FAC Statement in opposition to Senate Bill 234

Following is the text of FAC’s letter to senators concerning SB234. If you would like to write to your senator urging them to oppose this Bill, we encourage you to do so. You can find their contact information here: https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/#Senators


February 10, 2021

Senate Judiciary Committee
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100

RE: OPPOSITION TO CS/SB 234: REGISTRATION OF SEXUAL
PREDATORS AND SEXUAL OFFENDERS

Dear Senators:

I am President of the Florida Action Committee (FAC), a 2000+ member non-profit organization that advocates for public safety and laws based on empirical research. Our focus is on the Florida Sex Offender Registry.

I am writing to express my organization’s strong opposition to the above-referenced Bill, which will come before your committee for consideration on February 15, 2021.

While there are many items we find objectionable in this Bill, I will limit the focus of this letter to one item which is so illogical that it will yield absurd results – that is the proposal to define the word “day” to include “partial days”.

Currently, persons required to register must register their “Permanent Residence,” “Temporary Residence,” and “Transient Residence” within 48 hours. These are places where the individual “abides”, “lodges”, “resides”, “lives”, “remains”, or “is located” for three (3) or more “days”, either consecutively (Permanent Residence) or in the aggregate (Temporary Residence/Transient Residence) during a calendar year.

Previously, persons on the registry were unsure whether a “day” meant the full period between 12:00AM and 11:59PM or one full 24-hour period. CS/SB 234 proposes to define “day” as any part of a day. “A day includes any part of a calendar day.” (lines 119-120, 131-132, 141-142). Accordingly, a “day” can comprise of a period of one hour or even one minute, as these periods of time are “part of a calendar day”.

Under this proposed definition, any location an individual remains physically present for any duration four (4) or more times* during a year could constitute a “residence”. Therefore, the Sheriff’s office where an individual “is located” for an hour four times a year to complete registration would be registrable. If a person “remains” or “is located” at the same barbershop for a haircut, restaurant for a meal, store to buy groceries, neighbor’s home to watch a sports game, 4 days in the aggregate during a year, these places would all be registrable.

The fourth visit to any of these locations would require a trip to the Sheriff’s office (and/or DHSMV, as applicable under the statute) to register. Failure to do so results in a third-degree felony. If the registration office is not open within 48 hours of the fourth visit (for example, as in the case of this coming weekend which includes Presidents Day) and the person cannot register, it will result in a third-degree felony (or the inability of the person to visit the location). It would also add the location to the sex offender registry map even though the registrant might only be present there for one hour every three months.

Under no definition is a “day” an hour, a minute or “any part of a calendar day”. This Bill’s proposal to define it as such is absurd and unjust.

I implore you to oppose CS/SB 234.

Sincerely,
Gail Colletta, President
Florida Action Committee, Inc.

  • The Bill provides that the first “day” does not count.

Discover more from Florida Action Committee

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

48 thoughts on “FAC Statement in opposition to Senate Bill 234

  • March 1, 2021

    I take it that a similar letter is being sent to the Rules Committee?

    Reply
  • February 22, 2021

    Apply for social security disabilty. Since no one will hire a sex offender you will get approved.

    Reply
  • February 18, 2021

    I wrote very poignant emails about 234 last week. It is ridiculous and punitive. If you live in a larger town or city you might get away with going to the many grocery stores, shops, etc. only 3 times a year. However, we all know how this bill has the potential to ruin lives, and not just the people forced to register.

    Reply
  • February 16, 2021

    FAC

    IF FULLY PASSED, HOW CAN THIS BE ENFORCED?

    I, WOULD, FIRST, SUGGEST TO ALL THAT RESIDE IN FLORI-DUH TO REMOVE THE ‘LOCATER’ FEATURE ON YOUR SMARTPHONE AND ANY INTERNET CONNECTED DEVICE(S)….

    HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE ON STATE SANCTIONED WATCH, OR EXHIBIT THE ‘666 ANKLE BRACELET’, ETC..YOU ARE COMPLETELY FCKED!

    ,,MORE SUGGESTIONS, SOON COME!

    Reply
    • February 17, 2021

      So correct me if im wrong….showing up at Books office and wait a period of time to speak to her, that requires you register her office address as a temporary residence? How about showing up to peacefully and lawfully protest at one of the politicians homes for a few hours, that requires you to register their home as a temporary residence? How about the government offices where you attend public meetings in order to be informed citizens, that address will need to be registered as a temporary address? Our omnipresence will know no bounds. I for one will make full use of the new law and I hope all of you will make sure you are in compliance too.

      Reply

Comment Policy

  • PLEASE READ: Comments not adhering to this policy will be removed.
  • Be patient. All comments are moderated before they are published. This takes time.
  • Stay on topic. Comments and links should be relevant to this post.
  • *NEW* CLICK HERE if you have an off-topic comment or link.
  • Be respectful. Do not attack, abuse, or threaten. This includes cussing/yelling (ALL CAPS).
  • Cite. If requested, cite any bold or novel claims of fact or statistics, or your comment may be moderated.
  • *NEW* Be brief. If you have a comment of over 2,000 characters, please e-mail it to us for consideration as a member submission.
  • Reminder: Opinions and statements in comments are neither endorsed nor verified by FAC.
  • Moderation does not equal censorship. See this post for more information

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *