Rep. Chambliss Passes Two Landmark Bills

Representative Kevin Chambliss was elected to represent Florida House District 117 in the fall of 2020, succeeding Kionne McGhee.

As a freshman representative and member of the party not in power, it is unusual to be able to advance legislation. Yet Rep. Chambliss succeeded in doing that April 15.

His bill, HB363, grants limited exemptions of privileged communications to crime stopper organizations with immunity to members and volunteers for disclosures as part of their jobs. The goal is to protect tips to Crime Stoppers from widespread exposure.

Floor debate on the bill occurred April 15, with the bill passing unanimously 116 to 0.

A second bill, HB7007 sponsored by Rep. Chambliss also passed the House on April 15. That bill allows exempt pubic records held by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs as part of an examination or investigation to be shared with another state or federal regulatory agency. A Senate companion SB 7036 was placed on the Senate special order calendar for consideration by the Senate on April 21.

Rep. Chambliss spoke on the House floor about the Crime Stoppers bill. “In 2017, two year old Cornell Williams Thomas was killed playing on the front porch of his home in Goulds,” he said. “Since then, we have not been able to bring his killer to justice. This is not because the community doesn’t know who it is or because law enforcement doesn’t have the will to do it. The reason is no one feels safe enough to come forward and give law enforcement information.”

“In communities like mine, and yours, we’ve been going through this for decades,” the Representative said. “Community violence is an issue that we must address in the state of Florida and in our nation. The theme that takes us from communities riddled with violence to safer communities is a pretty simple concept – all law enforcement needs is the information, the evidence, the tips, the witnesses. But the truth is our community is afraid, because if they do speak up, they’re the next person on the front page because they were shot. That’s why the Crime Stoppers organization is important.”

Before the vote, Rep. Geraldine Thompson of Orange County spoke in favor of the bill. “Crime Stoppers depends on tips from the community. If it is possible to determine who provided the tips, that puts them in jeopardy. This bill shields the identity of a person who contacts Crime Stoppers so they would not be fearful their identity or address would become known. It allows Crime Stoppers to do the job it needs to do.”

Rep. Chambliss added a final summation, “The bill allows the community to stand up for itself in a safe but anonymous way to create a better future for our children.”

HB363 is in the Senate Rules committee for consideration by Senate committees.

An identical Senate bill #1868 is also in the Senate Rules committee after consideration by the Senate Criminal Justice and the Judiciary committees.