A measure to establish a 300-foot “circle of safety” around children wherever they gather passed a House committee unanimously Monday despite concerns that it may force sexual predators to become homeless and an even greater risk to the public. Acknowledging the transcience issue, bill sponsor Rep. Rich Glorioso (R-Plant City) nonetheless urged the House Military Affairs Committee to approve HB 119, which would prevent convicted sexual predators from loitering within 300 feet of children, whenever and wherever kids gather.
Facing opposition from the city of Miami and others, Glorioso had earlier agreed to drop a provision that would nullify some local ordinances that now require predators to live at least 2,500 feet from a school, daycare, playground or other place where kids typically gather.
The state standard is 1,000 feet. The ordinance in Miami contributed to the construction of a shanty town beneath the Julia Tuttle Causeway, where transient sexual predators lived. A representative from the ACLU raised concerns that the bill maintains an existing “patchwork” of local ordinances to force many predators to the streets but stopped short of opposing the bill. A Senate companion bill is in the works but has yet to be filed. Sen. Victor Crist (R-Tampa) is the anticipated sponsor.
Getting tougher on local conduct
Citing recent scandals in Palm Beach and Broward counties, the House Military and Local Affairs Committee on Monday approved a measure that would increase maximum penalties to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine for local officials who violate public disclosure or conduct ordinances. Without debate, the panel unanimously approved HB 1301, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, which would allow local commissions to heighten penalties for conduct violations. Florida law now limits such sanctions to a $500 fine or 60 days in jail. “We’re hoping that toughening the penalty will be a deterrent for future public officials,” Rader said.
Atwater not predicting future of tenure bill
Senate President Jeff Atwater told the News Service Monday that he can’t predict at this point whether a controversial teacher merit pay bill will pass the Legislature. Sen. John Thrasher (R-St. Augustine) is sponsoring the proposal (SB 6), which would pay teachers at least partially based on student test scores.
The state’s teacher’s union is fervently opposed to the measure and argues that it will be more difficult to get teachers into high risk schools. Atwater said he can’t predict if the measure will pass, but he said he at least wants “the senators to have this conversation.... It’s about how do you get to the common ground there,” he said. “So I think this session, I think probably for the first in years we’re actually going to have a serious debate on, Have we found the right place, who all should be sitting down and conversing about what the standards will be, who will measure them. Should there be an end-of-year exam, should they be over a number of years able to make that conclusion as to someone’s capacity and skill set in the classroom before making that measurement.”
The proposal has already passed the Education Pre-K-12 Committee and is now in Senate Ways and Means.
Property tax protections advance in House
Following up on a 2008 Constitutional amendment aimed at promoting renewable energy upgrades and hurricane prevention, a House panel Monday approved a measure to prevent appraisers from including such upgrades in a home’s assessed value.