Sex Offender Legislation Proposed for 2017 in Florida
Weekly Update 2017-03-07
Dear Members and Advocates,
Today, March 7, 2017 marks the beginning of the legislative session in Tallahassee. The session is a 60-day period where the Florida Senate and the House of Representatives, our elected representatives in government, hear, consider and vote on Bills that were introduced.
As we expected, Lauren Book (the daughter of Lobbyist, Ron Book), who is serving her first term as a Florida Senator, introduced several bills concerning ‘sex offenders’ among the 15 bills she introduced in her first time up to bat. In fairness, some of her bills concern child safety, which we can all agree with and support. However, there is one bill which is particularly concerning. That is Senate Bill 1558, which greatly expanded the number of offenses that create a rebuttable presumption of detriment to a child if a parent or caregiver has been found guilty of. To simplify; if a parent has a child pornography offense, the Department of Children and Families can come in and remove or restrict contact between the parent and his/her child, because the Courts are now required to presume the parent is a danger to their child.
To anyone with children or contemplating a family, who has this conviction, this is a very scare proposition, because (as with most laws) it can be applied no matter how old the conviction is and no matter what rehabilitative efforts have happened since. Yesterday, we circulated a call to action on this bill, which we strongly urge you dig out of your inbox (or click here<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/call-action-sb-1558-authored-senator-lauren-book/>) and pay attention to.
Senate Joint Resolution 74 (http://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/74/BillText/Filed/PDF) authored by Senator Clemens, seeks to restore voting rights for all felons upon completion of their sentence EXCEPT sex offenders and murderers. Hmm… when will they realize that all “sex offenders” are not homogenous? On the other hand; SJR 1266 (http://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/1266/BillText/Filed/PDF) would automatically restore voting rights to all felons three years after they complete their sentence. Clearly 74 is one to strongly oppose, 1266 is one to support. How much risk is there to public safety in voting?
Another hot topic that has been discussed in the last week is the reference to “high re-offense rates” that was made by North Carolina’s attorney in his argument before the US Supreme Court last week. Seemingly, nobody noticed or responded to that tidbit of misinformation – not even the attorney for Lester Packingham. The “frightening and high” recidivism statistic is one that was comprehensively debunked in a Study by ASU Professor Ira Ellman (which can be read here<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Frightening-and-High.pdf>). This false statistic is the basis of most sex offender laws and is contained in the preamble to most sex offender ordinances. If the “facts” that serve as the foundation for these laws are proven wrong, the foundation should crumble and whatever has been built on top, should collapse with it. That’s what we’re working on!
Please remember, for those members in South Florida, next Tuesday night, one week from today, we will be co-hosting a screening of David Feige’s documentary Untouchable in Miami-Dade. If you’ve not received a copy of the invitation, please contact us at info@floridaactioncommittee.org<mailto:info@floridaactioncommittee.org>
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
SOME HEADLINES FROM THIS WEEK
Suntree Hates Sex Offenders<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/suntree-hates-sex-offender/>
iHeartRADIO’s Bill Mick had a segment this morning on the Suntree Community in Brevard County who is seeking to entirely banish Sex Offenders from its community. Here is the link where you can hear the broadcast:…
Public Crime Registries Rarely Work, So Why Do They Continue to Grow?<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/public-crime-registries-rarely-work-continue-grow/>
The following are excerpts from an article in the Pacific Standard: J.J. Prescott, a University of Michigan law professor and a trained economist, says that unraveling registries present a difficult political problem because while the upsides are intuitive to voters,…
Drone Bill Re-introduced this year<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/drone-bill-re-introduced-year/>
This year another drone bill has been introduced preventing registrants from operating drones. Search for comments on last years’ bill. http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/1122/BillText/__/PDF…
Must Watch: FAC gets mention on ABC7<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/must-watch-fac-gets-mention-abc7/>
FAC received a mention on Ft. Meyers’ ABC 7 on the below story about sex offenders’ use of social media. Click on the link below to watch….