Lauren Book built her political and business brand around being the victim of childhood sexual abuse. As founder of the organization “Lauren’s Kids,” she has become one of the most influential voices behind increasingly punitive legislation targeting registrants. From expanding registration requirements to supporting increasingly restrictive residency laws and public shaming measures, Book became one of the most recognizable faces of Florida’s “tough on offenders” movement.

FAC has long argued that many of these laws were driven more by fear and politics than evidence-based public safety policy.

Lauren Book’s political influence cannot be viewed separately from the influence of her father, powerful lobbyist Ron Book. Over the years, FAC and others have repeatedly pointed out the uncomfortable overlap between the Book family’s organization, their advocacy for harsher criminal laws and Ron Book’s relationships with industries that financially benefit from those harsher penalties.

Among those relationships are private prison and correctional interests. Industries that directly profit from expanded incarceration, electronic monitoring, and the broader machinery of perpetual punishment. Every expansion of registry restrictions, every new felony offense for technical noncompliance, every increase in monitoring and supervision creates more people trapped inside systems from which private vendors and contractors derive enormous revenue.

When lawmakers push increasingly punitive laws that have little measurable impact on public safety, who actually benefits? Certainly not the taxpayers!

The concern for many in the registry reform community is that Lauren Book’s return to office may function, intentionally or not, as an extension of Ron Book’s political and lobbying influence — a proxy through which policies beneficial to correctional interests continue advancing under the banner of “public safety.” It also makes us concerned about what will come next.

That concern is not based merely on speculation. Florida has spent decades layering punishment upon punishment onto people long after completion of their criminal sentence. Residency restrictions create homelessness. Presence restrictions isolate people from society. Technical registration rules generate endless opportunities for felony prosecution. Entire bureaucracies and corporations now exist to manage, supervise, track, monitor, house, surveil, and incarcerate registrants. There is significant money tied to that system and Florida taxpayers are footing the bill.

And yet, despite years of increasingly harsh legislation, Florida continues to struggle with the very public safety problems the Books have claimed these laws are intended to solve. What has expanded consistently is not safety, but the size and scope of the registry apparatus itself.

Lauren Book often presents these policies as moral imperatives beyond debate. She makes false claims about recidivism. How many times have we heard the phrase, “it’s not if, but when.”? But public policy should never become immune from scrutiny simply because it is framed emotionally and politicians should not mislead their constituents for personal benefit. Floridians have every right to ask whether laws are being crafted based on facts, evidence and constitutional principles or whether politics, lobbying influence, and financial interests are helping drive the agenda.

For years, FAC has repeatedly asked Senator Book to sit down and meet with us to discuss the real-world impact her laws have had on families in Florida. Those requests have consistently been ignored or refused. But elected officials are supposed to represent all of their constituents, not just the ones they agree with politically or the ones that will benefit them financially. Registrants, spouses, parents, and children affected by these laws are still Floridians, too. If Senator Book truly wants to lead and represent the people of this state, then that representation should include being willing to hear from those directly impacted by the policies she supports. As always, our invitation remains open.

The post Lauren Book Is Running Again — And Floridians Should Be Concerned appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

This shift may reflect something important: lawmakers are finally being exposed to discussions about the tactics, methods, and unintended consequences surrounding many online sting operations.

No one is suggesting that protecting children is unimportant. To the contrary. But there is a growing awareness that some of these “operations” blur the line between targeting dangerous offenders and manufacturing arrests through aggressive tactics, inducement, and operations designed more for headlines than public safety. FAC and its members have increased efforts over the last year writing letters, sharing personal stories, and asking legislators to look deeper at how these investigations are conducted and how the resulting laws are applied.

It may be wishful thinking to say FAC influenced the House position. But advocacy matters. Conversations matter. Once lawmakers are exposed to information they may never have previously considered, the debate changes. Questions begin getting asked that previously were not.

Even if things eventually move forward with respect to this funding, the hesitation alone signals that not everyone is comfortable simply rubber-stamping expansions anymore. For years, the public has only heard one side of these operations: the press conferences, arrest counts, and dramatic headlines. FAC has helped introduce another side to the discussion: proportionality, fairness, investigative ethics, sentencing consequences, and the reality that not every sting operation reflects the same level of danger or criminal intent.

Whether or not FAC played any direct role, opening the door to informed discussion is itself meaningful progress. Progress that needs to continue.

The post FL House Withholds Support for Senate-backed ICAC investigations appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

Rep. Plakon was the sponsor of House Bill 45 that expanded residency restrictions to include public swimming pools for people on the sex offender registry and restricting their school access. She sponsored the bill because someone in Seminole with a past offense having nothing to do with public swimming pools or schools, simply moved into the County. Yesterday, the bill was signed into law. But while lawmakers were busy tightening restrictions on people long after their convictions, a far more predictable and dangerous threat was unfolding right under her nose! A teacher with Seminole County Public Schools (the County Rep. Plakon represents) allegedly sexually assaulted a 13-year-old student.

That’s not an outlier. That’s the pattern. Dozens of people told her so, showed up in Tallahassee to testify before committees, provided research, sent in letters, and called her office. But she didn’t want to accept the facts.

The uncomfortable truth backed by decades of research is that most sexual abuse is committed not by strangers lurking near parks or pools, but by someone the victim knows and trusts: a family member, a coach, or yes, a teacher. HB 45 did nothing to address that reality. It wouldn’t have prevented this assault. It doesn’t even try. Instead, laws like this continue to pour millions of taxpayer dollars into policies built on fear, not evidence – public registries, residency restrictions, and geographic banishment that have repeatedly failed to demonstrate meaningful impact on preventing new offenses. These measures may be politically convenient, but they are useless when it comes to stopping abuse.

What’s worse is the opportunity cost. Every dollar spent monitoring where someone lives decades after their offense is a dollar not spent on prevention, education programs for children, training for parents and teachers, early intervention systems, and resources that actually reduce victimization. While everyone is so hyper-focused in the wrong direction and fooled by this false sense of security, they are distracted from where focus and attention needs to be.

Rep. Plakon and every other lawmaker who supported this bill chose optics over outcomes. They focused on the easiest target, not the most likely threat. And in doing so, they ignored the very environment where abuse is statistically most likely to occur. Until lawmakers are willing to confront the data, abandon ineffective policies, and invest in real prevention, these tragedies will continue. And when they do, the responsibility won’t lie with the system they refused to fix. It will lie with the people who chose not to.

The post Rep. Plakon Sponsored HB 45, But She Totally Missed the Real Threat Hiding in Seminole County appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

Under the new rules, anyone found guilty of or entering a plea for a “dangerous crime” must be immediately remanded into custody and held without bond until their sentencing. Beyond the courtroom changes, the legislation significantly expands the list of “dangerous crimes” to include various computer pornography and child exploitation offenses. This reclassification ensures that individuals arrested for these specific crimes are no longer eligible for automatic release at their first court appearance.

These laws add to a series of previous state actions aimed at public safety, including more rigorous sexual offender registration, expanded prosecutorial tools, and increased funding for law enforcement sting operations targeting online predators. With these signatures, the new mandates for immediate custody and enhanced sentencing move into immediate effect under Florida law.

SOURCE

The post Florida Locks The Door On Child Sex Offenders With New ‘Missy’s Law’ appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

In Texas, officials are grappling with soaring medical costs tied to aging individuals held under sex offender civil commitment and extended incarceration. Meanwhile, in California, policymakers are increasingly confronting the long-term consequences of decades-long sentences, particularly as incarcerated populations grow older, sicker, and more expensive to care for. There are several uncomfortable truths here that policymakers—and the public—cannot continue to ignore:

First, these issues are not unique to one class of people. Aging, illness, and the high cost of long-term incarceration affect all inmates. So why are these stories framed almost exclusively around people who have committed sex offenses? Is it because this is the one group the public feels comfortable denying basic dignity like access to adequate healthcare? Would the reaction be the same if the headlines focused on elderly individuals convicted of other offenses like murder or drug trafficking?

Second, the premise underlying extremely long sentences begins to collapse when viewed through the lens of time and human frailty. Risk of reoffense is not static. It declines, often dramatically, with age and physical deterioration. Individuals who are elderly, incapacitated, or severely ill are simply not the same risk they may have been decades earlier. Continuing to impose or extend confinement under these circumstances does not enhance public safety — it only increases costs.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly for us in Florida, these same realities exist outside prison walls. Registration here is a lifetime sentence. The barriers faced by registrants; housing restrictions, residency limitations, and public stigma that prevents acceptance into most facilities create a parallel system of exclusion that mirrors incarceration in many ways. Access to basic necessities like stable housing, hospitalization, assisted living, or nursing care is not just difficult—it is often functionally impossible.

If states like Texas and California are beginning to recognize the unsustainable consequences of these policies inside institutions, we must ask: why are we ignoring the same realities in Florida? This past year FAC has been trying to promote a proposal for a bill to our State legislators, that would account for this growing problem. We didn’t find a sponsor for it in this legislative session, but we will keep trying until we do. Once we do, it may take a few subsequent sessions until it gets traction. Unfortunately, that’s how these things sometimes work. However, we are relentless and this problem is not going away, so seeing how other States will deal with this issue might offer some helpful guidance and encouragement for Florida lawmakers.

A system that denies aging and disabled individuals access to care, stability, and dignity is not advancing public safety. It is simply extending punishment indefinitely—at enormous human and financial cost. It’s time to rethink what registration looks like when it no longer serves its intended purpose.

The post When Punishment Outlives Purpose appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

The current state mandated 1,000 ft residency restrictions from schools, playgrounds, childcare centers, and parks continue to apply.

Effective July 1, 2026:
Swimming Pool residency ban: Registrants with specified offenses involving those less than 16 years old which offense occurred on or after July 1, 2026 – may not live within 1,000 ft of public swimming pools. Registrants whose offense was between Oct 1, 2004 (May 26, 2010 out of state offense) and before July 1, 2026 may stay in their residences BUT when they change their permanent residence they must comply with the 1,000 ft public swimming pool restriction. This residency ban is retroactive when a person moves from their permanent residence.

Registrants whose crimes occur on or after July 1, 2026 and who are on conditional release, probation or community control with specified offenses involving those less than 18 years old may not live within 1,000 ft of a public swimming pool, park, playground, school or childcare facility beginning July 1, 2026. The Florida Dept. of Corrections will provide further guidance which we will share as soon as it is available.

The specific language in the bill states, “”Public swimming pool” means a structure which is located either indoors or outdoors and used for recreational bathing or swimming by humans. The term includes a conventional pool, spa-type pool, wading pool, special purpose pool, spray pool, splash pad, or other water recreation attraction, to which admission may be gained with or without payment of a fee, regardless of whether entry to the swimming pool is limited by a gate or other method of controlling access. The term includes swimming pools operated by or serving subdivisions, apartments, condominiums, mobile home parks, or townhouses, or any pool operated by a governmental entity which is held open to the public. The term does not include a swimming pool at a private single-family residence, hotel, motel, or recreational vehicle park or a swimming pool where the operator prohibits the use of such pool by persons younger than 18 years of age.”

Loitering and Prowling: Changes the loitering and prowling prohibition from within 300 feet to within 500 feet of a place where children congregate. Warrantless arrests are now authorized.

This bill changes knowingly approaching with intent to communicate with sexual intent to any contact/communication/approach with a person younger than 18 years old in a park, playground or a recreational swimming pool. Family members are excluded. Only two types of recreational swimming pools are excluded: private single-family residences and facilities where persons younger than 18 are prohibited. This change is retroactive.

It remains legal to go to a park, playground, and swimming pool but registrants cannot communicate with minors, except their own children, in these locations. Contacting, communicating, approaching one’s family and household members younger than 18 years old are excluded.

Registrants whose crime occurred on or after July 1, 2026 and who are on conditional release, probation or community control with specified offenses involving those less than 18 years old – may not visit a public swimming pool without prior approval from supervising officer and may not work at a public swimming pool.

Written notification of Conviction: Persons with specified offenses may not be on the premises or property of a child care facility or school when it is in operation. Parents, grandparents and legal guardians may go to a child care facility or school with written notification of sexual offense conviction to the school board, principal, or owner and notification of when they intend to be present at the school/child care facility.
Retroactive: This notification change applies to all specified offenders – it does not matter when the offense occurred.
Excluded from notification: Parents, grandparents and legal guardians who are dropping off or picking up his/her child or grandchild at the childcare facility or school.
Registrants may be on the premises solely to attend a religious service.

The post NOTIFICATION OF REGISTRANT RESTRICTION CHANGES appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

Since none of our members are or will be committing any of these offenses, this is not a bill FAC concerned ourselves with.

The post “Missy’s Law” heads to Governor for signature. appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

Currently, imposing capital punishment for non-homicide crimes violates the Eighth Amendment under established Supreme Court precedent (Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008)), meaning the bill would almost certainly invite lengthy legal challenges and divert time and resources from other priorities.

Expanding the death penalty does not address the underlying causes of child sexual abuse, and may worsen existing problems such as discouraging reporting — especially in familial abuse cases. FAC would argue that strengthening prevention, investigation, and support for victims would be a more constructive priority for lawmakers than pursuing an expansion of the death penalty that faces constitutional hurdles and years worth of litigation.

The post Bill introduced to Expand Death Penalty for Child Rapists appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

This is the Final Call to Action: HB 45/SB 212 “Sexual Offenders”

The Current House Bill 45 (as of Feb 20, 2026):

Swimming Pool residency ban: Registrants with specified offenses involving those less than 16 years old which offense occurred on or after July 1, 2026 – may not live within 1,000 ft of public swimming pools.  Registrants whose offense was between Oct 1, 2004 (May 26, 2010 out of state offense) and before July 1, 2026 may stay in their residences BUT when they change their permanent residence they must comply with the 1,000 ft public swimming pool restriction.  This residency ban is retroactive when a person moves from their permanent residence. Swimming pools are IN ADDITION to the other places previously barred by the statute.

Registrants whose crimes occur on or after July 1, 2026 and who are on conditional release, probation or community control with specified offenses involving those less than 18 years old may not live within 1,000 ft of a public swimming pool, park, playground, school or childcare facility beginning July 1, 2026.

For the residency restriction, the following swimming pools are not included: private single-family residence, facilities where persons younger than 18 are prohibited, hotels, motels, and RV parks.

Loitering and Prowling: Changes the loitering and prowling from within 300 feet to within 500 feet of a place where children were congregating. Warrantless arrests are authorized.

This bill changes knowingly approaching with intent to communicate with sexual intent to any contact/communication/approach with a person younger than 18 years old in a park, playground or a recreational swimming pool.  Only two types of recreational swimming pools are excluded: private single-family residences and facilities where persons younger than 18 are prohibited.  Warrantless arrests are authorized. This change is retroactive.

It remains legal to go to a park, playground, and swimming pool but registrants cannot communicate with minors in these locations. Contacting, communicating, approaching one’s family and household members younger than 18 years old are excluded.

Registrants whose crime occurred on or after July 1, 2026 and who are on conditional release, probation or community control with specified offenses involving those less than 18 years old – may not visit a public swimming pool without prior approval from supervising officer and may not work at a public swimming pool.

Written notification of Conviction: Persons with specified offenses may not be on the premises or property of a child care facility or school when it is in operation.  Parents, grandparents and legal guardians may go to a child care facility or school with written notification of sexual offense conviction to the school board, principal, or owner and notification of when they intend to be present at the school/child care facility. Retroactive: This notification change applies to all specified offenders – it does not matter when the offense occurred. Excluded from notification: Parents, grandparents and legal guardians who are dropping off or picking up his/her child or grandchild at the childcare facility or school.
Registrants may be on the premises solely to attend a religious service, voting, or conducting official business.

Public Bathing Places (beach, lakes, etc) ban: Deleted.
Physical presence ban: Deleted

Talking Points

Communicating with minor ban: HB 45 creates a ban that would criminalize communication for any reason between the registrant and a minor in a park, playground or recreational swimming pool.  Examples: can’t order food from a restaurant if the waiter might be a minor; can’t pay for groceries if the clerk might be a minor; shouldn’t save a child from drowning.

Retroactive and expansive new 1,000 ft residency restriction (public swimming pools), once a person moves from their permanent residence for any reason.  More than 30,000 registrants and their families will be impacted.

Natural or man-made disaster forcing temporary relocation of permanent residence.  As the bill is currently written, persons who cannot live in their permanent residence due to repairs following a disaster – must comply with their permanent residence complying with the 1,000 ft residency ban from a swimming pool, park, playground, childcare facility, and school. Then they cannot return to their former homes because they changed residence.

Public safety undermined: OPPAGA, 2024 noted, “residence restrictions can prevent offenders … from being able to participate in needed residential treatment” and “make it difficult for sex offenders to find jobs and homes, which does not support public safety.” Homelessness makes supervision difficult, increases stressors, and destabilizes individuals who are trying to reintegrate.

Florida’s residency restrictions in jeopardy: Any amendment to the current statute that would apply increased residency restrictions retroactively to people whose offenses predate the amended statute, or would impose any ordinance retroactively would be legally challenged.

Residency restrictions: Multiple empirical studies and state agencies have concluded that residency restrictions: Do not reduce sexual reoffending, do not prevent contact with minors, and can degrade public safety by destabilizing housing, employment, and supervision. Twenty states have abandoned or not implemented residency restrictions.

Social proximity: More than 95% of sexual harm offenses occur between relatives and family friends.  Social proximity, not geographical proximity, is the issue and should be addressed through education, not through residency bans which have been proven to be ineffective at preventing sexual harm.

Contact Information

House Leadership

Speaker of the House: Speaker Danny Perez (Miami-Dade), Daniel.Perez@flhouse.gov, maria.lombard@flhouse.gov, Elizabeth.CasasRodriquez@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5000

Next Speaker of the House: Rep. Garrison (Clay), sam.garrison@flhouse.gov, jada.russell@flhouse.gov, katie.tucker@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5011

Speaker Pro Tempore: Rep.  Wyman Duggan (Duval), wyman.duggan@flhouse.gov, koby.adams@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5012

Majority Leader: Rep. Tyler Sirois (Brevard), tyler.sirois@flhouse.gov, Kelsey.chase@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5031

Minority Leader: Rep. Fentrice Driskell (Hillsborough), fentrice.driskell@flhouse.gov,

zach.Blair-Andrews@flhouse.gov, Paola.RiveraFigueroa@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5067

House Judiciary Committee

Staff Director: trina.kramer@flhouse.gov

Chair Chuck Brannan: chuck.brannan@flhouse.gov, Jason.carter@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5010

Vice Chair Webster Barnaby: webster.barnaby@flhouse.gov, drake.wyman@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5029

Republican Party Whip David Borrero: David.borrero@flhouse.gov, Raquel.zuniga@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5111

Democratic Ranking Member Michael Gottlieb: Michael.gottlieb@flhouse.gov, ana.retamozo@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5102

Rep. Jon Albert: jon.albert@flhouse.gov, scott.howard@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5048

Rep. Danny Alvarez: danny.alvarez@flhouse.gov, reese.may@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5069

Rep. Adam Anderson, adam.anderson@flhouse.gov, corey.recvlohe@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5057

Rep. Bruce Antone,    bruce.antone@flhouse.gov, pamela.newton@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5041

Rep. Jessica Baker: jessica.baker@flhouse.gov, laura.collins@flhouse.gov, Dorothy.dilworth@flhouse.gov 850-717-5017

Rep. Hillary Cassel: Hillary.Cassel@flhouse.gov, stella.picazio@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5101

Rep. Kevin Chambliss: Kevin.Chambliss@flhouse.gov, andria.king@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5117

Rep. Dan Daley: dan.daley@flhouse.gov, casey.horland@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5096

Rep. Tom Fabricio: Tom.fabricio@flhouse.gov, nikita.mizgirev@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5110

Rep. Dotie Joseph: dotie.joseph@flhouse.gov, patatricia.michel@flhouse.gov(incorrect,) 850-717-5108

Rep. Traci Koster: traci.koster@flhouse.gov, Valerie.mcdonald@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5066

Rep. Johanna Lopez: Johanna.lopez@flhouse.gov, diego.victoria@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5043

Patt Maney: patt.maney@flhouse.gov, ian.thomson@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5004

Rep. Rachel Plakon: Rachel.plakon@flhouse.gov, dev.bhandari@flhouse.gov, katebrown6319@icloud.com, 850-717-5036

Rep. Juan Carlos Porras: juancarlos.porras@flhouse.gov, Daniel.miller@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5119

Rep. Michelle Salzman: michelle.salzman@flhouse.gov, AnnaGrace.michael@flhouse.gov, sarah.caver@flhouse.gov, 850-717-5001

Rep. Kevin Steele: kevin.steele@flhouse.gov, jayden.cocuzza@flhouse.gov 850-717-5055

The post URGENT – HB 45 Call to Action – Act before Committee Meeting on Tuesday Feb 24 appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

The proposal overlooks a glaring and uncomfortable reality. A disproportionate share of the homeless population is made up of people on the registry — not because they choose homelessness, but because a dense web of laws makes stable housing and employment extraordinarily difficult to obtain. Residency restrictions carve entire cities into exclusion zones. Employment barriers close doors before an application is even considered. And even where the laws does not explicitly prohibit housing or work, the stigma attached to the registry often does the job. Landlords refuse to rent. Employers decline to hire. The outcome is not surprising.

Here’s the paradox: registry laws create homelessness, and then new laws punish the very homelessness those policies helped create. Proposals like this one would cut off access to shelters — the very places designed to keep people off the streets. What, exactly, is the intended result?

In states like Florida, the contradiction is even more stark. Florida has some of the strictest residency restrictions in the nation, and local ordinances have produced well-documented housing instability. Now add Section 125.0231, Florida Statutes — enacted in 2024 through House Bill 1365 — which criminalizes public sleeping and camping. Consider the sequence… restrict where someone can live so they wind up homeless, deny access to shelters so they have to sleep on the streets, and then criminalize sleeping outdoors. Where is that supposed to lead? If a person cannot legally reside in broad swaths of a community, cannot enter a shelter, and cannot sleep outside, what option remains other than incarceration?

You can contact Rep. Mace here: https://mace.house.gov/contact. If you get a meaningful response (not an auto-responder), you can share it below.

The post New Federal Bill to Ban Registrants from Homeless Shelters appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).