Florida Action Committee (FAC)

Boynton Beach, FL – November 21, 2025 – The Florida Action Committee (FAC) announced its firm opposition to House Bill 45 and Senate Bill 212, warning that the legislation will dramatically worsen homelessness among people required to register as sex offenders and dramatically undermine public safety. FAC notes that according to the 2024 Triennial Review by the Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability (OPPAGA), approximately 31% of sex offenders in Miami-Dade County and 34% in Broward County are already homeless. HB 45 and SB 212 will only explode those numbers by further shrinking legal housing options, destabilizing families, and driving people into transience rather than promoting supervised stability.

FAC warns that these bills, despite their emotionally charged framing, are unsupported by scientific evidence, constitutionally vulnerable, and likely to make communities less safe rather than more. The bill would expand areas where registrants are banned from living by extending 1,000-foot restrictions around broad categories of locations, effectively banishing individuals from huge portions of the state. These exclusion zones would apply to Florida’s 8,426 miles of shoreline along both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, more than 7,700 lakes that are 10 acres or larger (including Lake Okeechobee, which alone encompasses roughly 448,000 acres), over 30,000 additional lakes and ponds, and hundreds of thousands of swimming pools across residential communities. The cumulative impact would render approximately 80% of Florida’s habitable land area off limits to people required to register, turning vast portions of the state into legal “no-live zones” and making lawful housing nearly impossible in many urban and coastal areas. “Research has shown that residency restrictions are failed policy,” said Chris Sparks, FAC President, “restricting where people sleep at night, when these landmarks are closed to children, is nonsensical.”

FAC emphasized that undermining public safety is not a theoretical concern, but a predictable outcome supported by existing data. OPPAGA’s 2024 review recognized that residency restrictions contribute to homelessness and instability among registrants by severely limiting legal housing supply, particularly in densely populated counties where services and employment are concentrated. FAC has previously provided research and data on these impacts directly to the bill’s sponsor, Representative Plakon (R-District 36), but those materials have been ignored in favor of politically driven fear narratives rather than evidence-based policymaking.

“Miami-Dade and Broward already show us the future of where this legislation leads — growing homelessness, instability, and reduced public safety,” Sparks, stated. “Instead of addressing the real causes of recidivism and risk, these bills impose broad, lifetime geographic banishment. That doesn’t make communities safer. It destabilizes them, threatening the safety of our children”.

FAC is urging Florida lawmakers and the public to reject HB 45 and SB 212. The organization stands ready to work with policymakers to craft alternatives that protect communities without undermining them.

About the Florida Action Committee

 The Florida Action Committee is a 3000+ member nonprofit advocacy organization committed to promoting rational, evidence-based, and constitutional policies related to Florida’s sex offense registry laws. FAC works with families, professionals, lawmakers, and media to encourage reforms that protect public safety while preserving fundamental rights and community stability.

Date Posted: November 21, 2025