FAC to speak out against HB45 at today’s House Criminal Justice Subcommittee Meeting

Today at 1:30 PM, several members will be appearing, in person, at the Florida House of Representatives Criminal Justice Subcommittee Meeting to speak out against HB 45, which seeks to add “Public Swimming Pools” and “Public Bathing Areas” to the already onerous State 1000 foot sex offender residency restriction.

Staff analysis of the Bill notes that, “the bill may have an indeterminate economic impact on persons who are subject to the residency restrictions in the bill who would be required to relocate to avoid committing a crime or violating the terms and conditions of their probation, community control, or conditional release.” So members of the Subcommittee are on notice that the current version of the Bill, as written, will require SOME registrants who have been living peacefully and law abidingly in their residences for years to relocate. If forced to relocate, they and their family will have a hard time finding compliant housing, considering Florida’s 8,426 miles of shoreline along the Atlantic and the Gulf coasts, more than 7,700 lakes that are 10 acres or larger (including Lake Okeechobee, which is about 448,000 acres), over 30,000 other lakes and ponds, and based on a Public Information Act request from FAC to the Florida Department of Health (which we received the results of yesterday), 40,918 Public Swimming pools.

We offer so much thanks to our legislative team for organizing the call to action to oppose this bill, for those who have written to their lawmakers in opposition of this bill, and especially to those who have taken the time and expense to travel to Tallahassee to speak out against this bill.

Please monitor the comments below for an update on how the meeting and presentations went. Please also continue to monitor our website for next steps as the companion bill is heard in the Senate and as this one continues along its path.