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.
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I click here after many months in hopes to read good news, but instead I get more of this crap, I finished two years probation 20 years ago, my 40’s ruined my 50’s reuined, and now looks like my 60’s may be forced into jail or Prison. How can a legislative body be allowed body ruin a person’s reputation and destroy the remainder of there life, adding compliance after the fact of completing a two year probation twenty years ago. Because of the word that overpopulated our planet with morons and idiots who make laws in Flordia, sex, Florida Trumps dream of country from king of sex offenders themselfs
Why not petition for removal under 943.0435(11) rather than complain? You have an opportunity so take it.
I’m opposed to 234
I’m really beginning to wonder how many SO are aware of anything that’s been going on the past few years with this oppression or just a bunch of people either been lucky or doing time for non criminal intent violations?????
Raise your hand if you’d leave Florida! Raise your hand if your planning on leaving anyway!!
Jack
My parents are elderly and no matter what I am going through, I need to be here for them. Afterall, they took care of me all my life, then visited me while in the States motel 6 for offenders.
Still hoping and praying we can win some rulings that will let us get back to be productive citzens that don’t have to go everywhere looking over our shoulders.
Leave? Who wants an SO from Florida?
Please somebody correct me if I am wrong:
If the bill passes and we must register these common places of attendance such as Grocery Market, Doctor’s Office, etc… Wouldn’t these places also have to follow the distance laws where they must be so many feet away from schools, parks and daycares? Wouldn’t that mean we may have to drive hours to locate a Grocery Market in the middle no where?
Nobody
AND then the stores would have these signs posted at entrance.
“Must wear a mask, No guns allowed and absolutely NO SEX OFFENDERS allowed on the premises”.
Yes that was what I was talking about soon there is going to be signs saying no sex offender allowed.Its coming and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.Ive been told it’s going to get worse here in Florida.I didn’t want to add on any burdens but it’s out now and every law they come out with will pass as you can see already people will lose jobs families will be broken up and to think my charge is from 1991 4 years probation and here it is 2021 and I’m still being hit with new rules.Its coming folks and there’s nothing you can do about it all these court cases imo are fruitless look at the ex posto fact suit a lawyer told me it’s a waste if time if it were going to pass they wouldn’t be adding new restrictions now would they? Think about it soon what stores will you be able to go? Where will you live or work for that matter? Sorry to say but the writing is on the wall.
This is intended simply as harrassment disguised as “concern for public safety”. Where are the Registries for convicted violence/ assault offenders? DUI drivers? Gun violence perpetrators? Domestic violence offenders? All of these groups have much higher repeat/reoffense/recidivism rates than individuals convicted of sexual offenses. Lawmakers are well aware of the statistics (or should be!!!) Thus, lawmakers are lying when they make their false public safety claims.