Legislation that makes several changes to Florida law regarding terrorist organizations and how they are designated went into effect on Wednesday.
At a news conference in Tampa, Gov. Ron DeSantis touted the changes, which include creating a process for the state to designate groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations, if certain conditions are met.
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DeSantis said as part of that process, he will be calling on the Florida Cabinet to ratify the designation of several groups as terrorist organizations, including:
- Muslim Brotherhood
- Council of American Islamic Relations
- Antifa
- Several drug dartel-related groups
- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran
What’s in the bill
HB 1471 — Terrorist Organizations
House Bill 1471 makes several changes to state law regarding terrorist organizations. Many of those revisions are as follows:
- Terrorist Designations: Creates a process by which the state may designate groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organization if certain conditions are met
- Religious Laws: Courts and tribunals are prohibited from enforcing religious or foreign laws against someone if such application would violate his/her constitutional rights
- Private Schools: Prohibits private schools participating in state scholarship programs from being owned or funded by terrorist groups, terrorist supporters, or criminal gangs
- State Universities: Prevents institutions in the Florida College System from using state funds to support programs that advocate for terrorist organizations
- Visa Students: Public colleges must report information about the current status of students who are attending on a visa if they promote terrorist organizations
- Student Expulsions: If a student promotes a terrorist organization while enrolled at a public university, the student must be immediately expelled and assessed an out-of-state fee