TALLAHASSEE, FL – Yesterday, Florida’s House and Employment Committee advanced HB 1471, a dangerous bill that poses a serious threat to Floridians’ constitutional rights, including the freedoms of speech and belief, freedom of association, and due process.
Under HB 1471, a small number of government officials could claim sweeping authority to “designate” groups – including nonprofits operating for religious, charitable, and social justice purposes – as “domestic terrorists” without notice, clear standards, independent and meaningful oversight, or basic due process. The bill’s vague and overbroad language opens the door to arbitrary enforcement and political targeting. The bill also purports to expand criminal liability and civil penalties for individuals employed by, associating with, or “promoting” designated groups. No matter where Floridian civil society organizations and activists might fall across the ideological spectrum, nonpartisan to partisan, religious or not, everyone’s rights could be at risk.
Bacardi Jackson, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida, shared the following statement:
“HB 1471 is a dangerous expansion of government power that threatens all of our fundamental civil liberties. Officials could use this legislation to go after groups in Florida with the consequential, stigmatizing designation of ‘domestic terrorist’ without clear standards or adequate due process protections. That is a recipe for injustice.
“We have already seen how baseless characterizations can be used to justify government abuse. The Trump Administration has repeatedly claimed its critics are ‘domestic terrorists,’ including after federal agents shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti. If this bill were passed, it would provide state officials yet another tool to target people and organizations they don’t like – further endangering our fundamental rights.
“This bill is simply unnecessary because Florida already has all the tools it needs to investigate and prosecute any actual criminal wrongdoing. If passed, the bill’s vague and overbroad language could easily be weaponized in bad faith against nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, students, and everyday Floridians engaged in First Amendment-protected activities. At a time of widespread anti-Muslim discrimination and antisemitism, Floridians’ freedoms of belief, speech, and association are particularly at risk.
“History shows us that sweeping ‘security’ laws like this are used to target disfavored communities, political dissidents, and movements for social change. Florida’s own history is full of examples – from the Johns Committee of the 1950s that labeled activists, civil rights groups, and academics as communists and subversives to the more recent legislation pushed by Governor DeSantis in the wake of George Floyd’s murder that empowered him to encourage drivers to run over protestors. Public safety is built by investing in our communities, not by silencing or criminalizing them.
“We continue to demand a Florida where people are safe in their neighborhoods, and free to debate and disagree with government policies that harm them. And we stand with Floridians against government retaliation or unfair and political targeting.”
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