HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 305 Offenses Involving Children
SPONSOR(S): Judiciary Committee, Criminal Justice Subcommittee, Baker
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 312
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Criminal Justice Subcommittee 16 Y, 0 N, As CS Butcher Hall
2) Judiciary Committee 20 Y, 0 N Butcher Kramer
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Hearsay is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at a trial or hearing, offered in
evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Although hearsay is generally inadmissible, s. 90.803, F.S.,
contains a variety of hearsay exceptions. Section 90.803(23), F.S., specifies that unless the source of
information or circumstances by which the statement is reported indicates a lack of trustworthiness, an out-of-
court statement made by a child victim with a physical, mental, emotional, or developmental age of 16 or less
is admissible in evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding when describing any act relating to child abuse or
neglect, child sexual abuse, or unlawful sexual acts performed in the presence of, with, by, or on the child if:
 The court finds, in a hearing conducted outside the presence of the jury, that the time, content, and
circumstances of the statement provide sufficient safeguards of reliability; and
 The child testifies or is unavailable as a witness, provided that there is other corroborative evidence of
the abuse or offense.
CS/HB 305 amends s. 90.803(23), F.S., to increase the physical, mental, emotional, or developmental age of a
child to which the hearsay exception applies from 16 years of age or less to 17 years of age or less.
Sections 775.21 and 943.0435, F.S., require any person convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a specified
sexual offense and who meets other statutory criteria to be designated as a sexual predator or sexual offender.
Each designation requires an offender to comply with similar registration and reregistration requirements,
however, sexual predators may be required to reregister more frequently. The Florida Sexual Predators Act, s.
775.21, F.S., classifies specified offenses as “single strike” offenses and other specified offenses as “second
strike” offenses for purposes of sexual predator designation. A single strike offense requires an offender to be
designated as a sexual predator upon conviction for a specified capital, life, or first-degree felony sexual
offense, or any attempt thereof. A second strike offense requires an offender to have a specified prior sexual
offense conviction before a conviction for a subsequent sexual offense requires the offender to be designated
as a sexual predator.
Currently, a single conviction for ss. 787.06(3)(f) or (g), F.S., generally relating to human trafficking of a minor
for commercial sexual activity, does not require an offender to be designated as a sexual predator. Instead,
such a conviction requires an offender to register as a sexual offender or may require him or her to be
designated as a sexual predator, but only if the offender also has a specified prior sexual offense conviction.
CS/HB 305 amends s. 775.21, F.S., to add ss. 787.06(3)(f) and (g), F.S., relating to human trafficking for
commercial sexual activity where the victim is a minor, to the list of offenses for which a single conviction
requires an offender to be designated as a sexual predator.
The bill may increase the number of offenders who are designated as a sexual predator and as such, may
increase the workload of sheriff offices tasked with monitoring and enforcing sexual offender and sexual
predator reporting requirements. However, any additional costs should be absorbed within existing resources.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2024.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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 FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Child Hearsay Exception
Hearsay is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at a trial or hearing,
offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. 1 Although hearsay is generally
inadmissible, s. 90.803, F.S., contains a variety of hearsay exceptions. Among these exceptions, s.
90.803(23), F.S., specifies that unless the source of information or the method or circumstances by
which the statement is reported indicates a lack of trustworthiness, an out-of-court statement made by
a child victim with a physical, mental, emotional, or developmental age of 16 or less 2 is admissible in
evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding when describing:
 Any act of child abuse or neglect;
 Any act of sexual abuse against a child;
 An offense of child abuse or aggravated child abuse; or
 Any offense involving an unlawful sexual act, contact, intrusion, or penetration performed in the
presence of, with, by, or on the declarant child.3
A child hearsay statement is admissible in evidence if:
 A court conducts a hearing outside the presence of the jury and finds that the time, content, and
circumstances of the statement provide sufficient safeguards of reliability; 4 and
 The child either:
o Testifies; or
o Is unavailable as a witness, provided that there is other corroborative evidence of the
abuse or offense. Unavailability may include a finding by the court that the child’s
participation in the trial or proceeding would result in a substantial likelihood of severe
emotional or mental harm, in addition to findings pursuant to s. 90.804(1), F.S. 5
In a criminal action, the defendant must be notified no later than 10 days before trial that a statement
which qualifies as a hearsay exception pursuant to s. 90.803(23), F.S., will be offered as evidence at
trial. The notice must include a written statement of the content of the child’s statement, the time at
which the statement was made, the circumstances surrounding the statement which indicate its
1
S. 90.801(1)(b), F.S. A declarant is a person who makes a statement. S. 90.801(1)(a), F.S.
2 In State v. Contreras, the Florida Supreme Court (FSC) explained, “The only age requirement is that the statement being admitted as
hearsay [under s. 90.803(23), F.S.] must have been made by a victim [sixteen] years or less in age.” 979 So. 2d 896 (Fla. 2008). This
age requirement relates to the child’s age when he or she made the out of court statement, not the child’s age at the time of trial. The
FSC decided Contreras before the Legislature amended the applicable child hearsay age from 11 to 16 years old. That change has not
affected the court’s analysis.
3 S. 90.803(23)(a), F.S.
4 In making its determination, the court may consider the mental and physical age and maturity of the child, the nature and duration of
the abuse or offense, the relationship of the child to the offender, the reliability of the assertion, the reliability of the child victim, and any
other factor deemed appropriate. S. 90.803(23)(a)1., F.S.
5 Section. 90.804(1), F.S., specifies that “unavailability as a witness” means that the declarant:
 Is exempted by a ruling of a court on the ground of privilege from testifying concerning the subject matter of the declarant’ s
statement;
 Persists in refusing to testify concerning the subject matter of the declarant’s statement despite an order of the court to d o so;
 Has suffered a lack of memory of the subject matter of his or her statement so as to destroy the declarant’s effectivene ss as a
witness during the trial;
 Is unable to be present or to testify at the hearing because of death or because of then -existing physical or mental illness or
infirmity; or
 Is absent from the hearing, and the proponent of a statement has been unable to procure the declarant’s attendance or
testimony by process or other reasonable means.
However, a declarant is not unavailable as a witness if such exemption, refusal, claim of lack of memory, inability to be pre sent, or
absence is due to the procurement or wrongdoing of the party who is the proponent of his or her statement in preventing the witness
from attending or testifying.
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 reliability, and such other particulars as necessary to provide full disclosure of the statement. The court
is also required to make specific findings of fact, on the record, as to the basis for its ruling on the
admissibility of child hearsay.6,7
Confrontation Clause
The Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause, which is binding on the States through the Fourteenth
Amendment, provides: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to be
confronted with the witnesses against him.” 8 Evidence that qualifies as a hearsay exception must still
satisfy the Sixth Amendment right to confrontation. In Crawford v. Washington,9 the United States
Supreme Court (Supreme Court) explained that “witnesses,” under the Confrontation Clause, are those
“who bear testimony,” and defined “testimony” as “a solemn declaration or affirmation made for the
purpose of establishing or proving some fact.” Crawford held that the admission of testimonial hearsay
complied with the Confrontation Clause only if the declarant testified at trial or was unavailable and the
accused had an opportunity for cross-examination. Although the Court declined to specifically define
the term “testimonial hearsay,” it held that statements made in response to police interrogations were
included within the definition and indicated that prior testimony, affidavits, depositions and confessions
were also included.10
As the Florida Supreme Court explained in State v. Contreras, “An out-of-court statement is not
admissible merely because it meets the statutory definition of child victim hearsay.”11 The State must
still satisfy other guarantees of the Confrontation Clause, which differs from the kind of protection that is
afforded by state evidence rules governing the admission of hearsay.
Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is 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.12 A person may not knowingly, or in reckless disregard
of the facts, engage in human trafficking, attempt to engage in human trafficking, or benefit financially
by receiving anything of value from participating in a venture that has subjected a person to human
trafficking for commercial sexual activity, labor, or services:
 By using coercion;13
 With or of a child or person believed to be a child younger than 18;14 or
 If for commercial sexual activity, with a mentally defective15 or mentally incapacitated16 person.17
Specifically, s. 787.06(3), F.S., in part, prohibits human trafficking:
6 S. 90.803(23)(b) and (c), F.S.
7 In 2013, CS/CS/HB 1325 amended s. 90.803(23), F.S., by increasing the physical, mental, emotional, or developmental age of a child
to which the hearsay exception applies from a child 11 years of age or less to a child 16 years of age or less. Ch. 2013-98, Laws of Fla.
8
U.S. Const. amend VI.
9 541 U.S. 36 (2004).
10 Charles W. Ehrhardt, Constitutional limitations on hearsay rule, 1 Fla. Prac., Evidence § 802.2 (2023 ed.).
11 979 So. 2d at 902.
12 S. 787.06(2)(d), F.S.
13 Ss. 787.06(3)(a)2., (b), (c)2., (d), (e)2., and (f)2., F.S.
14 Ss. 787.06(3)(a)1., (c)1., (e)1., (f)1., and (g), F.S.
15 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.
16 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.
17 S. 787.06(3)(g), F.S.
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  For commercial sexual activity by the transfer or transport of any child younger than 18 years of
age or an adult believed by the person to be a child younger than 18 years of age from outside
this state to within this state.18
 For commercial sexual activity in which any child younger than 18 years of age or an adult
believed by the person to be a child younger than 18 years of age, or in which any person who is
mentally defective or mentally incapacitated as those terms are defined in s. 794.011(1), F.S., is
involved.19
 Using coercion for commercial sexual activity by the transfer or transport of an adult from outside
this state to within this state.20
Florida’s Sexual Predator and Sexual Offender Registration Laws
Sections 775.21 and 943.0435, F.S., require registration of any person who has been convicted or
adjudicated delinquent of a specified sexual offense and who meets other statutory criteria that qualify
the person for designation as a sexual predator or classification as a sexual offender. The registration
laws also require reregistration and provide for public and community notification of certain information
about sexual predators and sexual offenders. The laws span several different chapters and numerous
statutes 21 and are implemented through the combined efforts of the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement (FDLE), all Florida sheriffs, the Department of Corrections (DOC), the Department of
Juvenile Justice (DJJ), the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the Department of
Children and Families.
A court must designate a person as a sexual predator if the person:
 Has been convicted of a qualifying capital, life, or first degree felony sexual offense committed
on or after October 1, 1993;
 Has been convicted of a qualifying sexual offense committed on or after October 1, 1993, and
has a prior conviction for a qualifying sexual offense; or
 Was found to be a sexually violent predator in a civil commitment proceeding. 22
A person is classified as a sexual offender if the person:
 Has been convicted of a qualifying sexual offense and has been released on or after October 1,
1997, from the sanction imposed for that offense;
 Establishes or maintains a Florida residence and is subject to registration or community or
public notification in another state or jurisdiction or is in the custody or control of, or under the
supervision of, another state or jurisdiction as a result of a conviction for a qualifying sexual
offense; or
 On or after July 1, 2007, has been adjudicated delinquent of a qualifying sexual battery or lewd
offense committed when the juvenile was 14 years of age or older. 23
Requirements for registration and reregistration are generally similar for sexual predators and sexual
offenders, but the frequency of reregistration may differ.24 Registration requirements may also differ
based on a special status, e.g., the sexual predator or sexual offender is in the DOC’s control or
18 S. 787.06(3)(f)1., F.S. This conduct is a first degree felony, punishable by imprisonment for a term of years not exceeding life, or as
provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, F.S.
19 S. 787.06(3)(g), F.S. This conduct is punishable as a life felony as provided in s. 775.082(3)(a)6., s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, F.S.
20
S. 787.06(3)(f)2., F.S. This conduct is a first degree felony, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, F.S.
21 Ss. 775.21-775.25, 943.043-943.0437, 944.606, 944.607, and 985.481-985.4815, F.S.
22 S. 775.21(4) and (5), F.S. The Jimmy Ryce Involuntary Civil Commitment for Sexually Violent Predators’ Treatment and Care Act,
part V, ch. 394, F.S., provides for the civil confinement of a group of sexual offenders who, due to their criminal history and the
presence of mental abnormality, are found likely to engage in future acts of sexual violence if they are not confined in a se cure facility
for long-term control, care, and treatment.
23 Ss. 943.0435(1)(h) and 985.4815(1)(h), F.S. Ss. 944.606(1)(f) and 944.607(1)(f), F.S., which address sexual offenders in the custody
of or under the DOC’s supervision, also define the term “sexual offender.”
24 All sexual predators, sexual offenders convicted for offenses specified in s. 943.0435(14)(b), F.S., and juvenile sexual offenders
required to register under s. 943.0435(1)(h)1.d., F.S., for certain offenses must reregister four times per year (on the birth month of the
sexual predator or qualifying sexual offender and every third month thereafter). Ss. 775.21(8)(a), 943.0435(14)(b), 944.607(13)(a), and
985.4815(13)(a), F.S. All other sexual offenders are required to reregister two tim