CALL TO ACTION #2 FOR SB 1230 AND HB 1235

For the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice (SB 1230) and the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee (HB 1235)

 

Even though SB 1230 and HB 1235 have passed favorably in each of their first committees, we learned from last year that now is not the time to give up.  Our FAC legislative chair has been spending days in Tallahassee speaking to our legislators.  Even though there has been no debate so far and no amendments filed that would help us, she is being told by aides and certain legislators that we are being heard through our emails, calls, and our legislative chair’s many visits to their offices.  We are finding that our stories are very impactful in addition to sharing research.  Legislators need to know how the changes presented in these bills will impact us and our families.

NOW IS THE TIME TO CONTINUE CONTACTING THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AT EACH COMMITTEE STOP.  More than one contact, especially to your Florida senator or representative, is just fine.  Call or write daily.  You can provide another example of how you or a family member, or friend would be impacted by these changes, or ask them if the legislator is in favor and why?  If you cannot think of an example, use one from a source, such as Emily Horowitz’s book, Rage to Reason.

Legislators should be guiding FDLE; FDLE does not guide the legislators as the legislators serve you, their constituents.  FDLE wrote these changes and requested these changes.  Let us make sure the legislators know how you or others would be impacted if they pass these proposed changes.

At this time, we ask that you make your contacts to the committee member in the next two committee-member stops.  Contact information is given at the end of this Call to Action.  Keep copies of your emails or notes on your phone calls to be used for future committee contacts.

 

What you need to know about SB 1230 and HB 1235:

 

• SB 1230 and HB 1235 are identical bills where our legislators are attempting to amend the Sexual Predators Act (FS 775.21) and the Sexual Offenders Act (943.0435).

 

• The sponsor of SB 1230 is Senator Jennifer Bradley, representing District 6 (Columbia, Baker, Union, Bradford, Clay, Gilchrist, and Northern Alachua Counties).  The sponsor of HB 1235 is Representative Jessica Baker, representing District 17 (part of Duval County).

 

• The verbiage “a day includes any part of a calendar day” is back in these bills.  “For the purpose of calculating a temporary residence under this paragraph, the first day that a person abides, lodges, or resides at a place is excluded and each subsequent day is counted.  A DAY INCLUDES ANY PART OF A CALENDAR DAY.”

 

• ANY duration of travel outside the USA is reportable (previously 5 days or more).  The line “5 days” has been struck out.

 

• Lines 1034-1036 and 1600-1602 in SB 1230 and lines 1034-1036 and 1601-1603 in HB 1235 state that EACH instance of a failure to register or report changes of the required information constitutes a SEPARATE offense.  A single misstep carries a maximum sentence of 5 years.  Someone on the registry could be facing decades in prison for one unintentional, paperwork violation, as it would be unreported each time you register. 

 

• This entire bill is retroactive in the sense that they will apply to all people on the registry regardless of when they were convicted.  However, they are not retroactive in the sense that someone who did NOT register 4 cars a month before the law passed (if it passes) could be charged with 4 separate offenses.  That part would only apply to registration violations committed after the bill’s effective date.

 

• Finally, because of the vagueness of lines 1731-1735 in SB 1230 and lines 1733-1737 in HB 1235, we are concerned how this part of the bill might be interpreted by courts.  In particular, the following new language has been added: “To qualify for removal of the registration requirements under this paragraph, a sexual offender described in sub-subparagraph (1) (h) 1.b. must establish that his or her designation has been removed and establish that he or she does not meet the criteria for registration under any other sub-subparagraph under subparagraph (1) (h) 1.”  Those subparagraphs enumerate all offenses which placed people on the registry in the first place; therefore, no person could be removed from the registry since their offense would be listed in sub-subparagraph (1) (h) 1.b.  Does this mean there is no relief?  How would the courts interpret this statement?  We do not have the answers. 

 

Please do the following:

 

• Email or call members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice (for SB 1230) and members of the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee (for HB 1235).

 

• You will need to give your name.

 

• If you are a constituent of the legislator you are contacting, make sure you mention that you are.  You can click on these links to find your senator and representative.

 

• Let the legislators know the reasons why you OPPOSE a particular part of these bills.  Tell them what could happen to you and your family if these bills are not amended.  TELL YOUR STORY.

 

• If you call in the evening or on a weekend, voicemail will pick up.  Leave a message.  Aides say that voicemails are counted.

 

• Always be cordial in your communications with the legislators as they are more likely to listen to us.

 

Talking points:

 

The legislators are asking that we let them know how SB 1230 and HB 1235 will impact our lives.  TELL YOUR STORIES.  If you do not have a story to tell, then give a hypothetical story that could happen to you if the above-mentioned concerns we have with these bills are NOT removed.  More than one story would be great to share.

 

We also need for family members, friends, or anyone who would be negatively impacted by the changes being proposed in these bills to tell our legislators what will happen to them if the language is not removed from SB 1230 and HB 1235.

 

Do not try to use every suggestion or piece of information given in this Call to Action.  Pick out what is most important to you.  If you have time to write more than one email or make more than one call, then you could include additional information.

 

PERTAINING TO THE DEFINITION OF A DAY:

 

• If a day includes any part of a calendar day, then a “day” can be a period of one hour or maybe even one minute, as these periods of time are “part of a calendar day.”  This new definition would apply to temporary residences where you “abide, lodge, or reside.”

 

• One possible scenario: You are in your sister’s wedding which involves being at a temporary residence for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.  Since Friday is the first day, it would not count, but you would technically have to leave by 12:00 am (midnight) on Sunday as any part of Monday would count as a “day.”  What if your flight is canceled?  Use other scenarios that you can think of that would apply to your life if this part of these bills is not amended.  TELL YOUR STORY.

 

• What do you do if it is a 3-day holiday weekend and your registration office is not open?  And you have a family emergency come up?  TELL YOUR STORY.  If you do not have one, then describe hypothetically how such a situation could be disastrous for you.  Include family members’ stories.

 

• If Florida legislators want people on the registry to remain compliant, then change the word “day” to “business day.”  In lines 571-575 of SB 1230 and HB 1235, “If the sexual predator is in the custody of a local jail, the custodian of the local jail shall register the sexual predator within 3 BUSINESS DAYS after intake of the sexual predator…”  If the custodian of a jail is given 3 business days, then why aren’t people on the registry, who are trying to remain compliant, also given 3 business days?  TELL YOUR STORY OF WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU OR A FAMILY MEMBER WHO COULD NOT RE-REGISTER OR REGISTER A CHANGE BECAUSE THE OFFICE WAS CLOSED.

 

PERTAINING TO HAVING EACH INCIDENCE OF FAILURE TO REGISTER OR REPORT CHANGES COUNTING AS A SEPARATE OFFENSE:

 

• These are paperwork felonies with each separate one coming with a maximum of 5 years in prison.

 

• One possible scenario: Your wife receives a new license plate with her renewed car registration and forgets to tell you.  You re-register 3 times, not knowing that her car has a new license plate.  Law enforcement comes to your home and sees the license plate that you have not registered at any of your 3 previous re-registrations.  You have now committed 3 paperwork felonies that could land you in prison for 15 years.  TELL YOUR OWN STORY ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU OR COULD HAPPEN TO YOU IN THE FUTURE IF THIS LANGUAGE STAYS IN THESE BILLS.

 

• Other benign violations that could land someone on the registry in prison for years if there is more than one occurrence:

 

• Failure to maintain a driver’s license or identification card
• Failure to provide an email address or an internet identifier
• Failure to provide a phone number

• If the wording “each incident is counted as a separate offense” remains in these bills, some people on the registry who are not sexually re-offending will end up with longer prison sentences than that for some non-sexual, violent offenders.  How is sending people on the registry to prison for years for these paperwork felonies making society safer?

 

PERTAINING TO THE POSSIBILITY OF A COURT INTERPRETING LINES 1733-1737 IN SB 1230 AND HB 1235 AS SAYING THAT NO ONE CAN BE REMOVED FROM THE REGISTRY IN FLORIDA DURING THEIR LIFETIME:

 

• The following new language has been added: “To qualify for removal of the registration requirements under this paragraph, a sexual offender described in sub-subparagraph (1) (h) 1.b. must establish that his or her designation has been removed and establish that he or she does not meet the criteria for registration under any other sub-subparagraph under subparagraph (1) (h) 1.”  Subparagraph (1)(h) 1. enumerates all offenses which placed people on the registry in the first place, meaning you cannot be removed from the registry because your offense will be listed in “any other sub-paragraph under subparagraph (1)(h) 1.”  Does this mean there is no relief possible in the courts?  We would have to see how this plays out in the courts.

 

• For our members who do not understand the first-bullet paragraph above this one, then you could copy and paste.  Those people who do understand it, though, please add information in your own words.  TELL YOUR STORY if you have one.  For those of you who are only a few years away from being able to petition for removal from the registry, describe what will happen to you and your family if courts in Florida will no longer allow for such removal because of the wording in these bills.

 

Contact information for members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice for SB 1230:

 

1.  Senator Jennifer Bradley (R) Chair:  bradley.jennifer.web@flsenate.gov;  (850) 487-5006

 

1.  Senator Bobby Powell (E) Vice Chair:  powell.bobby.web@flsenate.gov; (850) 487-5024

 

1.  Senator Dennis Baxley (R):  baxley.dennis.web@flsenate.gov;  (850) 487-5013                            

 

1.  Senator Danny Burgess (R):  burgess.danny.web@flsenate.gov;  (850) 487-5023

 

1.  Senator Ed Hooper (R):  hooper.ed.web@flsenate.gov;  (850) 487-5021

 

1.  Senator Jonathan Martin (R):  martin.jonathan.web@flsenate.gov;  (850) 487-5033

 

1.  Senator Jason W. B. Pizzo (D):  pizzo.jason.web@flsenate.gov;  (850) 487-5037

 

1.  Senator Darryl Ervin Rouson (D):  rouson.darryl.web@flsenate.gov;  (850) 487-5016

 

1.  Senator Victor M. Torres, Jr. (D):  torres.victor.web@flsenate.gov;  (850) 487-5025

 

1. Senator Clay Yarborough (R):  yarborough.clay.web@flsenate.gov;  (850) 487-5004

 

bradley.jennifer.web@flsenate.gov; powell.bobby.web@flsenate.gov; baxley.dennis.web@flsenate.gov; burgess.danny.web@flsenate.gov; hooper.ed.web@flsenate.gov; martin.jonathan.web@flsenate.gov; pizzo.jason.web@flsenate.gov; rouson.darryl.web@flsenate.gov; torres.victor.web@flsenate.gov; yarborough.clay.web@flsenate.gov

 

Contact information for members of the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee for HB 1235:

 

1.  Representative Chuck Brannan (R) Chair:  Chuck.Brannan@myfloridahouse.gov;  850-717-5010

 

1.  Representative David Smith (R) Vice Chair:  David.Smith@myfloridahouse.gov;  (850) 717-5038

 

1.  Representative Susan Valdes (D) Democratic Ranking Member:  Susan.Valdes@myfloridahouse.gov;  (850) 717-5064

 

1.  Representative Mike Beltran (R):  Mike.Beltran@myfloridahouse.gov;  (850) 717-5070

 

1.  Representative LaVon Bracy Davis (D):  LaVon.BracyDavis@myfloridahouse.gov; 850-717-5040

 

1.  Representative Daryl Campbell (D):  Daryl.Campbell@myfloridahouse.gov;  (850) 717-5099

 

1.  Representative Wyman Duggan (R):  Wyman.Duggan@myfloridahouse.gov;  (850) 717-5012

 

1.  Representative Tom Fabricio (R):  Tom.Fabricio@myfloridahouse.gov;  (850) 717-5110

 

1.  Representative Mike Gottlieb (D):  Michael.Gottlieb@myfloridahouse.gov;  850-717-5102

 

1. Representative Berny Jacques (R):  Berny.Jacques@myfloridahouse.gov;   850-717-5059

 

1. Representative Mike Redondo (R):  Mike.Redondo@myfloridahouse.gov;  (850) 717-5118

 

1. Representative Tyler Sirois (R):  Tyler.Sirois@myfloridahouse.gov;  (850) 717-5031

 

1. Representative John Snyder (R):  John.Snyder@myfloridahouse.gov;  (850) 717-5086

 

1. Representative Paula Stark (R):  Paula.Stark@myfloridahouse.gov; 850-717-5047

 

1. Representative Katherine Waldron (D):  Katherine.Waldron@myfloridahouse.gov;  (850) 717-5093

 

Chuck.Brannan@myfloridahouse.gov; David.Smith@myfloridahouse.gov; Susan.Valdes@myfloridahouse.gov; Mike.Beltran@myfloridahouse.gov; LaVon.BracyDavis@myfloridahouse.gov; Daryl.Campbell@myfloridahouse.gov; Wyman.Duggan@myfloridahouse.gov; Tom.Fabricio@myfloridahouse.gov; Michael.Gottlieb@myfloridahouse.gov; Berny.Jacques@myfloridahouse.gov; Mike.Redondo@myfloridahouse.gov; Tyler.Sirois@myfloridahouse.gov; John.Snyder@myfloridahouse.gov; Paula.Stark@myfloridahouse.gov; Katherine.Waldron@myfloridahouse.gov