Florida lawmakers are advancing a bill that would create a state process to designate certain groups as domestic terrorist organizations.
It’s a proposal, SB 1632, supporters say is about public safety.
“Our government needs to be able to respond to that for the safety of all of our citizens,” said Sen. Erin Grall, R-Fort Pierce. “We are talking about extreme violence. We're talking about organizations that recruit for the purpose of growing the criminal organization.”
But critics accuse the bill of being unconstitutional and worry it’ll be used against groups the state disagrees with.
“It violates core constitutional principles,” said Jonathan Webber, the Southern Poverty Law Center's Florida policy director. “The legislation allows an organization to be branded a domestic terrorist organization without any prior criminal conviction of the group, its leaders or its members. That is punishment before due process."
There’s also concern about how transparent the state would be in how it decides which groups to label — and whether the process could disproportionately target Muslim-led organizations.
Still, the Senate bill passed its second of three committees on Wednesday. Grall indicated there could be more changes to the bill before it reaches the chamber floor.
“I give you my commitment that I will work on this to try and make it something that you can be comfortable with, because it is about our domestic security,” she said.
The measure would allow the state’s chief of domestic security to make the recommendation for the domestic terrorist label. That position is held by a person appointed by the governor or a designee.
The recommendation must be approved by the Florida Cabinet. It can be challenged in court.
If the label sticks, it could come with a number of penalties.
Those include being cut off from public funding, restrictions tied to activities at public schools and universities, and potential legal consequences for certain members.
College students would be expelled for “promoting” such a group, and anyone who “knowingly provides material support” could trigger criminal scrutiny.
With an executive order, Gov. Ron DeSantis recently designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a significant United States Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, a “foreign terrorist organization."
CAIR Florida is urging a "no" vote on the bill, warning it could be used against Islamic schools and Muslim organizations.
The House version of the legislation, HB 1471, is also moving through the committee process.
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This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
