FAC Makes Public Information Request to Florida Senate Regarding Sex Offender Bill
This past legislative session, a bill passed the Florida legislature that will bring two significant changes to the sex offender registration statute.
The first; it reduces the amount of time before a location is considered a “residence” from 5 to 3 days. That means; travel for a long weekend would necessitate reporting, where it previously wound not have.
The second; any violation of the registration laws, no matter how benign nor whether it was knowing or not, would carry a mandatory minimum sentence of six months probation with GPS monitoring. That means; if you fail to address a vaguely defined internet identifier or miss a 48-hour registration deadline because you could not make it on time, you’re automatically getting a minimum 6 month sentence with a GPS monitor.
These are both pretty harsh for something that is supposed to be “civil” and “non-punitive”. With the continuous piling on of new and harsher requirements virtually every year, the opportunity to make an unknowing misstep grows.
FAC wants to know what research the legislature considered before passing a bill containing these harsh sanctions. We also want to know what these legislator’s constituents thought of the bills. Were these laws passed based on empirical research and informed consideration or were they passed on the whim of their sponsor, without consideration of the facts?
A copy of the public information request is below:
So, here it is July 4th. Still no response? The legislature has to answer to no one. My family member could be arrested and thrown in prison because they have made this all so confusing, even if he is trying his best to comply. He already paid his dues and there are no statistics that support this decision.
So if I’m planning a 3 day vacation in another county here in Florida I have to let my local sheriffs office know where I’m staying and the sheriff’s office of the county I’m going to as well
No response yet?
none
I stay at different hotels all over the state for my occupation. Am i suppose register all the hotels as my permanent resident? So that would mean i have at least 20 new permanent addresses on me alone. If every one registers a bunch of new permanent addresses it could cause a bunch of new scenarios.
Check the law. You will have to register them as a temporary residence if you stay in one for 3 or more days in the aggregate during a calendar year.
So on which county it is we will have to check the laws on how close to playgrounds etc and make sure the motel hotel is compliant also?
The county in which you are staying.
What does aggregate mean in this situation? Sorry still having a hard time with all the rules and terms. You are so great to answer our questions
!
it means collectively within a year. They don’t have to be consecutive (in one shot) they can be one day in January, one day in July, one day in December and that counts as 3 days in the aggregate.
This latest law is so ridiculous. Thank you for keeping us informed.
Hoping the ExPostFacto case makes headway and soon!
It will help deputies find your exact address before they visit a shrimp.
When do the registrations for 2018 open please?
what do you mean?
This really does bother me how a person can pay their debt to society with jail and probation . Yet have to wear a Scarlett letter for the rest of their life . This needs to be a case by case basis for registration. Their are offenders who made bad choices , were on drugs and are trying to be productive citizen . But with the registration we are putting targets on the heads of the offenders who truly are trying to be a productive member of society .
…And making their families to suffer. My kids were born between 8-18 years after my offense.
It kills me to see them burdened with something that predates their lives.