Anti-human trafficking measure would make purchasing sex a felony
Rep. Jackie Toledo
An anti-human trafficking measure that would raise the first-offense penalty for purchasing sex to a felony is moving in the House.
The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Subcommittee voted 16-0 on January 25 to approve HB 1439 by Rep. Jackie Toledo, R-Tampa.
Toledo called the measure the “Human Trafficking Reduction Act.”
“Ultimately what this bill will do is send a strong message,” Toledo said. “Although we are the ‘Free State of Florida,’ we are closed to human trafficking.”
The proposed legislation, crafted with the help of victim advocates, is designed to reduce demand for the commercial sex trade that human traffickers exploit, Toledo said.
Under current law, anyone who purchases sex from another person commits a second-degree misdemeanor, with enhancements for subsequent violations.
HB 1439 would reclassify a first-time offense to a third-degree felony. A third offense would net the perpetrator a first-degree felony charge.
Dottie Groover-Skipper of the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking said customers in the commercial sex trade are physically abusive.
“Through my 40 years of working with trauma victims . . . I have witnessed the torment,” she told the panel. “All the while, the perpetrator basically gets a slap on the wrist.”
The measure would enhance the crime of “soliciting, enticing, or procuring” another person to engage in commercial sex from a first-degree misdemeanor for a first offense to a third-degree felony, with enhancements for subsequent violations. A third offense would result in a first-degree felony.
Another provision of the bill, designed to target opportunity, would ban hotels, motels, and vacation rentals from charging hourly rates.
The provision would discourage the “in-plain-sight” accommodations that cater to drug and sex trafficking, the advocates say.
“It’s highly unlikely these rooms are being used by a family on their way to Busch Gardens, Sea World, or Disney,” Groover-Skipper said.
Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association general counsel Samantha Padgett said her group enthusiastically endorses the hourly room rate ban.
However, Padgett said the association is concerned about a seemingly innocuous provision that would require hotel, motel, and vacation rental patrons to provide proof of identification.
“We’re all used to providing an ID when we go to a hotel, right?” Padgett said. “However, now, in the wake of the pandemic, many of our members are moving to a virtual check-in process.”
The provision raises other concerns, Padgett said.
“What is our responsibility as an establishment in determining the validity of the ID?” she said. “There are some constitutional issues here that we would like to explore further.”
Other provisions of the bill would make it easier for human trafficking victims to expunge their criminal records, often a significant barrier to recovery and employment.
Another provision would create a statewide repository for anonymous human trafficking data at the University of South Florida.
The committee also voted 16-0 to approve HB 1441, a linked bill by Toledo that would provide a public records exemption for human trafficking victims’ expungement applications.
HB 1439 faces three more hearings, in Commerce, Justice Appropriations, and Judiciary. A companion, SB 1852 by Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Orange Park, has yet to be heard.
Lawmakers are also debating other anti-human trafficking measures.
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee voted unanimously January 11 to approve SB 760 by Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boynton Beach.
The measure, crafted with input from 15th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Dave Aronberg, would raise the penalty for a first-time offense of “maintaining a house of prostitution” from a second-degree misdemeanor to a second-degree felony.
Other provisions would expand the definition of coercion in the human trafficking statute to include withholding a victim’s wages or supplying alcohol.
According to a state Department of Education report, Florida reported 767 human trafficking cases in 2018, the third highest in the nation. Of those, 149 involved minors. The average age of minors who are trafficked is between 11 and 13, according to the report.
