CopyCited 1 times | Published | District Court, S.D. Florida | 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12399, 2007 WL 485970
...On May 30, 2006, then-Governor Bush signed into law the so-called "Travel Act," which had been passed earlier by the Florida legislature. See Act Relating to Travel to Terrorist States, 2006 Fla. Sess. Law Serv. Ch.2006-54 (West), codified at various places in the Florida Statutes, including Fla. Stat. §§
1005.08 &
1011.90(6)....
...ivities related to or involving travel to a terrorist state. For purposes of this section, `terrorist state' is defined as any state, country, or nation designated by the United States Department of State as a state sponsor of terrorism." Fla. Stat. § 1011.90(6)....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 18155, 2010 WL 3394671
... Before EDMONDSON, BLACK and SILER,* Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Florida, by statute, restricts the use of state money for travel by state
employees to countries that the federal government has listed as “State Sponsors of
Terrorism.” See Fla. Stat. §§
112.061(3)(e),
1011.90(6)....
...Faculty Senate, an organization that represents the interests of the Florida International
University (“FIU”) faculty, is also a Plaintiff.
2
terror, of funds made available by the State to state universities. Fla. Stat. §
1011.90(6).2 The limitation on funds applies to both state money and other funds
(typically funds contributed by third-party grantors such as private foundations)
that are administered by the State (at state expense).3 The Act also prohibits st...
...involving travel to a terrorist state. For purposes of this section, “terrorist state” is
defined as any state, country, or nation designated by the United States Department of
State as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Fla. Stat. § 1011.90(6).
3
For this appeal, we agree with Defendants that the distinction between state-contributed
funds and other funds administered by the State is one without a meaningful difference....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | District Court, S.D. Florida
...The Court heard argument on Plaintiffs' summary judgment motion on July 11, 2008 and permitted the parties to file supplemental briefing. II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND On May 30, 2006, then-Governor Bush signed into law the Travel Act. The challenged portions of the Act are codified in Florida Statutes sections
1011.90(6) and
112.061(3)(e). [4] The relevant portions of the two statutes are: Florida Statutes section
1011.90(6): None of the state or nonstate funds made available to state universities may be used to implement, organize, direct, coordinate, or administer, or to support the implementation, organization, direction, coordination, or administration of, activities related to or involving travel to a terrorist state....
...s. First, the placement of commas in the unchallenged sections of the Act which were omitted in challenged portions of the Act has caused a perceived ambiguity about the scope of the activities for which funding is prohibited. Specifically, sections
1011.90(6) and
112.061(3)(e) describe the activities for which the Act prohibits funding as "activities related to or involving travel to a terrorist state," while section
1011.81(2), which inserts a comma before "travel," states: "activities related to, or involving, travel to a terrorist state" cannot be funded....
...arties. 1. Metamorphosis of the Language of the Travel Act. At the preliminary injunction hearing before Judge Jordan, the Court sought to *1338 determine the parties' interpretation of what the Act means. [7] Plaintiffs contend that the language of section 1011.90(6) prohibits the use of funds provided to state universities for all activities "related to" the designated countries, not just activities "involving travel" to those countries....
...e to execution by then-Governor Bush. ( See id., Ex. 1, Senate Bill 2434.) Below is an outline of the Act's legislative path. The Travel Act was introduced into the Florida Legislature to amend Florida Statutes sections
1011.81 (adding section (2));
1011.90 (adding section (6)) and
112.061 (adding section (3)(e))....
...nto law by then-Governor Bush as written in the third reading. 2. Funds Restricted By The Travel Act In addition to the potentially broad scope of the language in the Travel Act, a second source of controversy is the type of funds the Act restricts. Section 1011.90(6) restricts both "state or nonstate" funds....
...With these rules of interpretation in mind, the Court turns to the Travel Act. 1. The Scope of the Travel Act The first question in determining whether the Travel Act can be narrowly construed, is: what is the scope of the Act? The controversial portion of the Travel Act lies in section 1011.90(6), [37] which states in relevant part: None of the state or nonstate funds made available to state universities may be used to implement, organize, direct, coordinate, or administer, or to support the implementation, organization, direction, coordination, or administration of, activities related to or involving travel to a terrorist state. Fla. Stat. § 1011.90(6) (emphasis added)....
...such that it read, "activities related to, or involving, travel to a terrorist state," thus clarifying that the provision restricted funds for "activities related to travel" and "activities involving travel." No change, however, was made to sections
1011.90(6) or
112.061(3)(e)....
