FAC Letter to HUD Concerning Sex Offender Residency Restrictions
FAC sent the below letter to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development today concerning the homeless registrant crisis in Florida. Please feel free to share it with whomever you might think would be interested.
Are all Florida sex offenders prohibited from access to public housing because of the “lifetime” requirement to register in Florida? Also, I am curious about your statement to HUD that all counties have imposed residency restrictions. I was under the impression that a number of counties particularly ones in the area that I live in like Hillsborough and Pinellas, have declined to impose the harsher and likely illegal restrictions, particularly on people who were convicted before 2005. I specifically remember when this issue arose a number of years ago. The state kind of passed the buck and refused to say why the counties were able to impose restrictions that the state they clearly determined would be in permissible for them to impose. My recollection is that the powers that be in Hillsborough County came to the conclusion that imposing the greater restrictions on people who had been convicted prior to the passage of the law, would probably violate some ex post facto standard. I also seem to recall that even with all of the hullabaloo involved, even Pasco county was not applying their new restrictions to people convicted before it times certain. Am I correct in this regard
Hillsborough has a strange ordinance which includes seniors:
https://library.municode.com/fl/hillsborough_county/codes/code_of_ordinances,_part_a?nodeId=HICOCOORLA_CH36OFMIPR_ARTVOFINPUMO_DIV4SEPRSEPR_S36-277PRRESEPR
Pinellas seems not to have one at all according to Municode so the state statute applies.
Right JoeM. My understanding is that HUD is prohibited from offering housing assistance to any lifetime sex offender registrant. And in Florida, everyone has been branded for life.
“Sexual predators” in Florida have to register for life.
It’s unclear if HUD would consider “sex offenders” in Florida to be lifetime registrants, since sex offenders can go to court to get off the registry after 25 years.
Great Letter! I think in the future we also need to address the alarming rate at which African Americans are being added to the Hit List to highlight ONE of its Main Intentions. Also I forget the percentage that was mentioned on Fox Soul. Can you please give me that ratio again so I can share it? Again, thank you Gail, your awesome! Jason
It was 1% of all black men are on the registry.
Thank you, and I wanted to know that. What I’m also looking for was the alarming rate at which they’re being added. Thanks again.
I don’t remember exactly the rate but the prediction was very high since so many more offenses have been added and minorities are already unduly exposed to the wrongs of the “justice” system. They are at critical mass at this point so it will continue to climb exponentially into changes are made.
***unless
No doubt!! Thanks
FYI,
Palm Beach County no longer has its own SORR.
I don’t have the exact years, but Palm Beach County enacted a 2500 ft SORR and then some years later repealed it.
I suppose the 1000ft is still in effect for offenses after 2005.
(The constitutional ban against ex-post facto laws should have been respected across the board toward all sanctions, not just the SORR sanction.)
It appears they still do, last amended in 2014:
https://library.municode.com/fl/palm_beach_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PABECOCO_CH18MIPROF_ARTIISEOFSEPRREPR_S18-34SEOFSEPRREPREX
PBC’s residency restriction matches the state residency restriction of 1000 feet.
The only difference is that the PBS residency restriction applies to offenses before October 1, 2004.
Well done Gail! It presents our case in clear and concise terms and the copy to VP Harris is also wise since she has a legal background herself. Now if we can ever get leaders and politicians do actually follow the science and do the right thing instead of treating us as the boogey men for their unfounded scare tactics for their own political and financial gain then it will give witness to us all that “the Lord is a God of justice, who knows no favorites” . Thank you for keeping up the good fight.
Well done Gail!
Thank you FAC!! We are blessed to have such talent fighting for the cause.