HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 7045 PCB JDC 23-02 Human Trafficking, Prostitution, and Lewdness
SPONSOR(S): Commerce Committee, Judiciary Committee, Overdorf and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS:
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
Orig. Comm.: Judiciary Committee 22 Y, 0 N Leshko Kramer
1) Appropriations Committee 28 Y, 0 N Saag Pridgeon
2) Commerce Committee 15 Y, 5 N, As CS Larkin Hamon
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery which involves the transporting, soliciting, recruiting, harboring,
providing, enticing, maintaining, purchasing, patronizing, procuring, or obtaining of another person for the purpose of
exploiting that person. A victim of human trafficking has a federal cause of action under 18 U.S.C. § 1595, which
may be brought against any perpetrator of trafficking or any person who knowingly benefits from the trafficking of a
victim. Victims of human trafficking also have a state civil cause of action under ch. 772, F.S., related to civil
remedies for criminal practices. Under s. 772.104, F.S., any person who demonstr ates by clear and convincing
evidence that he or she has been injured by a person who, with criminal intent, received and utilized proceeds from
human trafficking has a cause of action for threefold the amount gained from the human trafficking, and for
reasonable attorney fees and court costs. Alternatively, under s. 796.09, F.S., a person has a cause of action for
compensatory and punitive damages against a person who coerced that person into prostitution; a person who
coerces that person to remain in prostitution; or a person who uses coercion to collect or receive any part of that
person’s earnings derived from prostitution.
The bill creates s. 787.061, F.S., to provide a civil cause of action for victims of human trafficking against an adult
theater, as defined in s. 847.001(2)(b), F.S., or an owner, operator, or manager of such theater, that knowingly
allows a victim of human trafficking to work, perform, or dance at the adult theater. The bill allows a victim to recover
economic and noneconomic damages; punitive damages; reasonable attorney fees; and costs. The bill provides
limitations on the commencement of actions brought under this new section and amends s. 95.11, F.S., to clarify
that an action brought under the bill’s civil remedy provision may be brought within the same time period as is
allowed for intentional torts based on abuse or, if applicable, sexual battery offenses on victims under age 16.
The bill also amends s. 450.045, F.S., to increase the offense for failure of an owner, operator, o r manager of an
adult theater to comply with the proof of age and identify verification requirements from a first -degree misdemeanor
to a third-degree felony; and removes the language indicating that the owner, operator, or manager must violate s.
450.045, F.S. knowingly. The bill amends s. 796.07, F.S., to require an offender convicted for soliciting another
person to commit prostitution to pay for and attend an educational program relating to human trafficking and
commercial sex, if one is available, in addition to any other penalty imposed.
The bill amends s. 943.17297, F.S., to require that each certified law enforcement officer successfully complete four
hours of training in identifying and investigating human trafficking as part of the basic recruit t raining or additional
required training. Additionally, the bill creates s. 1004.343, F.S., to establish the Statewide Data Repository for
Anonymous Human Trafficking Data within the University of South Florida’s (USF) Trafficking in Persons – Risk to
Resilience Lab.
The bill may have an indeterminate positive impact on jail and prison beds by increasing the offense level for failure
of an adult theater owner, operator, or manager to comply with proof of age and identity requirements to a third -
degree felony, which may result in more jail and prison admissions. The bill may also have an indeterminate, but
likely insignificant, fiscal impact on state expenditures.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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DATE: 4/18/2023
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery which involves the transporting, soliciting, recruiting,
harboring, providing, enticing, maintaining, purchasing, patronizing, procuring, or obtaining of another
person for the purpose of exploiting that person.1 It is the intent of the Legislature that the perpetrators
of human trafficking be penalized for their illegal conduct and that the victims of trafficking be protected
and assisted by this state and its agencies.2
A person who knowingly, or in reckless disregard of the facts, engages in or attempts to engage in
human trafficking, or benefits financially by receiving anything of value from participating in a venture
that has subjected a person to human trafficking for commercial sexual activity, labor, 3 or services: 4
By coercing an adult, commits a first-degree felony.5, 6
With or of a child younger than 18 years of age or a person believed to be a child younger than
18, commits a first-degree felony.7
For commercial sexual activity with a mentally defective8 or mentally incapacitated9 person,
commits a life felony.10
“Coercion” includes:
Using or threatening to use force against a person.
Restraining, isolating, or confining a person without lawful authority and against his or her will,
or threatening to do so.
Using lending or other credit methods to establish a debt by a person 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 the liquidation of the debt.
Destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, withholding, or possessing any actual or
purported passport, visa, other immigration document, or government identification document.
Causing or threatening to cause financial harm.
Enticing or luring a person by fraud or deceit.
Providing a Schedule I or II controlled substance11 to a person for the purpose of exploiting that
person.12
“Commercial sexual activity” means any prostitution, lewdness, or assignation offense or attempt to
1 S. 787.06(2)(d), F.S.
2 S. 787.06(1)(d), F.S.
3 “Labor” means work of economic or financial value. S. 787.06(2)(e), F.S.
4
“Services” means any act committed at the behest of, under the supervision of, or for the benefit of another. The term includ es, but is
not limited to, forced marriage, servitude, or the removal of organs. S. 787.06(2)(h), F.S.
5 S. 787.06(3)(a)2., (b), (c)2., (d), (e)2., and (f)2., F.S.
6 A first-degree felony is punishable by up to 30 years ’ imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. Ss. 775.082, 775.083, or 775.084, F.S
7 S. 787.06(3)(a)1., (c)1., (e)1., and (f)1., F.S.
8 “Mentally defective” means a mental disease or defect which renders a person temporarily or permanently incapable of appraising the
nature of his or her conduct. S. 794.011(1)(c), F.S.
9 “Mentally incapacitated” means 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 upo n that
person without his or her consent. S. 794.011(1)(d), F.S.
10 S. 787.06(3)(g), F.S.; A life felony is punishable by up to life imprisonment and a $15,000 fine. Ss. 775.082, 775.083, or 775.084, F.S.
11 S. 893.03, F.S.
12 S. 787.06(2)(a), F.S.
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commit such an offense, and includes a sexually explicit performance 13 and the production of
pornography.14
If, during the commission of any first-degree felony offense listed above, the offender causes great
bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to another person, the offense is
reclassified as a life felony.15 Any person who for the purpose of committing or facilitating an offense of
human trafficking, permanently brands,16 or directs to be branded, a victim of human trafficking,
commits a second-degree felony.17
Additionally, a parent, legal guardian, or a person with custody over a minor, who sells or transfers
custody or control of the minor, or offers to sell or transfer custody or control of the minor, with
knowledge or in reckless disregard of the fact that the child will be subject to human trafficking after the
sale or transfer, commits a life felony.18
An offender’s ignorance of a victim’s age, a victim’s misrepresentation of his or her age, or an
offender’s bona fide belief of a victim’s age cannot be raised as a defense in the prosecution for a
human trafficking offense.19 A person convicted of human trafficking for commercial sexual activity must
register as a sexual offender.20
Under the Federal Trafficking Victim Protections Act, “severe forms of trafficking in persons” means:
Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which
a person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or
The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or
services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of subjection to involuntary
servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.21
Soliciting or Purchasing Prostitution
Section 796.07, F.S., defines prostitution as the giving or receiving of the body for sexual activity for
hire.22
Under s. 796.07(2)(a)-(e) and (g)-(i), F.S., it is a second-degree misdemeanor:23
To own, establish, maintain, or operate any place, structure, building, or conveyance for the
purpose of lewdness,24 assignation,25 or prostitution;
To offer, or to offer or agree to secure, another for the purpose of prostitution or for any other
lewd or indecent act;
To receive, or to offer or agree to receive, any person into any place, structure, building, or
conveyance for the purpose of prostitution, lewdness, or assignation, or to permit any person to
remain there for such purpose;
To direct, take, or transport, or to offer or agree to direct, take, or transport, any person to any
place, structure, or building, or to any other person, with knowledge or reasonable cause to
13
A sexually explicit performance is an act or show, whether public or private, that is live, photographed, recorded, or videotaped and
intended to arouse or satisfy sexual desires or appeal to the prurient interest. S. 787.06(2)(i), F.S.
14 S. 787.06(2)(b), F.S.
15 S. 787.06(8)(b), F.S.
16 “Permanently branded” means a mark on the individual’s body that, if it can be removed or repaired at all, can only be remove d or
repaired by surgical means, laser treatment, or other medical procedure. S. 787.06(4)(b), F.S.
17 S. 787.06(4)(b), F.S.; A second-degree felony is punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding 15 years and a $10,000 fine.
Ss. 775.082, 775.083, or 775.084, F.S.
18 S. 787.06(4)(a), F.S.
19 S. 787.06(9), F.S.
20 S. 943.0435, F.S.
21 22 U.S.C. § 7102(11).
22 This definition excludes sexual activity between spouses. S. 796.07(1)(b), F.S.
23 A second-degree misdemeanor is punishable by up to 60 days in county jail and a fine not exceeding $500. Ss. 775.082(4)(b) and
775.083(1)(e), F.S.
24 “Lewdness” means any indecent or obscene act. S. 796.07(1)(c), F.S.
25 “Assignation” means the making of any appointment or engagement for prostitution or lewdness, or any act in furtherance of su ch
appointment or engagement. S. 796.07(1)(d), F.S.
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believe that the purpose of such directing, taking, or transporting is prostitution, lewdness, or
assignation;
For a person 18 years of age or older to offer to commit, or to commit, or to engage in,
prostitution, lewdness, or assignation;
To reside in, enter, or remain in, any place, structure, or building, or to enter or remain in any
conveyance, for the purpose of prostitution, lewdness, or assignation;
To aid, abet, or participate in any of the acts or things listed above; or
To purchase the services of any person engaged in prostitution. 26
The penalty for a violation listed above is reclassified to a first-degree misdemeanor27 for a second
violation, and a third-degree felony28 for any third or subsequent violation.29
Additionally, under s. 796.07(2)(f), F.S., a person who solicits, induces, entices, or procures another
person to commit prostitution, lewdness, or assignation commits a first-degree misdemeanor for a first
violation, a third-degree felony for a second violation, and a second-degree felony for a third or
subsequent violation.30 An offender convicted for soliciting another person to commit prostitution is also
subject to additional penalties including:
One hundred hours of community service;31
Being required to pay for and attend an educational program about the negative effects of
prostitution and human trafficking, such as a sexual violence prevention education program,
including such programs offered by faith-based providers, if such a program is offered in the
circuit in which the offender is sentenced;32
A 10-day mandatory minimum jail sentence for a second or subsequent violation;33
Vehicle impoundment up to 60 days if the offender used a car to commit the violation;34
Inclusion of the offender’s name on the Soliciting for Prostitution Public Database;35 and
A $5,000 civil fine.36
Statutes of Limitations
A statute of limitations is an absolute bar to the filing of a lawsuit after a date set by law. A statute of
limitations specifies when such time period begins, how long the limitation period runs, and the
circumstances by which the running of the statute may be “tolled,” or suspended. A statute of limitations
usually begins to run when a cause of action accrues, which generally, is when the harm occurs.
Section 95.11, F.S., provides limitations on the commencement of actions other than for recovery of
real property, including actions founded on abuse or related to an offense of sexual battery.
An action founded on alleged abuse37 may be commenced at the latest of the following times:
At any time within seven years after the age of majority;
Within four years after the injured person leaves the dependency of the abuser; or
Within four years from the time of discovery by the injured party of both the injury and the causal
relationship between the injury and the abuse.38
26 S. 796.07(2), F.S.
27 A first-degree misdemeanor is punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year and a $1,000 fine. Ss. 775.082(4)(a)
and 775.083(1)(d), F.S.
28 A third-degree felony is punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years and a $5,000 fi ne. Ss. 775.082, 775.083, or
775.084, F.S.
29 S. 796.07(4), F.S.
30 S. 796.07(2)(f) and (5)(a), F.S.
31 S. 796.07(5)(b)1., F.S.
32 S. 796.07(5)(b)2., F.S.
33 S. 796.07(5)(c), F.S.
34 S. 796.07(5)(d), F.S.
35 S. 796.07(5)(e), F.S. (if there is evidence that the offender provided a form of payment or arranged for the payment of such services).
36 S. 796.07(6), F.S.
37 As defined in ss. 39.01, 415.102, or 984.03, F.S.
38 S. 95.11(7), F.S.
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However, an action related to a sexual battery39 offense involving a victim who was under the age of 16
at the time of the act may be commenced at any time, unless the action would have been time barred
on or before July 1, 2010.40
Vicarious Liability
“Vicarious liability” means liability that a supervisory party, such as an employer, bears for the
actionable conduct of a subordinate or associate, such as an employee, based on the relationship
between the two parties.41
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages may be awarded in any civil action only if there is a reasonable showing by evidence
in the record or proffered by the claimant to provide a reasonable basis for recovery of such
damages.42 A defendant may be held liable for punitive damages only if the trier of fact, based on clear
and convincing evidence,43 finds that the defendant was personally guilty of intentional misconduct or
gross negligence.
An employer, principal, corporation, or other legal entity may be held liable for punitive damages based