Sean Mooney
Tallahassee, FL – SB 898/HB 577—higher referred to as Miya’s Law—is on its approach to the State Senate Friday for a full vote after surviving the State Home with no single “nay.”
If it survives the senate and the governor’s desk, Miya’s Law will create new safeguards for condo tenants and require employers to conduct intensive felony background checks on workers who might enter residences—one thing that might have prevented the loss of life of the invoice’s namesake, Miya Marcano.
Marcano is believed to have been murdered by Armando Caballero, a upkeep man with a violent felony historical past and an obvious obsession with Marcano; a scenario made worse by the entry he needed to her condo. Investigators had been by no means given an opportunity to prosecute the case, as Caballero ended up killing himself simply a few days after Marcano’s stays had been discovered.
Below Florida Law because it stands now, condo workers should give tenants no less than 12 hours of discover earlier than getting into their condo. If authorised the regulation will change that and as a substitute require workers to offer tenants no less than 24 hours. The Senate model of the invoice additionally features a half that can stop inns from permitting individuals to “e-book by-the-hour” over human trafficking issues.
An modification launched by Sen. Linda Stewart (D-Orlando), the invoice’s Senate sponsor, would have restricted background checks to simply the previous 5 years. Stewart, nevertheless, backed off and stated that change might have led employers to overlook a number of the violent conduct within the felony file of Caballero. She withdrew the modification with no objection.
The regulation would require background checks, and tenants will be capable to ask their landlords which workers have been screened. However no matter comes up, landlords can nonetheless rent workers with data as a result of the regulation “doesn’t disqualify any present worker or contractor from working at a nontransient condo or transient condo primarily based on his or her background screening.”
Employers should additionally preserve logs of who goes into what condo, when, and why.
The Significance Of Miya’s Law
Simply as Miya’s regulation clears the home, the state is hit with a reminder as to why it’s passage is vital. Freddy Lafuente is a upkeep man at an Osceola County condo complicated who’s now dealing with expenses after raping a 70-year-old lady in her condo.
The worst half? Lafuente has a felony historical past that features expenses of aggravated battery inflicting nice bodily hurt. In that incident, Lafuente was arrested in 2018 for “beating the hell” out of somebody after consuming with them at a building job web site, in accordance with a report from the Kissimmee Police Division.
Reporters from WESH 2 in Orlando spoke to the condo complicated Lafuente labored at and discovered that his employers knew of his felony historical past, however employed him anyway.
On this case, Lafuente was referred to as to the sufferer’s condo to apparently repair one thing in her laundry room. He then left and got here again earlier than forcing himself onto the lady. His 2018 case has additionally been reopened, in accordance with the Osceola County Clerk of Courts.
If Miya’s Law receives sufficient help from the Senate, will probably be handed off to Governor Ron DeSantis for approval.
