SB 94FLORIDA · STATEWIDESession 2026dead

New Military Status Reporting for Baker Act Examinations

Original title: Suicide Prevention for Active and Former Members of the United States Armed Forces, the National Guard, and their Reserve Components

March 13, 2026

mental health veterans affairs military data collection Baker Act

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The Frame

What this does

By mandating the collection of military status data during s, the state aims to identify patterns in how the is applied to veterans and service members, which could lead to future changes in mental health policy and suicide prevention strategies.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Active and former members of the U.S. Armed Forces and National Guard

Their military status would be recorded and reported to the state if they are subject to an involuntary mental health examination.

Medical facilities conducting involuntary examinations

These facilities would be required to update their reporting procedures to include the military status of patients.

What changed

Last recorded activity March 13, 2026.

What's next

Introduced.

Background

The Baker Act is a Florida statute that allows for the involuntary institutionalization and examination of individuals who are deemed a danger to themselves or others. context

Summary

This bill requires medical facilities to record whether a person undergoing an involuntary mental health examination is an active or former member of the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard. The goal is to improve data collection to better understand and address suicide rates among military personnel and veterans.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Why It Matters

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this bill change how the Baker Act works?

No, it does not change the criteria for an ; it only adds a requirement for facilities to report the military status of the individual being examined.

Why is this information being collected?

The Legislature stated that current data is insufficient to determine if the is being applied appropriately to military members and veterans, and that better data will support improved prevention strategies.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Focus on Military-Specific Mental Health Data

The bill represents an attempt to bridge the gap between general mental health reporting and military-specific health outcomes.

Office of Suicide Prevention Baker Act Reporting Center

Connected Entities

organizationBaker Act Reporting Center Map →

organizationOffice of Suicide Prevention Map →

organizationLouis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute Map →

Sources

Open source document

openstates.org

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance45
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy15
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz10
Current news / social attention level

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