House Maps Plan for Committee Meetings
8/28
©2021 The News Service of Florida. All rights reserved; see terms.
The Florida House will largely pack committee and subcommittee meetings into three days when it returns to Tallahassee for a second round of meetings in advance of the 2022 legislative session. The House posted online a tentative schedule for meetings from Oct. 11 to Oct. 15. The House Public Integrity & Elections Committee and the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee are slated to meet Oct. 11, with more than 30 potential meetings spread over the following three days. Among those scheduled meetings is an Oct. 12 gathering of the House Redistricting Committee. The Senate last week also posted a tentative schedule showing meetings from Oct. 11 to Oct. 15. The House and Senate held a first round of committee meetings last week. In all, lawmakers are expected to hold six weeks of committee meetings to prepare for the 2022 session, which will start Jan. 11.
Senate Sets Four Days of Meetings
©2021 The News Service of Florida. All rights reserved; see terms.
After finishing its first set of committee meetings this week, the Senate plans to hold four days of meetings when it returns to Tallahassee during the week of Oct. 11. Committees and subcommittees will meet from Oct. 11 to Oct. 14, according to a tentative schedule posted online. The schedule includes time set aside Oct. 14 for an Appropriations Committee meeting. In all, lawmakers are expected to hold six weeks of committee meetings to prepare for the 2022 legislative session, which will start Jan. 11. As of Friday morning, the House had not posted a tentative schedule for the week of Oct. 11.
Senator Targets Confederate Holidays
Sep 17, 2021
©2021 The News Service of Florida. All rights reserved; see terms.
A proposal that would end legal holidays marking the birthdays of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, along with Confederate Memorial Day, has been revived in the Florida Senate. The measure (SB 250), filed Friday by Senate Minority Leader Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, would also do away with statutory protections for Confederate flags and emblems. State law makes it unlawful for people and companies to sell or advertise merchandise that includes either Florida’s state flag or emblem or any of the flags or emblems used by the Confederate States. Included in the ban are the flags and emblems used by the “military or naval forces of the Confederate States at any time within the years 1860 to 1865.” The law notes that Confederate flags and other items can be used for “decorative or patriotic purposes.” Lee’s birthday, Jan. 19, and Confederate Memorial Day, April 26, have been legal holidays in Florida since 1895. Davis’ June 3 birthday was added in 1905. The three Confederate holidays are not paid holidays for public employees in the Sunshine State, however. Florida is one of five states that have kept Confederate Memorial Day a legal holiday. Book filed the proposal for consideration during the 2022 legislative session, which will begin Jan. 11. In past sessions, similar proposals have drawn objections from people who argued the changes would erase Southern history.
Sept 17
Motorists would have to put down their cellphones when moving over for law enforcement and other vehicles stopped on the side of the road, under a measure filed Friday to expand Florida's “Move Over” law and the state's ban on texting while driving. The proposal (HB 127) by Rep. Emily Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, would prohibit the use of handheld wireless devices while operating a motor vehicle where first responders are actively working. “The side of the road is one of the most dangerous places for first responders because of distracted drivers,” Slosberg said in a release. “I believe we can provide another level of protection for the men and women who put their lives on the line for us every day.” Slosberg, who just over 25 years ago was seriously injured as a passenger in a crash that killed her twin sister, has focused heavily on traffic-safety issues since her election to the Florida House in 2016. State lawmakers in 2019 made texting while driving a “primary” offense, which allows law enforcement officers to pull over motorists for texting while behind the wheel. The change also required motorists to go hands-free on wireless devices in school and work zones. The Move Over law requires motorists to move into a lane --- when possible and can be done safely --- or to slow to a speed 20 mph less than the posted speed limit when approaching stopped law enforcement, emergency, sanitation, utility service vehicles and tow trucks
Latest News
SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 2021
FEDERAL BENEFITS END: Florida on June 26 will stop providing $300 a week in federal unemployment assistance to jobless people on top of the maximum $275 a week provided by the state. The decision, part of an effort to push people back into the workforce, follows the reimplementation this month of a “work search” rule that requires unemployment claimants to apply for five jobs a week.
COURT TAKES AIM AT CONCEALED-WEAPONS LICENSING
June 17, 2021 Jim Saunders
© 2021 The News Service of Florida. All rights reserved; see terms.
TALLAHASSEE --- In a case that could have far-reaching implications, a state appeals court this week ruled that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services improperly denied a concealed-weapons license for a man who said his civil rights were restored after a 1969 conviction in Illinois.
The 1st District Court of Appeal said the department, which handles licensing, should not have relied only on a check of a federal database known as the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, of NICS. A check of that system flagged the man’s decades-old felony conviction on a charge of stealing an eight-track tape player, leading to the department denying a license.
The man, identified in Wednesday’s ruling only by the initials R.C., contended that his rights were restored in 1971 and that he had obtained a concealed-weapons license in Illinois before moving to Florida. The appeals court said the department should have gone beyond the information in the NICS check and held a formal hearing to consider evidence about whether he should receive a license in Florida.
“A felon flagged in NICS may be prohibited from possessing or purchasing a firearm --- most probably are,” said the 11-page majority opinion, written by Judge Robert Long and joined fully by 11 other judges on the Tallahassee-based appeals court. “But a NICS result is only a starting point in the inquiry into an applicant’s eligibility. It is not the NICS result that is a prohibition on possession or purchase of a firearm. Rather, it is the conviction without a restoration of rights. The NICS result may be a sign that points toward prohibition, but it is not prohibition itself.”
Judges Brad Thomas and Thomas Winokur wrote concurring opinions, with Thomas saying the department’s actions “constituted an egregious abuse of administrative power.”
“The department must grant appellant (R.C.) a formal administrative hearing, where it will be the department’s burden to come forward with a preponderance of evidence that appellant is not entitled to receive the license to carry a concealed firearm for self-defense,” Thomas wrote. “If the department is unable to meet its burden, it must issue the license to appellant.”
But Judge Susan Kelsey wrote a sharply worded 28-page dissent that said the department does not have authority under state law to go beyond a process that involves working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which has access to the federal database.
Kelsey wrote that the court majority “has substituted its view of how the process should work in place of the Legislature’s clear and unambiguous statutory process.”
“In the face of the Florida Legislature’s choice and mandate for use of a specified, detailed, clear, and unambiguous statutory scheme, the majority nevertheless creates a new, expanded system for processing applications for Florida concealed-carry licenses outside the statutory process,” wrote Kelsey, whose dissent was joined fully by Judge Ross Bilbrey and partly by Judge Scott Makar.
Makar, who concurred in part with the majority and dissented in part, wrote that the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services does not have legal authority to determine if the NICS records are accurate or whether the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and federal officials correctly conducted records reviews. He also pointed to a process in which people can seek to have NICS records corrected if their rights are restored.
“Chaos would likely ensue if the department is permitted to issue orders adjudging that an applicant who is NICS ineligible is nonetheless entitled to possess a firearm and a (concealed- weapons license),” Makar wrote. “Who’s to be believed? FDLE, the top Florida criminal justice agency with the exclusive authority to access and correct the NICS database? Or the department, which lacks any such authority and isn’t even a criminal justice agency? What are criminal justice agencies and law enforcement officers to do when the NICS database says an individual is NICS ineligible but they are handed a final order from the department saying he is eligible? Unwarranted confusion will result and an adverse impact on public safety is likely, as both FDLE and the department warn.”
But in an email Wednesday night, the group Florida Carry, which has represented R.C., called the decision a “massive win for gun owners.”
Eric Friday, an attorney for the group, said the ruling is the first time that a court has ruled that the burden of proof is on the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to demonstrate that an applicant is ineligible for a concealed-weapons license.
“In the past, the department has allowed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to say who’s eligible and who’s not,” Friday said in a prepared statement. “But according to (Wednesday’s) order, now the department has to have documentary evidence. This is the culmination of eight years of work.”
As of May 31, Florida had about 2.394 million concealed-weapons license holders, according to information posted on the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ website.
BY THE NUMBERS: CONCEALED WEAPONS LICENSES
June 18, 2021 NSF Staff
© 2021 The News Service of Florida. All rights reserved; see terms.
As of May 31, Florida had nearly 2.4 million concealed-weapon license holders. Here are the counties with the most license holders:
--- Miami-Dade: 176,770
--- Broward: 160,037
--- Palm Beach: 129,553
--- Hillsborough: 127,747
--- Orange: 105,163
--- Duval: 104,461
--- Pinellas: 87,498
--- Lee: 82,090
--- Brevard: 80,410
--- Polk: 74,525
--- Volusia: 68,714
--- Pasco: 64,061
--- Lake: 57,707
--- Marion: 51,004
Source: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
--
Darrin "Scribe" Brooks
State Vice President
State Legislative Trustee,
ABATE of Florida, Inc.
Hey Everyone,
SB 278 Traffic Offenses has been assigned it's committee road map.
The first committee is Regulated Industries (RI)
Chair: Senator Travis Hutson (R)
Vice Chair: Senator Lauren Book (D)
Senator Ben Albritton (R)
Senator Joe Gruters (R)
Senator Ed Hooper (R)
Senator Kathleen Passidomo (R)
Senator Ray Wesley Rodrigues (R)
Senator Darryl Ervin Rouson (D)
Senator Linda Stewart (D)
The second committee is the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development (ATD)
Chair: Senator George B. Gainer (R)
Vice Chair: Senator Ed Hooper (R)
Senator Loranne Ausley (D)
Senator Jim Boyd (R)
Senator Janet Cruz (D)
Senator Ileana Garcia (R)
Senator Audrey Gibson (D)
Senator Debbie Mayfield (R)
Senator Keith Perry (R)
Senator Annette Taddeo (D)
Senator Tom A. Wright (R)
The Third and last committee is Appropriations (AP)
Chair: Senator Kelli Stargel (R)
Vice Chair: Senator Aaron Bean (R)
Senator Ben Albritton (R)
Senator Lauren Book (D)
Senator Randolph Bracy (D)
Senator Jeff Brandes (R)
Senator Doug Broxson (R)
Senator Manny Diaz, Jr. (R)
Senator Gary M. Farmer, Jr. (D)
Senator George B. Gainer (R)
Senator Audrey Gibson (D)
Senator Ed Hooper (R)
Senator Travis Hutson (R)
Senator Debbie Mayfield (R)
Senator Kathleen Passidomo (R)
Senator Keith Perry (R)
Senator Jason W. B. Pizzo (D)
Senator Bobby Powell (D)
Senator Darryl Ervin Rouson (D)
Senator Linda Stewart (D)
If any of these Senators is your Senator or if they are in your Chapter area, please start to contact them now and let them know that you would like their support of SB 278
I will have more information about how to contact them soon.
--
Darrin "Scribe" Brooks
State Vice President
State Legislative Trustee,
ABATE of Florida, Inc.
Stay aware of bills that might effect you
For general information
This site is constantly being edited with information supplied by ABATE of Florida, Inc., its Legislative Trustee, and its Lobbyist. This site's purpose is to keep motorcyclists informed of the legal issues in Florida and Federal issues that effect Florida. Every effort is made to include information that is related to ABATE of Florida, Inc., it's mission, and it's cause.
The information presented here is the
Official Legislative Information Center for ABATE of Florida, Inc
Did you know
The cost of live saving education
Did you know that each year when you register your motorcycle, you pay a mandatory fee that goes into a “Trust Fund” to be used specifically for motorcycle safety awareness programs? That is the absolute truth. The State of Florida cares so much about us that they are setting aside some of OUR OWN money to help keep us safe. Well…. Kinda, they have included a loophole in their own law that allows for whatever money they do not spend on motorcycle safety and awareness, can actually go back into the FDOT’s (Florida Department of Transportation) general budget. The money brought in from this mandatory fee is somewhere between $1.5 and $2.7 million depending on the number of motorcycle registrations. The last numbers that I could find for 2012 show 1.1 million motorcycle endorsements and 619,152 motorcycle registrations. The budgeted money comes from the $2.50 motorcycle registration fee that ONLY motorcycle owners pay. That fee goes into the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund (Florida Statute 320.08) to be implemented for motorcycle safety awareness programs (Florida Statute 322.025). Below is an excerpt for the law The proceeds of such additional fee shall be deposited in the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund to fund a motorcycle driver improvement program implemented pursuant to s. 322.025, the Florida Motorcycle Safety Education Program established in s. 322.0255, or the general operations of the department. The past several years, ABATE of Florida, Inc. has requested that a small portion of the money be budgeted for ABATE to use to teach motorcycle safety awareness all across the state. ABATE of Florida, Inc. is a grassroots volunteer organization and that 100% of the money goes towards promoting motorcycle safety awareness all across the State of Florida. We have an outside auditor verify that all the money goes towards educating the public about motorcycle awareness. The money is used to raise the awareness of motorcycles to the driving public all across Florida. Most likely you have seen the yellow and black “Check Twice For Motorcycles” signs on the back of cars and trucks. We also go into the high schools and speak to the students who are just getting their drivers license to be aware of motorcycles out on the road however, the most effective method is to set up booths at community events and speak one on one to the people. Since ABATE of Florida, Inc. is a volunteer organization every cent goes directly to educating the public about motorcycle awareness. When the FDOT sets up a booth at an event, they have to pay the person to be there, pay for their travel, hotel, meals, etc. All those expenses come out of the money set aside for motorcycle safety education. ABATE knows that we can spend the money more effectively and get a much bigger bang for the buck. The budgeted money comes from Florida motorcyclists, to be used by Florida Motorcyclists, to save the lives of all motorcyclists in Florida. Who is better at effectively teaching Motorcycle Safety Awareness, a motorcyclist that actually rides or a person who sits behind a desk and has never ridden a motorcycle? Last year the legislature voted to budget $150,000 to ABATE of Florida, Inc. The bad news is that two of the last three years Gov. Rick Scott has line item vetoed the budgeted amount. The third time it was removed after it was voted on and approved by both the House and the Senate. Never is a reason given why the motorcyclists' money is taken away and not allowed to be used effectively to save lives. The good news is that bikers are persistent and we will continue to ask for what turns out to be just 10 to 15% of the total money raised by the fee. ABATE of Florida, Inc. believes that even one death is too many! We have all buried too many brothers and sisters to not continue to fight for motorcycle safety awareness. So what is the cost of life saving education? Florida says it is $2.50 of your money, however, they don't want to part with any of it.
Darrin “Scribe” Brooks
ABATE of Florida, Inc.
State Vice President
State Legislative Trustee
