---
type: "Bill"
title: "Safety of Religious Institutions"
description: "Safety of Religious Institutions; Authorizes, for specified purposes, concealed weapons or firearms licensee to carry firearm on certain property of church, synagogue, or other religious institution."
jurisdiction: "us/states/fl"
legislature: "Florida Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 259"
citation: "Florida HB 259 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
chapter_law: "2021-200"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 4
action_count: 46
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2021-01-14"
last_action: "2021-07-06"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/e04b3b27-288c-4364-96ca-fc6139b45cfd"
source_url: "https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/259/ByCategory"
source_hash: "b99f8c6a1941504058f8645f626a1e72c35e8dd9594e41cf10e6124184e90835"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-fl"]
---

# Florida HB 259 (2021) — Safety of Religious Institutions

Safety of Religious Institutions; Authorizes, for specified purposes, concealed weapons or firearms licensee to carry firearm on certain property of church, synagogue, or other religious institution.

**Enacted** — Laws of Florida, Chapter 2021-200.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **H 259 Filed** (filed) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/259/BillText/Filed/PDF)
2. **H 259 c1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/259/BillText/c1/PDF)
3. **H 259 c2** (committee substitute) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/259/BillText/c2/PDF)
4. **H 259 er** (enrolled) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/259/BillText/er/PDF)

## Votes

- Favorable (Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee) — **14–3** (pass) · lower
- Favorable — **10–6** (pass) · upper
- Favorable With Committee Substitute (Education & Employment Committee) — **16–5** (pass) · lower
- Favorable With Committee Substitute (Judiciary Committee) — **12–6** (pass) · lower
- Passage, Third Reading — **76–37** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **24–16** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Judiciary Committee — primary (organization)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-01-14** Filed `filing`
- **2021-01-22** Referred to Criminal Justice and Public Safety Subcommittee; Education and Employment Committee; Judiciary Committee `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-03** Added to Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee agenda
- **2021-02-10** Favorable by Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-02-10** Reported out of Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee
- **2021-02-10** Now in Education & Employment Committee
- **2021-03-02** 1st Reading (Original Filed Version)
- **2021-03-08** Added to Education & Employment Committee agenda
- **2021-03-10** Favorable with CS by Education & Employment Committee
- **2021-03-10** Reported out of Education & Employment Committee
- **2021-03-10** Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a)
- **2021-03-10** CS Filed
- **2021-03-10** 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1)
- **2021-03-12** Referred to Judiciary Committee `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-12** Now in Judiciary Committee
- **2021-03-15** Added to Judiciary Committee agenda
- **2021-03-17** Favorable with CS by Judiciary Committee
- **2021-03-17** Reported out of Judiciary Committee
- **2021-03-18** Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a)
- **2021-03-18** CS Filed
- **2021-03-18** Bill referred to House Calendar
- **2021-03-18** Bill added to Special Order Calendar (3/25/2021)
- **2021-03-18** 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 2)
- **2021-03-25** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2021-03-25** Placed on 3rd reading
- **2021-03-25** Added to Third Reading Calendar
- **2021-03-26** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2021-03-26** CS passed; YEAS 76, NAYS 37 `passage`
- **2021-03-31** In Messages
- **2021-04-02** Referred to Rules `referral-committee`
- **2021-04-07** Received
- **2021-04-14** On Committee agenda-- Rules, 04/14/21, 9:00 am, 412 Knott Building --Not Considered
- **2021-04-15** On Committee agenda-- Rules, 04/20/21, 8:30 am, 412 Knott Building
- **2021-04-20** Favorable by- Rules; YEAS 10 NAYS 6 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-04-20** Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading
- **2021-04-22** Placed on Special Order Calendar, 04/26/21
- **2021-04-26** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2021-04-26** Amendment(s) failed (676756, 730786, 900148, 930410, 970332)
- **2021-04-26** Placed on 3rd reading
- **2021-04-27** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2021-04-27** CS passed; YEAS 24 NAYS 16 `passage`
- **2021-04-27** In Messages
- **2021-04-27** Ordered enrolled
- **2021-06-28** Signed by Officers and presented to Governor
- **2021-06-29** Approved by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2021-07-06** Chapter No. 2021-200

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/e04b3b27-288c-4364-96ca-fc6139b45cfd`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Florida legislature records).