URGENT – HB 45 Call to Action – Act before Committee Meeting on Tuesday Feb 24
HB 45 is on the Agenda to be heard at the House Judiciary Committee meeting scheduled for 8:30 am Tuesday February 24th.
This is the Final Call to Action: HB 45/SB 212 “Sexual Offenders”
The Current House Bill 45 (as of Feb 20, 2026):
Swimming Pool residency ban: Registrants with specified offenses involving those less than 16 years old which offense occurred on or after July 1, 2026 – may not live within 1,000 ft of public swimming pools. Registrants whose offense was between Oct 1, 2004 (May 26, 2010 out of state offense) and before July 1, 2026 may stay in their residences BUT when they change their permanent residence they must comply with the 1,000 ft public swimming pool restriction. This residency ban is retroactive when a person moves from their permanent residence. Swimming pools are IN ADDITION to the other places previously barred by the statute.
Registrants whose crimes occur on or after July 1, 2026 and who are on conditional release, probation or community control with specified offenses involving those less than 18 years old may not live within 1,000 ft of a public swimming pool, park, playground, school or childcare facility beginning July 1, 2026.
For the residency restriction, the following swimming pools are not included: private single-family residence, facilities where persons younger than 18 are prohibited, hotels, motels, and RV parks.
Loitering and Prowling: Changes the loitering and prowling from within 300 feet to within 500 feet of a place where children were congregating. Warrantless arrests are authorized.
This bill changes knowingly approaching with intent to communicate with sexual intent to any contact/communication/approach with a person younger than 18 years old in a park, playground or a recreational swimming pool. Only two types of recreational swimming pools are excluded: private single-family residences and facilities where persons younger than 18 are prohibited. Warrantless arrests are authorized. This change is retroactive.
It remains legal to go to a park, playground, and swimming pool but registrants cannot communicate with minors in these locations. Contacting, communicating, approaching one’s family and household members younger than 18 years old are excluded.
Registrants whose crime occurred on or after July 1, 2026 and who are on conditional release, probation or community control with specified offenses involving those less than 18 years old – may not visit a public swimming pool without prior approval from supervising officer and may not work at a public swimming pool.
Written notification of Conviction: Persons with specified offenses may not be on the premises or property of a child care facility or school when it is in operation. Parents, grandparents and legal guardians may go to a child care facility or school with written notification of sexual offense conviction to the school board, principal, or owner and notification of when they intend to be present at the school/child care facility. Retroactive: This notification change applies to all specified offenders – it does not matter when the offense occurred. Excluded from notification: Parents, grandparents and legal guardians who are dropping off or picking up his/her child or grandchild at the childcare facility or school.
Registrants may be on the premises solely to attend a religious service, voting, or conducting official business.
Public Bathing Places (beach, lakes, etc) ban: Deleted.
Physical presence ban: Deleted
Talking Points
Communicating with minor ban: HB 45 creates a ban that would criminalize communication for any reason between the registrant and a minor in a park, playground or recreational swimming pool. Examples: can’t order food from a restaurant if the waiter might be a minor; can’t pay for groceries if the clerk might be a minor; shouldn’t save a child from drowning.
Retroactive and expansive new 1,000 ft residency restriction (public swimming pools), once a person moves from their permanent residence for any reason. More than 30,000 registrants and their families will be impacted.
Natural or man-made disaster forcing temporary relocation of permanent residence. As the bill is currently written, persons who cannot live in their permanent residence due to repairs following a disaster – must comply with their permanent residence complying with the 1,000 ft residency ban from a swimming pool, park, playground, childcare facility, and school. Then they cannot return to their former homes because they changed residence.
Public safety undermined: OPPAGA, 2024 noted, “residence restrictions can prevent offenders … from being able to participate in needed residential treatment” and “make it difficult for sex offenders to find jobs and homes, which does not support public safety.” Homelessness makes supervision difficult, increases stressors, and destabilizes individuals who are trying to reintegrate.
Florida’s residency restrictions in jeopardy: Any amendment to the current statute that would apply increased residency restrictions retroactively to people whose offenses predate the amended statute, or would impose any ordinance retroactively would be legally challenged.
Residency restrictions: Multiple empirical studies and state agencies have concluded that residency restrictions: Do not reduce sexual reoffending, do not prevent contact with minors, and can degrade public safety by destabilizing housing, employment, and supervision. Twenty states have abandoned or not implemented residency restrictions.
Social proximity: More than 95% of sexual harm offenses occur between relatives and family friends. Social proximity, not geographical proximity, is the issue and should be addressed through education, not through residency bans which have been proven to be ineffective at preventing sexual harm.
Contact Information
House Leadership
Speaker of the House: Speaker Danny Perez (Miami-Dade), [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5000
Next Speaker of the House: Rep. Garrison (Clay), [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5011
Speaker Pro Tempore: Rep. Wyman Duggan (Duval), [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5012
Majority Leader: Rep. Tyler Sirois (Brevard), [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5031
Minority Leader: Rep. Fentrice Driskell (Hillsborough), [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5067
House Judiciary Committee
Staff Director: [email protected]
Chair Chuck Brannan: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5010
Vice Chair Webster Barnaby: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5029
Republican Party Whip David Borrero: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5111
Democratic Ranking Member Michael Gottlieb: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5102
Rep. Jon Albert: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5048
Rep. Danny Alvarez: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5069
Rep. Adam Anderson, [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5057
Rep. Bruce Antone, [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5041
Rep. Jessica Baker: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 850-717-5017
Rep. Hillary Cassel: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5101
Rep. Kevin Chambliss: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5117
Rep. Dan Daley: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5096
Rep. Tom Fabricio: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5110
Rep. Dotie Joseph: [email protected], [email protected](incorrect,) 850-717-5108
Rep. Traci Koster: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5066
Rep. Johanna Lopez: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5043
Patt Maney: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5004
Rep. Rachel Plakon: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5036
Rep. Juan Carlos Porras: [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5119
Rep. Michelle Salzman: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], 850-717-5001
Rep. Kevin Steele: [email protected], [email protected] 850-717-5055
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Thank you again to FAC for Showing up. There were 3 no votes. Representative Skidmore brought up the idea of why we do not have Tiers in Florida. She may be someone that we could work with to actually get the Tier system set up in Florida. Gotlieb and Koster brought up good points as well but in the end it passed. Still the Ellingburg decision and their Oath of office was not brought up. This is important as they are knowingly and willingly passing a bill they know is Ex Post Facto, unconstitutional and in direct opposition to the SCOTUS ruling in Ellingburg.