Trenton's Law took effect in Florida on October 1, 2025. Enacted as chapter 2025-121, Laws of Florida, it raises DUI manslaughter, BUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and vessel homicide to first-degree felonies when the person already has a conviction for one of those four offenses, and it made a first refusal to submit to a breath or urine test a crime.
The practical effect is a jump from a 15-year maximum to a 30-year maximum for a second such offense. This page covers what the law changed and where Florida's DUI penalties stand now.
Florida DUI And BUI Penalties Before Trenton’s Law
Most of Florida's DUI penalty structure was left alone by Trenton's Law and reads today the way it did before October 1, 2025. Knowing that baseline is what makes the change visible, because the new law only bites in a narrow set of cases.
Overview of Existing DUI Penalties
A first DUI conviction in Florida carries a fine of $500 to $1,000 and up to six months in jail under Florida Statute 316.193(2)(a), plus a driver license revocation of at least 180 days and no more than one year under Florida Statute 322.28(2)(a)1.
A second DUI conviction for an offense within five years of a prior conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail under Florida Statute 316.193(6)(b), a fine of $1,000 to $2,000 and up to nine months in jail under section 316.193(2)(a), and a license revocation of at least five years under Florida Statute 322.28(2)(a)2. A second conviction also brings a mandatory ignition interlock device for at least one year under section 316.193(2)(a)3.
DUI manslaughter is a second-degree felony under Florida Statute 316.193(3)(c)3.a., punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, and it carries a mandatory minimum term of four years. It was already a first-degree felony under section 316.193(3)(c)3.b. where the driver knew or should have known a crash occurred and failed to give information and render aid.
Vehicular and Vessel Homicide Current Penalties
Beyond these standard DUI infractions, Florida law also establishes distinct and more severe penalties when impaired driving or boating directly results in a fatality, categorized as vehicular or vessel homicide. These offenses differ from standard DUI or BUI charges because they inherently involve the loss of life, making their penalties significantly more severe. The legal definitions for these crimes focus on the driver's reckless or negligent operation of a vehicle or vessel that directly causes a fatality.
Vehicular homicide is a second-degree felony under Florida Statute 782.071(1)(a), punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Vessel homicide is graded the same way under Florida Statute 782.072(2)(a). Both statutes already reached a first-degree felony where the driver or operator left without giving information and rendering aid.
What is Trenton's Law & Why is it Being Enacted?
Trenton's Law is the popular name for chapter 2025-121, Laws of Florida. It does one thing: where a person charged with a fatal impaired-operation offense already has a conviction for another one, the new charge is filed a felony class higher.
The Genesis and Purpose of Trenton’s Law
Trenton's Law is named for Trenton Stewart, an 18-year-old Creekside High School graduate killed in May 2023 on Old St. Augustine Road. According to News4JAX, the driver was traveling the wrong way at 100 mph in a 45 mph zone and had already served 10 years for a vehicular homicide conviction in Broward County. He was sentenced to 12 years.
The statute does not reach every repeat impaired driver. It reaches a defendant charged with a fatal impaired-operation offense who already has a conviction for one of the four offenses listed in Florida Statute 316.193(3)(c)3.c., and it raises that new charge one felony class.
CS/HB 687, known as Trenton's Law, passed both chambers unanimously, 111 to 0 in the House and 37 to 0 in the Senate. The Governor approved it on June 5, 2025, it became chapter 2025-121, Laws of Florida, and it took effect on October 1, 2025.
Addressing the Habitual DUI Offender Challenge
That prior conviction is the gap the statute closes. Before October 2025, a defendant with an earlier vehicular homicide conviction faced the same second-degree felony, and the same 15-year ceiling, as a first-time defendant. The prior conviction could move the sentence within that range but could not raise the range itself.
Trenton's Law targets that pattern directly. Rather than creating a new offense, it reclassifies four existing ones when the defendant already has a conviction from the same group, so a second fatal impaired-operation case starts from a 30-year ceiling instead of a 15-year one.
Key Changes Introduced by Trenton's Law
Chapter 2025-121 amended four homicide provisions and Florida's refusal statute. The changes fall into three groups: felony reclassification for a repeat fatal offense, a matching change for vehicular and vessel homicide, and a new criminal penalty for a first test refusal.
Enhanced Penalties for Repeat DUI/BUI Manslaughter
Under Florida Statute 316.193(3)(c)3.c., DUI manslaughter is a first-degree felony if the person has a prior conviction for DUI manslaughter, for BUI manslaughter under section 327.35(3)(a)3.c., for vehicular homicide under section 782.071, or for vessel homicide under section 782.072. BUI manslaughter is treated the same way under section 327.35(3)(a)3.c.
The grade change is what moves the number. A second-degree felony carries up to 15 years under Florida Statute 775.082(3)(d); a first-degree felony carries up to 30 years under section 775.082(3)(b)1. Trenton's Law did not write a new sentence into the DUI statute, it moved the offense up a class.
The prior conviction has to be one of the four fatal offenses the statute names. An ordinary prior DUI or BUI conviction does not trigger the first-degree felony under section 316.193(3)(c)3.c. What triggers it is a prior DUI manslaughter, BUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, or vessel homicide conviction. The statute sets no look-back window, so the age of that prior conviction does not matter.
Impact on Vehicular Homicide and Vessel Homicide Sentencing
The same structure was written into the homicide statutes. Vehicular homicide is a first-degree felony under Florida Statute 782.071(1)(c), and vessel homicide is a first-degree felony under Florida Statute 782.072(3), where the person has a prior conviction under those sections, under section 316.193(3)(c)3., or under section 327.35(3)(a)3.c.
This is a reclassification, not a factor a judge weighs. If the prior conviction is on the list, the current charge is filed as a first-degree felony and the ceiling is 30 years rather than 15. A prior conviction that is not on the list does not change the grade of the offense.
Stricter Consequences for Refusal to Submit to Testing
The same chapter rewrote Florida's refusal statute. Under Florida's implied consent law, driving in Florida is treated as consent to a lawful breath, blood, or urine test after a DUI arrest, and refusing that test is now a separate crime from the DUI itself.
Since October 1, 2025, a first refusal to submit to a lawful breath or urine test after a DUI arrest is a second-degree misdemeanor under Florida Statute 316.1939, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Before that date, a first refusal carried only the administrative license suspension.
A later refusal is a first-degree misdemeanor under the same section, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine, when the driver's license was already suspended, or the driver was fined under the boating statute (Florida Statute 327.35215), for refusing a breath, urine, or blood test, and the officer warned the driver that refusing again would be a first-degree misdemeanor. The criminal charge is separate from the license consequence: under Florida Statute 316.1932, a first refusal suspends the driving privilege for one year and a refusal after a prior refusal suspension or boating-refusal fine suspends it for 18 months, and those suspensions apply whether or not there is a conviction.
The Broad Implications of Trenton's Law
Trenton's Law reaches fewer cases than its coverage suggested, but in the cases it does reach the change is large. What follows is who it applies to, what it means at sentencing, and what it changes about defending one of these charges.
Who Will Be Most Affected?
Trenton's Law reaches a narrow group: a person charged with DUI manslaughter, BUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, or vessel homicide who already has a conviction for one of those four offenses. For everyone else, Florida's DUI penalties read the same as they did before October 2025.
The law also impacts the families of victims who have lost loved ones due to impaired driving. Trenton's Law provides a stronger legal avenue for seeking justice and ensures that offenders receive sentences that more adequately reflect the gravity of their crimes. It aims to offer some measure of closure and protection for the community.
Potential for Longer Sentences and Increased Legal Scrutiny
For the group the statute reaches, the sentencing ceiling doubled. A judge who could previously impose no more than 15 years can now impose up to 30. The same chapter also ranked these offenses on the Criminal Punishment Code offense severity ranking chart, which affects the scoresheet calculation in these cases.
The prior conviction is now an element the state has to prove, not just background at sentencing. Expect certified copies of the earlier judgment, and expect identity to be litigated wherever there is room to.
Impact on DUI Defense Strategies in Florida
Trenton's Law changed what a DUI defense has to account for in a fatal-crash case. Because the prior conviction now sets the felony grade, defense lawyers look first at whether the state can prove that prior conviction and whether it is one of the four offenses the statute names.
If you have a prior conviction on that list and you are facing a new fatal-crash charge, the grade of the offense is set by the prior, not by the facts of the new case alone. Get a lawyer involved at the arrest stage: under Florida Statute 322.2615, you have 10 days from the notice of suspension to request a formal or informal review of a DUI license suspension, and scene evidence does not keep.
The rest of the defense has not changed. The basis for the stop, the basis for the arrest, the handling of the breath or blood sample, and the causation evidence linking impairment to the death are all contested the same way they were before October 2025.
Protect Your Rights: Speak with a Florida DUI Defense Attorney Today
Trenton's Law has been in force since October 1, 2025. It raised the ceiling from 15 to 30 years for DUI manslaughter, BUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and vessel homicide where the person already has a conviction for one of those four offenses, and it made a first breath or urine test refusal a second-degree misdemeanor.
If you are facing a DUI charge in Florida, and especially one involving a prior conviction or a death, the grade of the charge may turn on records created years ago in another county.
Click here to schedule a free case review with Weinstein Legal Team, or call 888.626.1108 to speak with a lawyer. Our criminal defense attorneys handle DUI and DUI manslaughter cases across Florida.
