DeSantis signs bill expanding Florida terror designation powers
April 7 (UPI) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation authorizing state officials to designate certain groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations, creating a mechanism to punish those blacklisted in the Sunshine State.
The legislation, House Bill 1471, was signed by the Republican governor on Monday during a press conference in Tampa.
The legislation creates a mechanism for Florida to sever funding, contracting and other ties to blacklisted groups. If a corporation is named, the state may pursue proceedings to dissolve it.
“We must defend our institutions from those who would harm us — especially terrorist organizations that seek to infiltrate and subvert our education system,” DeSantis said in a statement.
The bill specifically authorizes Florida’s chief of domestic security to designate groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations, subject to approval from the governor and Cabinet, if certain conditions are met.
Once designated, state agencies, political subdivisions and public school districts are barred from working with, supporting or taking money from them.
If the designated entity is a corporation, then the state may begin proceedings to dissolve it. It also creates criminal consequences for actions involving designated domestic terrorist organizations, including receiving military-type training from them, providing them with material support or resources and willfully becoming a member.
It also imposes consequences for schools, including secondary education, for promoting designated organizations and requires the immediate expulsion of students determined to have promoted them.
The bill also prohibits Florida courts or other adjudicatory bodies from enforcing any provision of what it calls “religious or foreign law” if it is inconsistent with federal or state law. The legislation specifically states Sharia law, the religious legal system of Islam.
“This legislation reinforces that the U.S. Constitution and Florida law remain the supreme authority in our court systems, preventing any foreign or religious legal code from overriding fundamental rights,” State Rep. Hillary Cassel, the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement after her legislation was signed into law.
The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement of concern on Monday over the potential misuse of the designation power, highlighting DeSantis’ previous attempt to designate it as a terrorist organization via executive order. before a judge blocked the blacklisting.
“This is not just about CAIR. This expanded and deeply flawed framework can attack any organization that dares to dissent,” CAIR-Florida Executive Director Hiba Rahim said in a statement.
“As Floridians, together, we’ll watch how this unprecedented law is enforced, and whether it is used or abused.”