F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 59 2023
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to human trafficking and prostitution;
3 amending s. 787.06, F.S.; revising the definition of
4 the term "coercion"; making technical changes;
5 amending s. 796.07, F.S.; prohibiting facilitating or
6 enabling the receiving of persons into any place,
7 structure, building, or conveyance for the purpose of
8 prostitution, lewdness, or assignation; prohibiting
9 facilitating or enabling any person to remain in such
10 place, structure, building, or conveyance for such
11 purpose; prohibiting knowingly engaging in specified
12 activities for the purpose of prostitution and thereby
13 benefitting financially or receiving anything of
14 value; providing increased criminal penalties for
15 specified prohibited acts relating to lewdness,
16 assignation, or prostitution; providing criminal
17 penalties; deleting provisions relating to the
18 reclassification of penalties if a massage
19 establishment is used for lewdness, assignation, or
20 prostitution; amending ss. 456.074, 480.041, and
21 943.0433, F.S.; conforming provisions and cross-
22 references to changes made by the act; providing an
23 effective date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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26
27 Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 787.06, Florida
28 Statutes, is amended to read:
29 787.06 Human trafficking.—
30 (2) As used in this section, the term:
31 (a) "Coercion" includes, but is not limited to means:
32 1. Using or threatening to use physical force against any
33 person;
34 2. Restraining, isolating, or confining, or threatening to
35 restrain, isolate, or confine, any person without lawful
36 authority and against her or his will;
37 3. Using lending or other credit methods to establish a
38 debt by any person when labor or services are pledged as a
39 security for the debt, if the value of the labor or services as
40 reasonably assessed is not applied toward the liquidation of the
41 debt, the length and nature of the labor or services are not
42 respectively limited and defined;
43 4. Destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating,
44 withholding, or possessing any actual or purported passport,
45 visa, or other immigration document, or any other actual or
46 purported government identification document, of any person;
47 5. Causing or threatening to cause financial harm to any
48 person or withholding income from a person which he or she
49 earned;
50 6. Enticing or luring any person by fraud or deceit; or
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51 7. Providing a controlled substance as outlined in
52 Schedule I or Schedule II of s. 893.03, alcohol, or any other
53 drug to any person for the purpose of exploitation of that
54 person.
55 (b) "Commercial sexual activity" means any violation of
56 chapter 796 or an attempt to commit any such offense, and
57 includes sexually explicit performances and the production of
58 pornography.
59 (c) "Financial harm" includes extortionate extension of
60 credit, loan sharking as defined in s. 687.071, or employment
61 contracts that violate the statute of frauds as provided in s.
62 725.01.
63 (d) "Human trafficking" means transporting, soliciting,
64 recruiting, harboring, providing, enticing, maintaining,
65 purchasing, patronizing, procuring, or obtaining another person
66 for the purpose of exploitation of that person.
67 (e) "Labor" means work of economic or financial value.
68 (f) "Maintain" means, in relation to labor or services, to
69 secure or make possible continued performance thereof,
70 regardless of any initial agreement on the part of the victim to
71 perform such type service.
72 (g) "Obtain" means, in relation to labor, commercial
73 sexual activity, or services, to receive, take possession of, or
74 take custody of another person or secure performance thereof.
75 (h) "Services" means any act committed at the behest of,
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76 under the supervision of, or for the benefit of another. The
77 term includes, but is not limited to, forced marriage,
78 servitude, or the removal of organs.
79 (i) "Sexually explicit performance" means an act or a
80 show, whether public or private, which that is live,
81 photographed, recorded, or videotaped and intended to arouse or
82 satisfy the sexual desires or appeal to a the prurient interest.
83 (j) "Unauthorized alien" means an alien who is not
84 authorized under federal law to be employed in the United
85 States, as provided in 8 U.S.C. s. 1324a(h)(3). The term shall
86 be interpreted consistently with that section and any applicable
87 federal rules or regulations.
88 (k) "Venture" means any group of two or more individuals
89 associated in fact, whether or not a legal entity.
90 Section 2. Present subsections (5) and (6) of section
91 796.07, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (6)
92 and (7), respectively, a new subsection (5) and subsection (8)
93 are added to that section, and subsections (2) and (4) and
94 present subsection (7) of that section are amended, to read:
95 796.07 Prohibiting prostitution and related acts.—
96 (2) It is unlawful:
97 (a) To own, establish, maintain, or operate any place,
98 structure, building, or conveyance for the purpose of lewdness,
99 assignation, or prostitution.
100 (b) To offer, or to offer or agree to secure, another for
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101 the purpose of prostitution or for any other lewd or indecent
102 act.
103 (c) To receive, or to offer or agree to receive, or to
104 facilitate or enable the receiving of, any person into any
105 place, structure, building, or conveyance for the purpose of
106 prostitution, lewdness, or assignation, or to facilitate,
107 enable, or permit any person to remain there for such purpose.
108 (d) To direct, take, or transport, or to offer or agree to
109 direct, take, or transport, any person to any place, structure,
110 or building, or to any other person, with knowledge or
111 reasonable cause to believe that the purpose of such directing,
112 taking, or transporting is prostitution, lewdness, or
113 assignation.
114 (e) For a person 18 years of age or older to offer to
115 commit, or to commit, or to engage in, prostitution, lewdness,
116 or assignation.
117 (f) To solicit, induce, entice, or procure another to
118 commit prostitution, lewdness, or assignation.
119 (g) To reside in, enter, or remain in, any place,
120 structure, or building, or to enter or remain in any conveyance,
121 for the purpose of prostitution, lewdness, or assignation.
122 (h) To aid, abet, or participate in any of the acts or
123 things enumerated in this subsection.
124 (i) To purchase the services of any person engaged in
125 prostitution.
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126 (j) For a person to knowingly, or in reckless disregard of
127 the facts:
128 1. Engage in the soliciting, recruiting, harboring,
129 enticing, purchasing, or procuring of another person for the
130 purpose of prostitution; and
131 2. Benefit financially or receive anything of value, or
132 intend to benefit financially or receive anything of value, by
133 participating in such soliciting, recruiting, harboring,
134 enticing, purchasing, or procuring of another person.
135 (4)(a) A person who violates any provision of this
136 section, other than paragraph (2)(a), paragraph (2)(f), or
137 paragraph (2)(j), commits:
138 1. A misdemeanor of the second degree for a first
139 violation, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
140 2. A misdemeanor of the first degree for a second
141 violation, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
142 3. A felony of the third degree for a third or subsequent
143 violation, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or
144 s. 775.084.
145 (b) A person who is charged with a third or subsequent
146 violation of this section, other than paragraph (2)(a),
147 paragraph (2)(f), or paragraph (2)(j), shall be offered
148 admission to a pretrial intervention program or a substance
149 abuse treatment program as provided in s. 948.08.
150 (5)(a) A person who violates paragraph (2)(a) commits a
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151 felony of the third degree for a first violation, punishable as
152 provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
153 (b) A person who violates paragraph (2)(a) commits a
154 felony of the second degree for a second or subsequent
155 violation, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or
156 s. 775.084.
157 (8) A person who violates paragraph (2)(j) commits a
158 felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.
159 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
160 (7) If the place, structure, building, or conveyance that
161 is owned, established, maintained, or operated in violation of
162 paragraph (2)(a) is a massage establishment that is or should be
163 licensed under s. 480.043, the offense shall be reclassified to
164 the next higher degree as follows:
165 (a) A misdemeanor of the second degree for a first
166 violation is reclassified as a misdemeanor of the first degree,
167 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
168 (b) A misdemeanor of the first degree for a second
169 violation is reclassified as a felony of the third degree,
170 punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
171 (c) A felony of the third degree for a third or subsequent
172 violation is reclassified as a felony of the second degree,
173 punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
174 Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 456.074, Florida
175 Statutes, is amended to read:
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176 456.074 Certain health care practitioners; immediate
177 suspension of license.—
178 (4) The department shall issue an emergency order
179 suspending the license of a massage therapist or establishment
180 as defined in chapter 480 upon receipt of information that the
181 massage therapist, a person with an ownership interest in the
182 establishment, or, for a corporation that has more than $250,000
183 of business assets in this state, the owner, officer, or
184 individual directly involved in the management of the
185 establishment has been convicted or found guilty of, or has
186 entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, regardless of
187 adjudication, a violation of s. 796.07(2)(a) which is
188 reclassified under s. 796.07(7) or a felony offense under any of
189 the following provisions of state law or a similar provision in
190 another jurisdiction:
191 (a) Section 787.01, relating to kidnapping.
192 (b) Section 787.02, relating to false imprisonment.
193 (c) Section 787.025, relating to luring or enticing a
194 child.
195 (d) Section 787.06, relating to human trafficking.
196 (e) Section 787.07, relating to human smuggling.
197 (f) Section 794.011, relating to sexual battery.
198 (g) Section 794.08, relating to female genital mutilation.
199 (h) Former s. 796.03, relating to procuring a person under
200 the age of 18 for prostitution.
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201 (i) Former s. 796.035, relating to the selling or buying
202 of minors into prostitution.
203 (j) Section 796.04, relating to forcing, compelling, or
204 coercing another to become a prostitute.
205 (k) Section 796.05, relating to deriving support from the
206 proceeds of prostitution.
207 (l) Section 796.07(4)(a)3., relating to a felony of the
208 third degree for a third or subsequent violation of s. 796.07,
209 relating to prohibiting prostitution and related acts.
210 (m) Section 800.04, relating to lewd or lascivious
211 offenses committed upon or in the presence of persons less than
212 16 years of age.
213 (n) Section 825.1025(2)(b), relating to lewd or lascivious
214 offenses committed upon or in the presence of an elderly or
215 disabled person.
216 (o) Section 827.071, relating to sexual performance by a
217 child.
218 (p) Section 847.0133, relating to the protection of
219 minors.
220 (q) Sec