TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Trooper’s Law, inspired by the Florida dog abandoned during Hurricane Milton evacuations and rescued by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, has passed in the Florida Senate.

SB 150 passed unanimously on Wednesday.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Don Gaetz , cleared the Rules Committee, Agriculture Committee and Criminal Justice Committee.

The bill would make abandoning a restrained animal during a natural disaster a third-degree felony. If convicted, the penalty would be up to five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

FHP troopers found Trooper, a Bull Terrier, in belly-high water, abandoned along Interstate 75, near Pebble Creek, north of Tampa during evacuations for Hurricane Milton last year.

Trooper did find a forever home in December 2024. He was adopted by Frank Spina and his family in December 2024 .

He came home to a canine sister named Dallas, who is also a Bull Terrier rescue.

If the bill will take effect on Oct. 1, 2025.