HB 1413 Summary

• Adds gender and gender identity as protected characteristics in Florida's hate crime statute, allowing felonies and misdemeanors motivated by prejudice based on these factors to be reclassified to a higher severity level.

• Defines "gender identity" as a victim's internal sense of being male, female, or a combination of both, which may differ from the gender assigned at birth.

• Revises the definition of "disability" in hate crime provisions to include both mental and physical impairments that substantially limit a person's ability to perform major life activities or restrict normal daily living activities.

• Updates the Criminal Punishment Code to incorporate amendments made to hate crime statutes so that reclassifications based on prejudice against protected characteristics do not cause offenses to become unlisted.

• Effective date: July 1, 2017.