Before the 2026 Regular Session has even begun, a proposed repeal of a unique Florida law that denies families legal recourse in medical malpractice cases is already heading to the House floor again.

This time, however, the proposal doesn’t have a companion bill in the Senate, a complication that may potentially imperil its future if it passes in the House and is sent to the upper chamber.

Members of the House Judiciary Committee voted 15-1 to advance HB 6003 , which would delete a restriction in Florida Statutes blocking the award of noneconomic damages — grief, loss of companionship and the like — in cases of lethal medical negligence if the victim is 25 or older, unmarried and without children under 25.

Critics of the 35-year-old restriction have dubbed it “ free kill ,”

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