HB 741 2019

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A bill to be entitled1

An act relating to anti-Semitism; amending s. 775.085,2

F.S.; specifying that the term "religion" includes3

anti-Semitism; defining the term "anti-Semitism";4

specifying duties of law enforcement agencies;5

providing construction; amending s. 1000.05, F.S.;6

prohibiting discrimination in the Florida K-20 public7

education system based on religion; requiring a public8

K-20 educational institution to take into9

consideration anti-Semitism under certain instances of10

discrimination; defining the term "anti-Semitism";11

providing construction; amending s. 1002.20, F.S.;12

conforming provisions to changes made by the act;13

providing effective dates.14

15

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:16

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Section 1. Effective October 1, 2019, subsection (1) of s.18

775.085, Florida Statutes, is amended, subsection (4) is added19

to that section, and subsections (2) and (3) of that section are20

republished, to read:21

775.085 Evidencing prejudice while committing offense;22

reclassification.—23

(1)(a) The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be24

reclassified as provided in this subsection if the commission of25

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such felony or misdemeanor evidences prejudice based on the26

race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation,27

national origin, homeless status, or advanced age of the victim:28

1. A misdemeanor of the second degree is reclassified to a29

misdemeanor of the first degree.30

1. A misdemeanor of the first degree is reclassified to a31

felony of the third degree.32

1. A felony of the third degree is reclassified to a33

felony of the second degree.34

1. A felony of the second degree is reclassified to a35

felony of the first degree.36

1. A felony of the first degree is reclassified to a life37

felony.38

(b) As used in paragraph (a), the term:39

1. "Advanced age" means that the victim is older than 6540

years of age.41

1. "Homeless status" means that the victim:42

a. Lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime43

residence; or44

b. Has a primary nighttime residence that is:45

(I) A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter46

designed to provide temporary living accommodations; or47

(II) A public or private place not designed for, or48

ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human49

beings.50

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1. "Religion" includes, but is not limited to, anti-51

Semitism. For purposes of this section, the term "anti-Semitism"52

includes all of the following:53

a. Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of the Jewish54

people, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jewish people.55

Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism directed56

toward a Jewish or non-Jewish individual or his or her property57

or toward Jewish community institutions or religious facilities.58

b. Examples of anti-Semitism include:59

(I) Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or60

harming of Jews, often in the name of a radical ideology or an61

extremist view of religion.62

(II) Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or63

stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of64

Jews as a collective, including allegations such as the myth65

about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the66

media, economy, government, or other societal institutions.67

(III) Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for68

real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person69

or group, the State of Israel, or even for acts committed by70

non-Jews.71

(IV) Accusing Jews as a people or the State of Israel of72

inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.73

(V) Accusing Jewish citizens of countries other than74

Israel of being more loyal to Israel, or the alleged priorities75

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of Jews worldwide, than to the interest of their own nations.76

c. Examples of anti-Semitism related to Israel include:77

(I) Demonizing Israel by using the symbols and images78

associated with classic anti-Semitism to characterize Israel,79

Israelis, drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to80

that of the Nazis, or blaming Israel for all inter-religious or81

political tensions.82

(II) Applying a double standard to Israel by requiring83

behavior of Israel that is not expected or demanded of any other84

democratic nation, or focusing peace or human rights85

investigations only on Israel.86

(III) Delegitimizing Israel by denying the Jewish people87

their right to self-determination and denying Israel the right88

to exist.89

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However, criticism of Israel that is similar to criticism toward91

any other country may not be regarded as anti-Semitic.92

(2) A person or organization that establishes by clear and93

convincing evidence that it has been coerced, intimidated, or94

threatened in violation of this section has a civil cause of95

action for treble damages, an injunction, or any other96

appropriate relief in law or in equity. Upon prevailing in such97

civil action, the plaintiff may recover reasonable attorney fees98

and costs.99

(3) It is an essential element of this section that the

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record reflect that the defendant perceived, knew, or had101

reasonable grounds to know or perceive that the victim was102

within the class delineated in this section.103

(4)(a) In investigating an alleged violation of law, a law104

enforcement agency shall take into consideration the105

requirements of this section and the definition of anti-Semitism106

for purposes of determining whether the alleged violation was107

motivated by anti-Semitism or other intent sufficient to fall108

within this section, consistent with state and federal statutes109

prohibiting hate crimes.110

(b) This section does not diminish or infringe upon any111

right protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution of112

the United States or the State Constitution. This section may113

not be construed to conflict with federal or state114

discrimination laws.115

Section 2. Subsection (7) of section 1000.05, Florida116

Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (8), paragraphs (a), (b),117

(c), and (e) of subsection (2) are amended, and a new subsection118

(7) is added to that section, to read:119

1000.05 Discrimination against students and employees in120

the Florida K-20 public education system prohibited; equality of121

access required.—122

(2)(a) Discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity,123

national origin, gender, disability, religion, or marital status124

against a student or an employee in the state system of public125

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K-20 education is prohibited. No person in this state shall, on126

the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender,127

disability, religion, or marital status, be excluded from128

participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to129

discrimination under any public K-20 education program or130

activity, or in any employment conditions or practices,131

conducted by a public educational institution that receives or132

benefits from federal or state financial assistance.133

(b) The criteria for admission to a program or course134

shall not have the effect of restricting access by persons of a135

particular race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability,136

religion, or marital status.137

(c) All public K-20 education classes shall be available138

to all students without regard to race, ethnicity, national139

origin, gender, disability, religion, or marital status;140

however, this is not intended to eliminate the provision of141

programs designed to meet the needs of students with limited142

proficiency in English, gifted students, or students with143

disabilities or programs tailored to students with specialized144

talents or skills.145

(e) Guidance services, counseling services, and financial146

assistance services in the state public K-20 education system147

shall be available to students equally. Guidance and counseling148

services, materials, and promotional events shall stress access149

to academic and career opportunities for students without regard150

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to race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability,151

religion, or marital status.152

(7) A public K-20 educational institution must treat153

discrimination by students or employees or resulting from154

institutional policies based on anti-Semitism in an identical155

manner to discrimination based on race. For purposes of this156

section, the term "anti-Semitism" includes all of the following:157

(a) Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of the Jewish158

people, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jewish people.159

Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism directed160

toward a Jewish or non-Jewish individual or his or her property161

or toward Jewish community institutions or religious facilities.162

1. Examples of anti-Semitism include:163

a. Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or164

harming of Jews, often in the name of a radical ideology or an165

extremist view of religion.166

b. Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or167

stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of168

Jews as a collective—especially, but not exclusively, the myth169

about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the170

media, economy, government or other societal institutions.171

c. Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real172

or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or173

group, the State of Israel, or even for acts committed by non-174

Jews.175

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d. Accusing Jews as a people or the State of Israel of176

inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.177

e. Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel,178

or the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the179

interest of their own nations.180

1. Examples of anti-Semitism related to Israel include:181

a. Demonizing Israel by using the symbols and images182

associated with classic anti-Semitism to characterize Israel,183

Israelis, drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to184

that of the Nazis, or blaming Israel for all inter-religious or185

political tensions.186

b. Applying a double standard to Israel by requiring187

behavior of Israel that is not expected or demanded of any other188

democratic nation, or focusing peace or human rights189

investigations only on Israel.190

c. Delegitimizing Israel by denying the Jewish people191

their right to self-determination and denying Israel the right192

to exist.193

194

However, criticism of Israel that is similar to criticism toward195

any other country may not be regarded as anti-Semitic.196

(b) This subsection does not diminish or infringe upon any197

right protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution of198

the United States, or the State Constitution. This subsection199

shall not be construed to conflict with federal or state200

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discrimination laws.201

Section 3. Subsection (7) of section 1002.20, Florida202

Statutes, is amended to read:203

1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public204

school students must receive accurate and timely information205

regarding their child's academic progress and must be informed206

of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12207

students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory208

rights including, but not limited to, the following:209

(7) NONDISCRIMINATION.—All education programs, activities,210

and opportunities offered by public educational institutions211

must be made available without discrimination on the basis of212

race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability, religion,213

or marital status, in accordance with the provisions of s.214

1000.05.215

Section 4. Except as expressly provided in this act, this216

act shall take effect July 1, 2019.

Florida Anti-Semitism Bill Threatens Free Speech | Update: Bill Signed

https://ncac.org/news/florida-anti-semitism-bill-threatens-free-speech

Update 5/30/2019: As anticipated, Governor DeSantis signed House Bill 741 into law during his visit to Israel. NCAC remains gravely concerned with the growing movement to classify political speech and constitutionally-protected political expression, such as boycotts, as anti-Semitic.

Original post:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is considering legislation intended to combat anti-Semitism that poses a serious threat to the free speech rights of Floridians. Together with PEN America, NCAC has written the governor to express our grave concern with House Bill 741.

Like other Americans, we have been shocked by the recent acts of anti-Semitic violence in our country and share the belief that more must be done to fight anti-Semitism. H.B. 741 is unconstitutional and likely to face a legal challenge.

Speech on matters of public interest is core political speech that courts afford the highest protection under the First Amendment. The definition of anti-Semitism in H.B. 741 is so broad that it could apply to constitutionally protected speech in Florida schools and universities that is critical of the Israeli government or supportive of Palestinian rights. If the bill becomes law, it could be used to silence political activists, including Jews.

Prominent members of the Jewish community have spoken out against H.B. 741. They describe the legislation as an effort to silence criticism of the Israeli government.

NCAC and PEN agree and urge Governor DeSantis to encourage education about anti-Semitism and reject the unconstitutional quick fix offered by H.B. 741.

Read the full letter to Governor DeSantis below. Click here for a full screen view: