Senate Bill 472 (2023) — Protection of exploited persons
SB 472
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 472 By Senator Garcia 36-01597-23 2023472__ Page 1 of 11 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to protection of exploited persons; 2 amending s. 450.045, F.S.; providing criminal 3 penalties for the failure to verify and maintain 4 specified documentation of an adult theater employee 5 or contractor; amending s. 796.07, F.S.; requiring a 6 mandatory minimum term of incarceration for a person 7 convicted of solicitation of prostitution, lewdness, 8 or assignation; authorizing a judicial circuit to 9 offer an educational program to such a person; 10 providing topics for the educational program; 11 providing legislative intent; creating s. 847.126, 12 F.S.; providing
definitions; requiring a commercial 13 entity that publishes or distributes material harmful 14 to minors on the Internet from a website that contains 15 a substantial portion of such material to perform 16 reasonable age verification; providing for damages for 17 minors who access such sites; prohibiting such sites 18 from retaining identifying information; providing for 19 damages for violations; providing exceptions; 20 providing construction; amending s. 943.0433, F.S.; 21 conforming cross-references; providing effective 22 dates. 23 24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 25 26
Section 1. Paragraph (
e) is added to subsection (3) of 27
section 450.045, Florida Statutes, and paragraphs (a), (b), and 28 (
c) of that subsection are republished, to read: 29
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 472 36-01597-23 2023472__ Page 2 of 11 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 450.045 Proof of identity and age; posting of notices.— 30 (3)(
a) In order to provide the department and law 31 enforcement agencies the means to more effectively identify, 32 investigate, and arrest persons engaging in human trafficking, 33 an adult theater, as defined in s. 847.001(2)(b), shall obtain 34 proof of the identity and age of each of its employees or 35 independent contractors, and shall verify the validity of the 36 identification and age verification document with the issuer, 37 before his or her employment or provision of services as an 38 independent contractor. 39 (
b) The adult theater shall obtain and keep on record a 40 photocopy of the person’s driver license or state or federal 41 government-issued photo identification card, along with a record 42 of the verification of the validity of the identification and 43 age verification document with the issuer, during the entire 44 period of employment or business relationship with the 45 independent contractor and for at least 3 years after the 46 employee or independent contractor ceases employment or the 47 provision of services. 48 (
c) The department and its agents have the authority to 49 enter during operating hours, unannounced and without prior 50 notice, and inspect at any time a place or establishment covered 51 by this subsection and to have access to age verification 52 documents kept on file by the adult theater and such other 53 records as may aid in the enforcement of this subsection. 54 (
e) A person who owns, operates, or manages an adult 55 theater in violation of the requirements of this subsection 56 commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as 57 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 58
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Section 2. Subsection (5) of
section 796.07, Florida 59 Statutes, is amended, subsection (8) is added to that section, 60 and paragraph (
f) of subsection (2) of that
section is 61 republished, to read: 62 796.07 Prohibiting prostitution and related acts.— 63
(2) It is unlawful: 64 (
f) To solicit, induce, entice, or procure another to 65 commit prostitution, lewdness, or assignation. 66 (5)(
a) A person who violates paragraph (2)(
f) commits: 67 1. A misdemeanor of the first degree for a first violation, 68 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 69 2. A felony of the third degree for a second violation, 70 punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 71 3. A felony of the second degree for a third or subsequent 72 violation, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or 73 s. 775.084. 74 (
b) In addition to any other penalty imposed, the court 75 shall order a person convicted of a violation of paragraph 76 (2)(
f) to: 77 1. Perform 100 hours of community service.; and 78 2. Pay for and attend an educational program as described 79 in subsection (8) about the negative effects of prostitution and 80 human trafficking, such as a sexual violence prevention 81 education program, including such programs offered by faith-82 based providers, if such a program exists programs exist in the 83 judicial circuit in which the offender is sentenced. 84 3. Serve a minimum of: 85 a. Ten days in county jail for a first violation. 86 b. Thirty days in county jail for a second or subsequent 87
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 472 36-01597-23 2023472__ Page 4 of 11 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. violation. 88 (
c) In addition to any other penalty imposed, the court 89 shall sentence a person convicted of a second or subsequent 90 violation of paragraph (2)(
f) to a minimum mandatory period of 91 incarceration of 10 days. 92 (c)(d)1. If a person who violates paragraph (2)(
f) uses a 93 vehicle in the course of the violation, the judge, upon the 94 person’s conviction, may issue an order for the impoundment or 95 immobilization of the vehicle for a period of up to 60 days. The 96 order of impoundment or immobilization must include the names 97 and telephone numbers of all immobilization agencies meeting all 98 of the conditions of s. 316.193(13).
Within 7 business days 99 after the date that the court issues the order of impoundment or 100 immobilization, the clerk of the court must send notice by 101 certified mail, return receipt requested, to the registered 102 owner of the vehicle, if the registered owner is a person other 103 than the defendant, and to each person of record claiming a lien 104 against the vehicle. 105 2. The owner of the vehicle may request the court to 106 dismiss the order.
The court must dismiss the order, and the 107 owner of the vehicle will incur no costs, if the owner of the 108 vehicle alleges and the court finds to be true any of the 109 following: 110 a. The owner’s family has no other private or public means 111 of transportation; 112 b. The vehicle was stolen at the time of the offense; 113 c. The owner purchased the vehicle after the offense was 114 committed, and the sale was not made to circumvent the order and 115 allow the defendant continued access to the vehicle; or 116
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 472 36-01597-23 2023472__ Page 5 of 11 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. d. The vehicle is owned by the defendant but is operated 117 solely by employees of the defendant or employees of a business 118 owned by the defendant. 119 3. If the court denies the request to dismiss the order, 120 the petitioner may request an evidentiary hearing. If, at the 121 evidentiary hearing, the court finds to be true any of the 122 circumstances described in sub-subparagraphs (c)2.a.-d. sub-123 subparagraphs (d)2.a.-d., the court must dismiss the order and 124 the owner of the vehicle will incur no costs. 125 (d)(
e) The Soliciting for Prostitution Public Database 126 created pursuant to s. 943.0433 must include the criminal 127 history record of a person who is found guilty as a result of a 128 trial or who enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, 129 regardless of whether adjudication is withheld, of paragraph 130 (2)(f), and there is evidence that such person provided a form 131 of payment or arranged for the payment of such services.
Upon 132 conviction, the clerk of the court shall forward the criminal 133 history record of the person to the Department of Law 134 Enforcement, pursuant to s. 943.052(2), for inclusion in the 135 database. This paragraph shall stand repealed on January 1, 136 2024, unless reviewed and saved from repeal by the Legislature. 137
(8) A judicial circuit may establish an educational program 138 for persons convicted of or charged with a violation of 139 paragraph (2)(f), to include education on: 140 (
a) The relationship between demand for commercial sex and 141 human trafficking. 142 (
b) The impact of human trafficking on victims. 143 (
c) Coercion, consent, and sexual violence. 144 (
d) The health and legal consequences of commercial sex. 145
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e) The negative impact of commercial sex on prostituted 146 persons and the community. 147 (
f) The reasons and motivations for engaging in 148 prostitution. 149 150 An educational program under this subsection may include a 151 program offered by a faith-based provider. 152
Section
Section 847.126, Florida Statutes, is intended 153 to provide a civil remedy for damages against commercial 154 entities who distribute material harmful to minors. Pornography 155 is creating a public health crisis and is having a corroding 156 influence on minors. Due to advances in technology, the 157 universal availability of the Internet, and limited age 158 verification requirements, minors are exposed to pornography 159 younger in age.
Pornography contributes to the 160 hypersexualization of teens and prepubescent children and may 161 lead to low self-esteem, body image disorders, problematic 162 sexual activity at a young age, and desire among adolescents to 163 engage in risky sexual behavior. Pornography may also impact 164 brain development and functioning, contribute to emotional and 165 medical illnesses, shape deviant sexual arousal, lead to 166 difficulty in forming or maintaining positive intimate 167 relationships, and promote problematic or harmful sexual 168 behaviors and addiction. 169
Section 4. Effective January 1, 2024,
section 847.126, 170 Florida Statutes, is created to read: 171 847.126 Liability for publishers and distributors of 172 material harmful to minors.— 173
(1) As used in this section, the term: 174
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 472 36-01597-23 2023472__ Page 7 of 11 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. (a) “Commercial entity” includes corporations, limited 175 liability companies, partnerships, limited partnerships, sole 176 proprietorships, and any other legally recognized entities. 177 (b) “Distribute” means to issue, sell, give, provide, 178 deliver, transfer, transmute, circulate, or disseminate by any 179 means. 180 (c) “Internet” means the international computer network of 181 both federal and nonfederal interoperable packet-switched data 182 networks. 183 (d) “Material harmful to minors” means all of the 184 following: 185 1.
Any material that the average person applying 186 contemporary community standards would find, taken as a whole 187 and with respect to minors, appeals to or panders to the 188 prurient interest. 189 2. Any material that exploits, is devoted to, or 190 principally consists of descriptions of actual, simulated, or 191 animated display or depiction of any of the following, in a 192 manner patently offensive with respect to minors: 193 a. Pubic hair, anus, vulva, genitals, or nipple of the 194 female breast. 195 b. Touching, caressing, or fondling of nipples, breasts, 196 buttocks, anuses, or genitals. 197 c.
Sexual intercourse, masturbation, sodomy, bestiality, 198 oral copulation, flagellation, excretory functions, exhibitions, 199 or any other sexual act. 200 3. The material taken as a whole lacks serious literary, 201 artistic, political, or scientific value for minors. 202 (e) “News-gathering organization” means any of the 203
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 472 36-01597-23 2023472__ Page 8 of 11 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. following: 204 1. An employee of a newspaper, news publication, or news 205 source, printed or on an online or mobile platform, of current 206 news and public interest, while operating as an employee as 207 provided in this subparagraph, who can provide documentation of 208 such employment. 209 2.
An employee of a radio broadcast station, television 210 broadcast station, cable television operator, or wire service 211 while operating as an employee as provided in this subparagraph, 212 who can provide documentation of such employment. 213 (f) “Publish” means to communicate or make information 214 available to another person or entity on a publicly available 215 Internet website. 216 (g) “Reasonable age verification methods” include verifying 217 that the person seeking to access the material is 18 years of 218 age or older by using any of the following methods: 219 1.
Providing a digital proof of driver license or 220 identification card as provided in s. 322.032. 221 2. Requiring the person to comply with a commercial age 222 verification system that verifies age in one or more of the 223 following ways: 224 a. Government-issued identification. 225 b.
Any commercially reasonable method that relies on public 226 or private transactional data to verify the age of the person is 227 at least 18 years of age or older. 228 (h) “Substantial portion” means more than 33 1/3 percent of 229 total material on a website is material harmful to minors. 230 (i) “Transactional data” means a sequence of information 231 that documents an exchange, agreement, or transfer between a 232
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 472 36-01597-23 2023472__ Page 9 of 11 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. person and a commercial entity or a third party used for the 233 purpose of satisfying a request or event. Transactional data 234 includes, but is not limited to, records from mortgage, 235 education, and employment entities. 236 (2)(
a) A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally 237 publishes or distributes material harmful to minors on the 238 Internet on a website that contains a substantial portion of 239 such material must perform reasonable age verification methods 240 to verify the age of persons attempting to access the material. 241 (
b) A commercial entity that fails to comply with paragraph 242 (
a) is liable to a minor for damages resulting from the minor 243 accessing the material, including court costs and reasonable 244 attorney fees as ordered by the court. 245 (3)(
a) A commercial entity or third party that performs the 246 required age verification may not retain any identifying 247 information of the person after access has been granted to the 248 material. 249 (
b) A commercial entity that violates paragraph (
a) is 250 liable to the person for damages resulting from retaining the 251 identifying information, including court costs and reasonable 252 attorney fees as ordered by the court. 253 (4)(
a) This
section does not apply to any bona fide news or 254 public interest broadcast, website video, report, or event and 255 may not be construed to affect the rights of a news-gathering 256 organization. 257 (
b) An Internet service provider or its affiliates or 258 subsidiaries, a search engine, or a cloud service provider may 259 not be held to have violated this
section solely for providing 260 access or connection to or from a website or other information 261
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 472 36-01597-23 2023472__ Page 10 of 11 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. or content on the Internet or a facility, system, or network not 262 under that provider’s control, including transmission, 263 downloading, intermediate storage, or access software, to the 264 extent such provider is not responsible for the creation of the 265 content of the communication that constitutes material harmful 266 to minors. 267
Section 5. Subsection (1) and paragraphs (
a) and (
b) of 268 subsection (2) of
section 943.0433, Florida Statutes, are 269 amended to read: 270 943.0433 Soliciting for Prostitution Public Database.— 271
(1) The department shall create and administer the 272 Soliciting for Prostitution Public Database. The clerk of the 273 court shall forward to the department the criminal history 274 record of a person in accordance with s. 796.07(5)(
d) s. 275 796.07(5)(e), and the department shall add the criminal history 276 record to the database. 277 (2)(
a) The department shall automatically remove the 278 criminal history record of a person from the database if, after 279 5 years following the commission of an offense that meets the 280 criteria set forth in s. 796.07(5)(
d) s. 796.07(5)(e), such 281 person has not subsequently committed a violation that meets 282 such criteria or any other offense within that time that would 283 constitute a sexual offense, including, but not limited to, 284 human trafficking, or an offense that would require registration 285 as a sexual offender. 286 (
b) The department may not remove a criminal history record 287 from the database if a person commits a violation that meets the 288 criteria set forth in s. 796.07(5)(
d) s. 796.07(5)(
e) a second 289 or subsequent time. 290
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