FAC Legislative Committee Update for March 2025

We are pleased to share the latest updates on our Legislative Committee’s efforts to “Change the Narrative” and advocate for meaningful reforms. This past month has been productive, with significant accomplishments and exciting initiatives ahead.

Since last month, the SHINE team presented at the Florida Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse (FL-ATSA) conference, where they shared their lived experiences. Several counselors expressed interest in further collaboration, which is a promising step toward increasing understanding and support.

We also completed our legislative delegation meetings at the end of February. More than 90% of Florida’s state legislators heard directly from individuals educating them on registry-related matters. This outreach strengthens our advocacy efforts and ensures lawmakers are aware of the real-life consequences of current policies.

Our veterans advocacy efforts are gaining momentum. Mike, our veteran’s group coordinator, attended the Orange County Veteran’s Advisory Council meeting and received strong engagement from the 24 attendees. He spoke about the lack of nursing home care for veterans on the registry and the restrictions preventing retired veterans from accessing military bases.

Following the meeting, a home nursing care company expressed interest in reaching out to Mike, and Pam Jones from Congressman Daniel Webster’s office requested more information to share with Representative David Smith and Congressman Maxwell Frost. Mike has been invited back for the next Council meeting and is now in contact with AARP, the American Legion, and the national VFW to expand outreach.

Looking ahead, we have selected two key issues for proposed 2026 Florida legislative bills. The first would allow courts, probation, registration authorities, FDLE, and other criminal justice agencies to consider medically documented neurocognitive diseases, such as dementia, and petition for removal from the registry.

The second would establish a process for individuals on the registry with medically documented long-term care needs to petition for removal so they can access nursing home or assisted living care.

To help build support for these proposals, we have launched a weekly email campaign targeting all Florida legislators. Each email shares a personal story and reinforces the need for the two proposed reforms.

Fifty different people are participating, each sending one email per week, and this effort will continue through March 2026. We are actively looking for more participants, so anyone interested can email [email protected] to sign up.

The veteran’s group is also organizing a letter-writing campaign to send personal stories to representatives while emphasizing the need for these legislative changes.

We have also been actively engaging with the Senate and House Criminal Justice Committees. Recently, we spoke at their meetings to highlight concerns about vague language in registry-related terms, such as “occupation,” and the harmful effects of making employment information publicly available. This discussion was in response to concerns regarding FDLE policy and the proposed bills HB 1351 and SB 1654.

Thanks to Senator Carlos Smith, Vice Chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, we have been given the opportunity to provide input on these bills. Discussions with the bill sponsors are underway to clarify employment-related language and address our concerns.

Your involvement is crucial in driving these efforts forward. Whether through calling or emailing legislators, writing letters, or attending meetings, every action makes a difference!

Thank you for your dedication to this cause and to FAC. We look forward to continuing this important work together.

FAC Legislative Committee