>
ACLU of Florida Names Rep. Jeff Brandes “Defender of Freedom”
Local Chapters
View Chapter Map
Greater Bay
Brevard
Broward
Central
Collier
Northeast Florida
Florida Keys
Lee
Greater Miami
North Central
Palm Beach
Panhandle
Pinellas
Sarasota
Tallahassee
Greater Tampa
Treasure Coast
Volusia/Flagler
Home »
News &
Events » News Archive »
2011 Press Releases
ACLU of Florida Names Rep. Jeff Brandes “Defender of Freedom”
REP. BRANDES GIVEN WEEKLY AWARD FOR OPPOSITION TO GOVERNMENT DRUG SCREENING WITHOUT SUSPICION
March 25, 2011
CONTACT: ACLU of Florida Media Office, (786) 363-2737 or media@aclufl.org
TALLAHASSEE – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLUFL) today announced that Rep. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) received the organization’s third “Defender of Freedom” award for the week which ended today, March 25, 2011.
Rep. Brandes earned the award for his comments and vote against proposed House Bill 353 which would require drug testing for Floridians applying for temporary government assistance even though there is no current, individual reasonable suspicion that the assistance recipient was abusing drugs. Government drug tests have been found to be unconstitutional without exceptions such as current suspicion of drug use or jobs that are “safety sensitive” or require use of firearms.
In Wednesday’s meeting of the House Rulemaking & Regulation Subcommittee, Rep. Brandes opposed the bill and, according to media sources, raised concerns about privacy.
"Rep. Brandes showed courage in raising the privacy concerns of an entire class of people,” said Danielle Prendergast, ACLUFL Director of Public Policy. ”He deserves the thanks of all Floridians for recognizing and honoring the rights of people to be from personal, intrusive and broad government searches without suspicion.”
Following debate, Brandes voted against the bill which passed the Committee by a nine to six vote. The bill has three other committee stops in the House. A similar bill in the Senate was amended this week to include even broader drug test searches for Floridians seeking temporary aide.
The Defender of Freedom award will be presented weekly during the Florida Legislative Session to the lawmaker or other leader who displays public courage and defends constitutional freedoms in public policy. The two previous winners were Rep. Carlos Trujillo and Senator Mike Bennett.
# # #
About the ACLU of Florida
The ACLU of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our web site at: www.aclufl.org.
