The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1690
INTRODUCER: Committee on Fiscal Policy; Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services;
Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and Senator Ingoglia
SUBJECT: Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking
DATE: April 21, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Tuszynski Cox CF Fav/CS
2. Sneed Money AHS Fav/CS
3. Tuszynski Yeatman FP Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/CS/CS/SB 1690 creates s. 402.88, F.S., to require the Department of Children and Families
(DCF) to certify adult safe houses, and inspect and recertify the safe houses annually. The bill
defines an adult safe house as a group residential facility that provides care and housing for
adults who have been sexually exploited or trafficked, and requires adult safe houses to:
Receive and shelter victims of human trafficking and their minor children or other
dependents.
Provide certain services.
Participate in providing certain orientation and training programs.
Provide a safe and therapeutic environment.
Receive an annual written endorsement from local law enforcement agencies.
File certain information regarding human trafficking employees or volunteers who may claim
privilege under s. 90.5037, F.S., to refuse to disclose certain information.
The bill allows the DCF to deny, suspend, or revoke the certification of an adult safe house that
fails to comply with the requirements of the bill and outlines the training of adult safe house staff
and requires the DCF to ensure that staff has completed the training. The bill allows the DCF to
exempt the hotline, professional training, or community education requirements for a new adult
safe house if already provided by another adult safe house within the same service area.
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1690 Page 2
The bill amends s. 409.1678, F.S., related to specialized residential options for children who are
victims of CSE, to:
Require age-appropriate educational programming for children regarding the signs and
dangers of, and how to report, human trafficking.
Ensure security for safe houses and safe foster homes provides for, at a minimum, the
detection of possible trafficking activity, coordination with law enforcement, and be part of
the emergency response to search for absent or missing children.
The bill requires certain facilities to display signs to warn youth of the dangers of human
trafficking and to encourage the reporting of individuals observed attempting to engage in human
trafficking activity.
The bill amends s. 509.096, F.S., to shorten the time that a public lodging establishment has to
correct training deficiencies from 90 to 45 days and makes the establishment ineligible for any
correction period for a second or subsequent violation of the training and awareness
requirements if the violation occurred after July 1, 2023.
The bill also amends s. 943.0583, F.S., to modify the eligibility criteria for who may petition for
expunction of a criminal history record that is related to an enumerated offense on the habitual
violent felony offender list. The bill allows human trafficking victims to expunge such records if
the disposition was not a conviction. The bill defines the term “conviction”.
The bill will have a significant negative fiscal impact on state government. See Section V of this
analysis.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2023.
II. Present Situation:
Human Trafficking
The Florida Legislature recognizes human trafficking as a form of modern-day slavery whose
victims include young children, teenagers, and adults who may be citizens that are trafficked
domestically within the borders of the United States or smuggled across international borders
worldwide.1 While victims of human trafficking are forced to work in prostitution or sexual
entertainment, trafficking also occurs in forms of labor exploitation, such as domestic servitude,
restaurant work, janitorial work, factory work, and agricultural work.2 Many human trafficking
1
Section 787.06, F.S.
2
Id.
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1690 Page 3
victims are induced with false promises of financial or emotional security, but are forced or
coerced3 into commercial sexual activity,4 domestic servitude, or other types of forced labor.5
Human Trafficking in Florida
Florida law defines “human trafficking” as transporting, soliciting, recruiting, harboring,
providing, enticing, maintaining,6 purchasing, patronizing, procuring, or obtaining7 another
person for the purpose of exploitation of that person.8 In Florida, any person who knowingly, or
in reckless disregard of the facts, engages in human trafficking, or attempts to engage in human
trafficking, or benefits financially by receiving anything of value from participation in a venture
that has subjected a person to human trafficking for labor or services, or commercial sexual
activity, commits a crime.9 Florida law sets out several circumstances which give rise to
specified penalties including, in part:
Labor or services of any child under the age of 18 commits a first degree felony; 10
Labor or services of any child under the age of 18 who is an unauthorized alien11 commits a
first degree felony;12
Labor or services who does so by the transfer or transport of any child under the age of 18
from outside of Florida to within Florida commits a first degree felony;13
Commercial sexual activity14 who does so by the transfer or transport of any child under the
age of 18 from outside of Florida to within Florida commits a first degree felony;15 or
3
Section 787.06(2)(a), F.S., defines “coercion” in the context of human trafficking as using or threatening physical force;
restraining, isolating, or confining or threatening the same without lawful authority and against his or her will; using lending
or other credit methods to establish a debt when labor or services are pledged as a security for the debt, if the reasonably
assessed value of the labor or services is not applied toward liquidation of the debt, and the length and nature of the labor or
service and not limited and defined; destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, withholding, or possessing any actual or
purported passport, visa, or other immigration document of any person; causing or threatening to cause financial harm,
enticing or luring by fraud or deceit; or providing controlled substances to any person for the purpose of exploitation.
4
Section 787.062(2)(b), F.S., defines “commercial sexual activity” as any violation of ch. 796, F.S., or an attempt to commit
any such offense, and includes sexually explicit performances and the production of pornography.
5
The Department of Education, Healthy Schools – Human Trafficking, available at http://www.fldoe.org/schools/healthy-
schools/human-trafficking.stml (last visited March 19, 2023).
6
Section 787.06(2)(f), F.S., provides “maintain” means, in relation to labor or services, to secure or make possible continued
performance thereof, regardless of any initial agreement on the part of the victim to perform such type service. Section
787.06(2)(h), F.S., defines “services” as any act committed at the behest of, under the supervision of, or for the benefit of
another, including forced marriage, servitude, or the removal of organs.
7
Section 787.06(2)(g), F.S., provides “obtain” means, in relation to labor, commercial sexual activity, or services, to receive,
take possession of, or take custody of another person or secure performance thereof. Section 787.06(2)(e), F.S., provides
“labor” means work of economic or financial value.
8
Section 787.06(2)(d), F.S.
9
Section 787.06(3), F.S.
10
Section 787.06(3)(a)1., F.S. A first degree felony is punishable by a state prison term not exceeding 30 years, a fine not
exceeding $10,000, or both. Sections 775.082 and 775.083, F.S.
11
Section 787.06(2)(j), F.S., defines “unauthorized alien” as an alien who is not authorized under federal law to be employed
in the United States, as provided in 8 U.S.C. s. 1324a(h)(3).
12
Section 787.06(3)(c)1., F.S.
13
Section 787.06(3)(e)1., F.S.
14
Section 787.06(2)(b), F.S., defines “commercial sexual activity” as any violation of ch. 796, F.S., or an attempt to commit
any such offense, and includes sexually explicit performances and the production of pornography. Section 787.06(2)(i), F.S.,
defines “sexual explicit performance” as an act or show, whether public or private, that is live, photographed, recorded, or
videotaped and intended to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires or appeal to the prurient interest.
15
Section 787.06(3)(f)1., F.S., provides that an offense committed under these circumstances is punishable by a term of
imprisonment not exceeding life or as provided in ss. 775.082, 775.083, or 775.084, F.S.
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1690 Page 4
Commercial sexual activity in which any child under the age of 18, or in which any person
who is mentally defective16 or mentally incapacitated17 is involved commits a life felony.18
First-degree felonies are reclassified as a life felony if a person causes great bodily harm,
permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to another person during the commission of the
offense.19 Ignorance of the human trafficking victim’s age, the victim’s misrepresentation of his
or her age, or a bona fide belief of the victim’s age cannot be raised as a defense by a
defendant.20
Florida is ranked the third highest state of reported human trafficking cases in the United
States.21 Reports of commercially exploited children to the Florida Abuse Hotline (hotline) for
2020 totaled 3,181 and 3,182 in 2021.22
Child Sexual Exploitation in Florida
It is difficult to obtain an accurate count of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) victims who
are children because these victims are not readily identifiable.23 CSE victims do not have
immediately recognizable characteristics, many do not have identification, and they are often
physically or psychologically controlled by adult traffickers; as such, they rarely disclose or
provide information on exploitation.24
In 2021, the DCF verified 377 child victims of commercial sexual exploitation from 3,182
reports alleging commercial sexual exploitation made to the hotline.25 Of the reports that were
referred for investigation, most came from the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), the
Department of Corrections, or criminal justice personnel and law enforcement.26 Of the 377
verified commercially sexually exploited children, 25 percent were in out-of-home care,
16
Section 794.011(1)(c), F.S., defines “mentally defective” as a mental disease or defect which renders a person temporarily
or permanently incapable of appraising the nature of his or her conduct.
17
Section 794.011(1)(d), F.S., defines “mental incapacitated” as temporarily incapable of appraising or controlling a person’s
own conduct due to the influence of a narcotic, anesthetic, or intoxicating substance administered without his or her consent
or due to any other act committed upon that person without his or her consent.
18
A life felony is punishable by a term of life imprisonment, $15,000 fine, or both as provided in s. 775.082(3)(a)6., F.S., s.
775.083, F.S., or s. 775.084, F.S.
19
Section 787.06(8)(b), F.S.
20
Section 787.06(9), F.S.
21
Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking, The Issue, available at https://floridaallianceendht.com/the-issue/ (last visited
March 19, 2023).
22
The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, Annual Report on the Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children in Florida, 2022, p. 2, July 2022, available at https://oppaga.fl.gov/Documents/Reports/22-05.pdf
(last visited March 19, 2023).
23 Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability, Placement Challenges Persist for Child Victims of Commercial
Sexual Exploitation; Questions Regarding Effective Interventions and Outcomes Remain, (Jul. 2016), available at
https://oppaga.fl.gov/Products/ReportDetail?rn=16-04 (last visited March 22, 2023).
24 U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Sex
Trafficking, available at https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/model-programs-guide/literature-
reviews/commercial_sexual_exploitation_of_children_and_sex_trafficking.pdf (last visited March 22, 2023).
25 Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability, Annual Report on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in
Florida, 2022, Report 22-05, July 2022, pp. i and 2, available at https://oppaga.fl.gov/Products/ReportDetail?rn=22-05 (last viewed March
22, 2023).
26 Id.
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1690 Page 5
including the care of relatives or in foster homes, residential group care, or residential treatment
centers.27
Safe Houses and Safe Foster Homes for Child-victims of Human Trafficking
Current law defines and provides for the certification of specialized residential options for
children who are victims of human trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation (CSE).28 The
law defines a “safe foster home” to mean a foster home certified by the DCF to care for sexually
exploited children and a “safe house” to mean a group residential placement certified by the DCF
to care for sexually exploited children.29 To be certified, a safe house or safe foster home must:
Use strength-based and trauma-informed approaches to care, to the extent possible and
appropriate.
Serve exclusively one sex.
Group child victims of CSE by age or maturity level.
Care for child victims of CSE in a manner that separates those children from children with
other needs. Safe houses and safe foster homes may care for other populations if the children
who have not experienced commercial sexual exploitation do not interact with children who
have experienced commercial sexual exploitation.
Have awake staff members on duty 24 hours a day, if a safe house.
Provide appropriate security through facility design, hardware, technology, staffing, and
siting, including, but not limited to, external video monitoring or door exit alarms, a high
staff-to-client ratio, or being situated in a remote location that is isolated from major
transportation centers and common trafficking areas.
Meet other criteria established by department rule,30 including personnel qualifications,
staffing ratios, and types of services offered.31
At-Risk Houses
At-risk houses are group care homes that are certified to serve children considered to be at-risk
for sex trafficking. Children are deemed to be “at risk of sex trafficking” if they have
experienced trauma such as abuse, neglect, and/or maltreatment, and present one or more of the
accompanying risk factors: history of running away and/or homelessness; history of sexual abuse
and/or sexually acting out behavior; inappropriate interpersonal and/or social media boundaries;
family history of or exposure to human trafficking; or out-of-home placement instability
demonstrated by repeated moves from less restrictive levels of care. There are currently 157 at-
risk houses licensed by DCF that provide services to youth who are at risk of sex trafficking.32
27 Id., p. 4.
28
Section 409.1678, F.S.
29
Section 409.1678(1), F.S.
30
Rule 65C-46.020, F.A.C.
31
Section 409.1678(2)(c), F.S.
32
The DCF, 2023 Agency Legislative Bill Analysis, SB 1690, Human Trafficking, p. 3 (on file with Committee on Children,
Families, and Elder Affairs Staff). (hereinafter cited as DCF Bill Analysis)
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1690 Page 6
Safe Houses for Adult Survivors of Human Trafficking
There are currently 13 adult safe houses in Florida that serve adult survivors of human
trafficking.33 Of these, two allow for the survivor’s minor children to also reside in the home.34
The DCF does not regulate or monitor any of these adult safe houses35 and current law provides
no framework for any agency to do so.