption already exists under SB 1416 from 2023 — it was not created, expanded, or altered by SB 1128 in 2026. If you read that SB 1128 established a 50/50 presumption, that is a mischaracterization of two separate things.

The 2023 session also reshaped alimony through SB 1416, ending permanent alimony for new cases and setting durational limits, but that is a separate topic from the time-sharing procedures SB 1128 proposed.

Practical Takeaways for Florida Residents

If you have been relying on the idea that a new law speeds up your time-sharing hearing, adjust your expectations. Here is what actually applies:

• SB 1128 is dead. It provides no rights, deadlines, or procedures. Do not cite it in a motion or expect a judge to apply it.
• The 2023 equal time-sharing presumption under SB 1416 is the current standard. If you are litigating time-sharing, that presumption and the best-interest factors in F.S. 61.13(3) are what the court applies.
• Hearing timelines still depend on your circuit. There is no statewide statutory deadline. Local judicial calendars and administrative orders govern how quickly a temporary hearing is set.
• Agreement is faster than any bill. The single most reliable way to speed up a Florida divorce or parenting arrangement is to reach agreement with your spouse. An uncontested case avoids contested hearings entirely.
• Verify legal-change claims at the source. Before acting on any headline about a new Florida law, check the official bill status at the Florida Senate site. A proposed effective date on a filed bill is not proof it passed.

For spouses who genuinely agree on time-sharing and the terms of their divorce, the courthouse-calendar concerns behind SB 1128 are largely moot. An uncontested dissolution with an agreed parenting plan does not require a contested evidentiary hearing on time-sharing at all. Our firm handles Florida uncontested divorce for a flat $750 attorney fee — the same price whether or not there are minor children, with the parenting plan, child support guidelines worksheet, and UCCJEA affidavit included when children are involved. The court filing fee (about $425) and any notary fees are separate.

If your case is not uncontested, priority-hearing legislation would not have solved that anyway. Contested time-sharing disputes still require a full best-interest analysis under existing law.

Related Reading

• Florida SB 1128 Time-Sharing Hearing Bill Died (2026)
• Florida SB 1128 Failed: No New Time-Sharing Rules (2026)
• Florida SB 1128 Did Not Take Effect July 1, 2026
• Uncontested Divorce Tampa FL: $750 Flat Fee (2026 Guide)
• Convert a Contested Divorce to Uncontested in Florida

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 and Florida law can change; verify any bill status with the official Florida Senate records before relying on it. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed Florida attorney.