ACLU of Florida Warns House Advancement of the Guilt by Designation Bill Threatens Constitutional Safeguards

TALLAHASSEE, FL — The Florida House today advanced HB 1471, a sweeping proposal that would create a state-level domestic terrorist designation system and significantly expand executive authority to label organizations and individuals as security threats.

HB 1471 authorizes the Chief of Domestic Security within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to designate organizations as “domestic terrorist organizations,” triggering the potential for heightened criminal penalties under expanded material support statutes. Once designated, individuals could face felony exposure for certain forms of association or involvement, and state agencies and local entities would be prohibited from providing funding or support to those organizations.

The bill also imposes sweeping consequences on those attending Florida’s public colleges and universities. Students determined to have “promoted” a designated organization would face immediate expulsion, loss of in-state tuition classification, and revocation of financial aid eligibility. The bill does not clearly define what constitutes “promotion,” raising serious concerns about arbitrary enforcement and the chilling of protected speech.

Companion legislation would create public records exemptions shielding key evidence and deliberations underlying designation decisions from public scrutiny, severely limiting transparency and public accountability in the process.

Bacardi Jackson, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida, shared the following statement:

“Florida already has more than enough tools to prosecute violence and criminal activity. What lawmakers passed today is something fundamentally different – a state-level designation system that seeks to grant the government authority to label organizations as ‘domestic terrorists’ and expose them to sweeping penalties under vague and expansive standards, without constitutional safeguards and adequate due process.

 

“The First Amendment protects the right to speak, to organize, and to challenge those in power. When the government gives itself authority to designate groups and penalize people based on loosely defined concepts like ‘promotion’ or association, it risks chilling lawful advocacy and civic participation across this state.

 

“History shows us that laws enacted in the name of security are too often applied in ways that suppress dissent and disproportionately impact Black, brown, Muslim, immigrant, and politically marginalized communities. Once broad designation authority is paired with secrecy provisions and limited judicial guardrails, the risk of misuse is magnified.

 

“This bill also threatens academic freedom and campus expression. Students could be expelled and stripped of financial aid for exercising their First Amendment rights, based on undefined standards that invite uneven enforcement. That is not how due process works.

 

“Public safety must remain aligned with constitutional structure. Expanding executive power without enforceable safeguards does not make Floridians safer – it weakens the very freedoms that define us.

 

“There is still time for the Senate to reject this dangerous proposal. Floridians across the political spectrum should be deeply concerned whenever the state claims the power to label its critics as terrorists. Democracy requires accountability, transparency, and constitutional guardrails – not unchecked designation authority.

 

“We urge the Florida Senate to reject HB 1471/SB 1632, and to ensure that any public safety legislation remains firmly grounded in First Amendment protections, due process, and meaningful transparency.”