Can you refer me to the updated text if the bill that has removed the 200-ft restriction?
Thanks!

J,
I do not see the 200 ft rule in there anymore, and I also do not see the “Lake, rivers, bodies of Water” verbiage either. However, we still are restricted from the enumerated physical property ie. Hotels with a pool, Gyms with a pool, the apartment clubhouse if the pool is right there. While it was nice to see the “within 200 feet of….” gone, it still is not enough.

Once again just my common man reading of the amended bill.

Robert

It seems that the constitution is just a piece of paper. It lays there on a desk or hung in a frame on the wall and has NO power, until someone acts on it. Failure to act takes away that power. Failure to act, meaning not doing the right thing.

This same thing happened back in the day saying ALL men are equal, but that didn’t work out so good during those in slavery times, and even for native Americans who were sent away to reservations.

Thank you! Do you have a link to that update?

This is great, and the good news is that for now they appear to have dropped the 200-foot stipulation.

We’ll still have plenty to e-mail them about as the bill approaches the next committee.

PUBLIC POOL PROHIBITION: All public swimming pools, including city pools, water parks, and community center pools, are strictly off-limits. I cannot even stand within 200 feet of the pool fence or deck.

NO MORE FLORIDA HOTEL STAYS: Florida law defines hotel and motel pools as “public.” If the hotel room, the lobby, or the hallways are within 200 feet of the pool area, I am committing a crime by being on the property. This effectively ends our family vacations at Florida resorts.

PARK, LAKE, & SPRING RESTRICTIONS:Any public park with a “bathing place” (lakes, rivers, or natural springs) becomes a restricted zone. Family outings to lakeside parks or Florida’s springs will be illegal for me.

WARRANTLESS ARREST AUTHORITY:Police do not need a warrant to take me to jail. If an officer identifies me at a beach, park, or hotel pool area, they have the power to arrest me on the spot in front of our children.

THE 1,000-FOOT HOUSING TRAP: If we move to a new home after July 1, 2026, we cannot live within 1,000 feet of any public pool or “bathing place.” In Florida, this eliminates almost all housing near the coast, rivers, or neighborhoods with community amenities.

Please email them this is bad

For what it’s worth, I decided to post my letter here – just food for thought.

“I oppose SB 212. I urge you to vote “No” on SB 212.

SB 212 as amended, includes a newly proposed 200’ proximity restriction for essentially ALL Registered Floridians and visitors. SB 212 is an oppressive and extreme law which would significantly restrict freedom of movement and commerce, for tens of thousands of individuals living in, or visiting our state. Necessary daily life activities, such as accessing some grocery stores, markets, gas stations, medical and dental facilities, libraries, family member’s homes, and old fishing spots, among other places would be prohibited. Forest lakes, the Atlantic and Gulf of America beaches, as well as countless other water locations would be banned. Individuals prohibited from even seeing a beach or a river. Add to this the authorization of warrantless arrests for belief that this law has been violated.

SB 212 effectively places many of the current Probation and Community Control restrictions onto those individuals who were never sentenced to probation or supervision. This Bill surly will not pass Constitutional muster.

Studies are clear; sex offender residency restrictions do not protect the public, but increase recidivism. A Stanford Economic Review study outlines the adverse impacts of residency restrictions, while there are no data indicating any citizen safety benefits from these restrictions.

GIS-based analysis shows that between 65–80% of all Florida housing lies within 1,000 feet of a body of water or public pool. Expanding state-wide residency restrictions to include potentially every lake, river, waterway, coastline, and public pool (including low-rent motels and RV parks) will make housing impossible for tens of thousands of Floridians and their families. This expansion will take homelessness to punitive levels, effectively resulting in banishment and displacement of sex offenders and their family units.

• Such legislative overreach endangers the constitutionality of Fla. Stat. § 775. Courts may find the expanded law punitive and unconstitutional as a form of de facto banishment.

• SB 212 makes law enforcement’s job more difficult in location verification of registered individuals.

• Under this Bill, landlords will lose reliable tenants and face higher vacancy rates, leading to millions in lost income and property tax. And what about the Villages of Lake Sumter and Marion, as well as Florida’s retirement community industry?

• In terms of public safety, re-offense rates for new sex crimes are 1–5%, compared with 40–60% for drug and property offenses.

• Residency restrictions have been shown not to reduce crime, but create multiple adverse outcomes within communities, such as increased crime and homelessness.

Creating unstable living conditions for individuals attempting to reintegrate into society as productive citizens of Florida is akin to exile. Public safety is not achieved through banishment or “forever punishment”; it is achieved through stable housing, employment, access to community, family and support systems, as well as community reintegration.”

Great point – Agree.

So today and Monday would probably be a good time to reach out to each committee member and let them know of your opposition.

(h/t: Wayne).