@ByKristenMClark
A proposal to scrap Florida's 147-year-old ban on unwed men and women living together got unanimous approval during its first committee stop in the state Senate for the 2016 session.
Senate Bill 498 -- proposed by Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood -- gets rid of the second-degree misdemeanor crime, which Sobel says 4.4 million Floridians are committing. The law is rarely enforced.
Sobel's bill now goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration.
A House version of the repeal effort also got initial favor earlier this fall. That bill is sponsored by Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee.
Unlike the House hearing in September, Tuesday's Senate committee hearing prompted no debate.
Only Florida, Michigan and Mississippi still have laws making cohabitation illegal. Eight other states that once had similar laws have repealed them.
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