Volusia County Council member meets resistance with his sex offender ordinance
We sent out two Calls to Action this past June for Volusia County’s proposed sex offender ordinance. The proposed ordinance was withdrawn, and it appeared to have quietly died. This was not the case, though, as the sponsor brought it back recently with a vengeance.
This council member calls it “Common sense legislation” – increasing residency requirements in unincorporated areas to 1500 feet, new registration fees, and a ban on adults without children on playgrounds.
Councilman Don Dempsey is leading the resistance against this ordinance by sharing facts the other council members need to be aware of. We are grateful for informed government leaders such as Dempsey.
The sponsor of this ordinance says there are costs associated with the initial registration and re-registration, costs that create a burden on the taxpayer. He said that registration fees are no different than fees collected for applications for building permits and vehicle tags. THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE: PEOPLE CHOOSE TO APPLY FOR BUILDING PERMITS AND VEHICLE TAGS. PEOPLE DO NOT CHOOSE TO BE ON A PUNITIVE PUBLIC REGISTRY FOR LIFE.
If I am not mistaken the US Supreme Court over ruled allowing collection fees of registered sex offender under the extender beyond sentence clause in which unless the trial court had ordered such a punitive measure.
Also if the registered sex offender is listed as homeless and required to pay a registration fee then Indigent can file to have the fee paid by the ones whom approved such fees. If a person has Indigency status because of the ‘inability to pay’ was or was not determine by the courts. The one who collects the fee must prove beyond a reason of doubt that the registered person has the means to pay and can not include government issued monies to live on.
Most registered persons need to applied for Indigency status with their local courts as a form of protection under the registry and that will protect from neighbor harassment as well.
The Flier list their address, phone number and other facts that can be used to harass them and violating not only state laws but also federal laws.
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https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter6/Section178Q
https://www.necn.com/news/local/massachusetts/investigation-finds-sex-offenders-are-not-paying-mass-registration-fee/44458/
I don’t see any penalty assigned for a failure to pay this (taxation without representation) fee.
You wouldn’t. They’d just refuse your registration update and hit you with FTR.
If you are refused the opportunity to register, stay there and call FDLE. Let them know you are there in the registration office and they are not allowing you to register Be sure to document the date/time and name of the person at FDLE that you contacted, and what they instructed you to do. The number for FDLE is 850-410-8572 (M-F 8:00am – 5:00pm, EST)
That is why a past story on FAC that had some registrants stating the registry office refused to give them a physical copy of their proof of registration. This may have been just a covid response but if you have no hard copy proof you registered, things could go south real quick.
They would have to drag me out of the office kicking and swinging if I did not get any proof of registration. I have saved every single copy since 1997. If I ever got off the registry, I will have a nice bon fire in the back yard with those papers.
The council member that calls it Common Sense legislation, needs to be questioned. “ You call it common sense, Show me what evidence you have to call it that. I’ll show you overwhelming evidence showing there is absolutely no common sense to it. We have scientific proof. What do you have. “. Put the burden of proof on them.
I would like to know how to contact the counsel member to explain the fact to him? Facts that show his rules are not “common sense ” but actually counterproductive.
“With great power comes great responsibility”
Spider-man
“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
Winston Churchill
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
Walt Disney
Sadly several courts have already agreed registration fees are legal. I have said numerous times that everything they get away with emboldens them to push the envelope a little more each session.
Eventually they will send us all to an island and name it sex offender island. Why does every time we make progress on one rule/law or statue, something worse comes around with a new punishment and heartache/headache or pain in the ass BS legislation.
And when they do create a “sex offender island,” they’ll then complain about custering.
Also, I’d like to hear Robins’ “common sense” approach to collecting the proposed registry fee from Volusia County’s 68 dead or incarcerated registrants.
For that matter, I still don’t understand why no one is raising hell with the so-called SMART office about why Florida still keeps deceased prior offenders on its registry. We all know it’s only to keep its registry bloated to bring in more grant funds (i.e. FRAUD).
Dustin
If someone who has died cannot be removed from the registry, what hope do we who are alive have? I can see the reunion now in my head, we all finally get removed when we are in our 90s and we all get together for the celebration that we can be free for a few months before we croak.
I do know of one person who was a church friend who finally got off the registry about a year after he died. I think his family hired a lawyer to get him removed post mortem.
And again, I would argue FDLE / Florida’s state government is committing fraud because that statutes say registration is for LIFE. Meaning registration ends when the person dies. This should be a no-brainer.
And of course, Florida’s dead, incarcerated, and out-of-state registrants are considered compliant when SMART reviews Florida for “substantial compliance” regarding the federal grants given for registry maintenance. From that, I take it that the dead ones somehow re-animate, out-of-staters return, and incarcerated are released at the required intervals to update their registry information. Or there are warrants issued.
And yet, the so-called SMART office isn’t interested. Presumably, like every other government entity, their worst nightmare is coming in under budget in any given year.
Dustin
I would like to add, not only would this be a “fine” AND retroactive punishment placed on current registrants. Of course the courts will say not punitive and all part of the scheme of a normal transactional ordinance. Of course geared at only ONE specific group of people.
Eventually they will need a 10 inch thick 3 ring binder to keep up with all these add ons they keep getting away with. Judges keep saying that some of these step right on the line but then allow them.
“Common sense legislation” means he can’t justify it with facts, data, or a single study, he is appealing to his constituents “feelings” and will use this as a stepping stone to a seat in Florida house.
I would call it “common sense legislation” if he could demonstrate a dramatic increase in sex crimes committed by registrants that resided from 1000 to 1500 feet of the restricted areas.
Otherwise, I would call it what it is – grandstanding by yet another overambitious politician seeking notice and praise in an election year, most likely because the rest of the term he has served was either uneventful or ethically questionable.
(Note: I don’t live in Volusia County, and have no knowledge of Councilman Robin’s service. Comment based on several years of observation of similarly situated legislators with similar proposals)
Story by Jordan Stevenson •
4h
The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office is giving parents of trick-or-treaters some peace of mind for Halloween.
The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office is requiring registered sex offenders to report to their station on Halloween, according to a release.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/effingham-police-mandate-local-sex-offenders-report-to-sheriffs-office-on-halloween-night/ar-AA1iLXsc
PROBATION I tell ya. They keep saying it is NOT punishment but terrorist have more rights than we do it seems. (My Opinion of course for the F.A.C disclaimer)
I think though many on here agree.
Yes, it’s punishment and yes it’s an ex post facto violation AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT.
It’s up to the corrupt Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to end our torture. Problem is there is a certain type of conservatism that has been appointed to that court. So, for now, we are on our own.
It’s important to know that we are not the only group who are treated poorly. The African American, LGBTQ+ and Asian communities have been marginalized too.
We are not alone!
I read this the first time, because I am grateful to FAC for keeping me in-touch with my “Community.”
As I finished reading the article, something clicked my “911 button.”
I re-read the article. Yep! 911. Here is the sentence, a statement made by Volusia County Councilperson. “He said that registration fees are no different than fees collected for applications for building permits and vehicle tags.”
How ignorant to compare 87,000 registrants…No, nationwide, this person compares 900,000. “…no different from…building permits and vehicle tags.”
The problem here is that this person, and most of the council, doesn’t look at registrants as “people.”
@Pastor Scott
Registration fee for being a Registered offender attached to our arrests and sentencing. That is the same as probation fees which makes it punitive. All fees paid such as car tags are optional because if you don’t pay, you just cannot drive. If you do not pay the registration fees, you most likely will be arrested and sentenced for Failure to register or rules associated with it.