Bad Bills

Alex Pickett spotlights the worst bills from this session of the Florida legislature. Sen. Gary Siplin has two bills make the list. The Baggy Pants bill is well-known. Siplin now wants churches to get into the act of policing pornography.

An act relating to the commercial distribution of pornographic materials; providing a short title; providing legislative findings; defining terms relating to the commercial distribution of pornographic materials; prohibiting a person from willfully and knowingly distributing pornographic materials for commercial purposes; providing a civil penalty; providing that any person, including a church, religious organization, or other representative group or organization, may bring an action to enforce the act; providing certain exemptions; providing procedures for enforcing the act; providing for attorney's fees and costs; requiring that any civil penalty collected be deposited into the General Revenue Fund; providing for declaratory and injunctive relief; authorizing a person to recover actual damages and attorney's fees if the person suffers a loss as a result of commercial distribution of pornographic materials; providing an effective date.

The Florida Commercial Anti-Pornography Act is so vaguely worded that the bill could be used to make all pornographic material illegal. It would never stand up to legal challenges and is dead in the Florida Senate. That doesn't stop Siplin. The Artist formerly known as an indicted State Senator is more interested in publicity.