CALL TO ACTION #3 for SB 1252 – Red Lettering on Driver’s Licenses – Now in the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee – Meeting @ 9:30AM on Thursday, 4/20/2023
Committee meeting @ 9:30AM on Thursday, 4/20/2023
Major Concerns About This Bill:
- This is the Senate companion bill to HB 1085.
- SB 1252 would require “SEXUAL PREDATOR” and “943.0435” to be printed in a distinctive format and in RED on driver’s licenses and identification cards.
- SB 1252 is now in the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee.
- Information on the Louisiana and Alabama court cases have been sent to the analysts of the committees that the “red lettering” bills have passed through so far. One analyst even thanked us for making her aware of them; yet, these court cases are not showing up in the analyses. We need to make sure that every legislator that is sitting on a committee that SB 1252 (and HB 1085) goes through is aware of these cases, particularly the ruling in the Alabama case. These legislators need to know that they are voting on a bill that is unconstitutional and will lead to costly lawsuits.
PLEASE Do the Following:
- Call or email all members of the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee.
- Whether you talk to a person or voicemail, you must give your name and possibly your contact information (phone numbers work). Remember that all voicemails are checked, so you can call after hours.
- State that you OPPOSE the part of the bill that would require the red lettering on driver’s licenses for people on the registry.
- Mention that you are a constituent if you happen to live in the senator’s district.
- Give a brief explanation why you oppose the red lettering on the licenses.
- Ask family members and friends to also call to oppose the red lettering.
Talking Points:
- In 2019, a federal judge struck down Alabama’s sex offense registration law that required registrants to carry a driver’s license or official ID with “CRIMINAL SEX OFFENDER” emblazoned in red. This Alabama ruling flowed from a federal district court in the same appellate circuit as Florida.
- The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Louisiana’s appeal of a decision against its 2006 law requiring that people on the sex offense registry have their driver’s license or identification card marked with “SEX OFFENDER” in orange letters. The Louisiana Supreme Court said the marking was compelled speech and could not be justified by the state’s interest in protecting public safety.
- If this bill is passed as is, Florida and its citizens could be facing a costly lawsuit.
- Schools are using visitor management systems, such as Raptor, to compare a visitor’s driver’s license against a sex offense database. Why is the red lettering necessary?
- Senator Pizzo brought up in the Infrastructure & Tourism Appropriations Subcommittee that theme parks and other places already scan the barcode on the licenses which picks up whether or not the license holder is on the registry. His implication was that this procedure makes the red markings unnecessary.
- There are currently 52 registry requirements for people on the sex offense registry. Every Florida legislator should have received a copy of the timeline of these registry requirements that started off with 3 in 1997 and have grown to 52 by 2020. Failure to fulfill any of these requirements could lead up to 5 years of imprisonment, even for the thousands of Florida registrants who are now law-abiding citizens.
- This bill, if passed into law, would become the 53rd punitive registry requirement. It will become the “straw that breaks the camel’s back,” already causing people throughout Florida to ban together to file a lawsuit against the state of Florida because of the unconstitutional, punitive Florida registry.
PLEASE DO NOT MAKE STATEMENTS SUCH AS: “I AM GOING TO SUE YOU.” WE ARE SIMPLY SHARING THE FACTS WITH OUR LEGISLATORS – NOT THREATENING THEM.
Phone Numbers and Emails for the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee:
- Chair Senator Travis Hutson (R): (850) 487-5007; hutson.travis.web@flsenate.gov
- Vice Chair Senator Linda Steward (D): (850) 487-5017; stewart.linda.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Ben Albritton (R): (850) 487-5027; albritton.ben.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Lori Berman (D): (850) 487-5026; berman.lori.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Jim Boyd (R): (850) 487-5020; boyd.jim.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Colleen Burton (R): (850) 487-5012; burton.colleen.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Alexis Calatayud (R): (850) 487-5038; calatayud.alexis.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Jay Collins (R): (850) 487-5014; collins.jay.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Nick DiCeglie (R): (850) 487-5018; diceglie.nick.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Ileana Garcia (R): (850) 487-5036; garcia.ileana.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Shervin Jones (D): (850) 487-5034; jones.shevrin.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Debbie Mayfield (R): (850) 487-5019; mayfield.debbie.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Rosalind Osgood (D): (850) 487-5032; osgood.rosalind.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez (R): (850) 487-5040; rodriguez.anamaria.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Corey Simon (R): (850) 487-5003; simon.corey.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Geraldine Thompson (D): (850) 487-5015; thompson.geraldine.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Victor Torres, Jr. (D): (850) 487-5025; torres.victor.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Jay Trumbull (R): (850) 487-5002; trumbull.jay.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Tom Wright (R): (850) 487-5008; wright.tom.web@flsenate.gov
- Senator Clay Yarborough (R): (850) 487-5004; yarborough.clay.web@flsenate.gov
Every call gets heard and tallied. Every respectful conversation with a staffer is an excellent opportunity to change a mind about our community with someone who has direct contact with a lawmaker. YOUR EFFORTS DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Thank you for your efforts on this. Thank you to all of those making the phones calls. I’m afraid this is going to be another situation of having to fight this in court. It reminds me of the day I was sentenced. A person before me was sentenced to prison time. The judge told him he sentenced him illegally, now go fight that from prison. The state doesn’t care if they pass illegal laws, they have all the money on the world to fight lawsuits. Desantis definitely doesn’t care. I struggle with metal health stuff, and this never helps. I hope things get better one day.
I’m with you! God have mercy on us and Florida. I’m losing my mind over the Registry
The problem with Alabama’s respnse to Does v Marshall is the marks still exist, they just aren’t prominently displayed.
Prince changed his name to a symbol. It was a single character but you saw it and you knew what it was.
You don’t have to spell it out. Whether the mark says “sex offender” or a symbol or a color or a series of numbers, it is STILL a message that says you’re different. It is STILL compelled speech.
The moral of The Scarlet Letter is that secret sin leads to guilt and pain. Hester is publicly punished, which causes her pain, but through this, she is strengthened and gains independence.
Are ALL Registrants being ELEVATED to Sexual Predator status ?
Fl Code 943.0435 Sex Offender….
Fl Code 943.0436 Sexual PREDATOR …
Am is this a rhetorical question?
They look at you the same, doesn’t matter. Your on the registry? Your looked at as a pedophile, serial rapist, etc. So, if someone has a different erroneous designation than you please dont take comfort in that Thats the type of thinking were up against.
Do they know that this is Uncontitutional? I wrote them and told them that it sounds like “Gestapo”. Or if they believe in God, and the Bible, the “Anti Christ” labeled their followers with Red on their foreheads and Right Hands. Tome Attorneys would make a killing if they had any Guts.
Joan we all know that much of this registry is unconstitutional. Sure this red letter just adds more fuel to the fire. All this is an example of biblical prophesy and Florida and many other states are treading on shallow ground. Nothing wrong with standing up for Justice but when one goes and prostitutes Gods ordained authority governments are in danger
Abusing the poor is no good and much of this sex registry is in many ways justice abuse and getting out of hand in many ways.
I’m contacting representatives but am not at all hopeful. I’m praying. Thank you so much for your untiring efforts to fight for us and encouragement. Just look what has happened/happening to Florida in last 90 days! I’m sure there is a fall-back plan to file an injunction and sue. Where can I contribute toward the legal fees? Seriously.
Here is an interesting case. 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. It is before the US Supreme Court.