(The Center Square) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law on Tuesday sweeping anti-human trafficking legislation to curb that DeSantis and other state leaders blame on a porous southern border.
“We’ve been very proud to be a law and order state, we’ve been supportive of law enforcement…we’ve never wavered in that. We’ve never wavered in the idea that people who commit crimes need to be held accountable,” DeSantis said at a news conference at Lighthouse Point.
Senate Bill 1690 sponsored by Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill and addresses sexual exploitation and human trafficking and requires residential treatment centers for children and adolescents to place specific signage while requiring the Department of Children and Families to adopt certain rules. The department must also certify adult safehouses that provide care and housing to victims of human trafficking.
The bill further states that the Services and Resources Committee of the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking is required to conduct a study of human trafficking and make recommendations.
SB 7064 increases the penalties for crimes involving human trafficking, and victims that have been trafficked by adult entertainment establishments will be able to file a civil action against those persons or entities involved. A database will also be established at the University of South Florida to evaluate trends. House Bill 1465 enhances penalties for violent traffickers, who are also subject to minimum prison terms if they possess a firearm. The newly created database will contain information from law enforcement about trafficking allegations and investigations.
Also in attendance was Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R- Naples, who thanked DeSantis for his leadership, and called the last few years groundbreaking for making meaningful laws.
“We want to protect the victims. We are making sure to hold traffickers accountable…We want to keep on the right track,” Passidomo said.
House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, said that the human trafficking problem has exploded because the federal government is going in the opposite direction.
“We’ve got hundreds of human traffickers coming across our open border and thousands of new human trafficking victims, which is absolutely tragic. But here today with the governor’s leadership, we’re doing something about it,” Renner said.
Attorney General Ashely Moody said part of the reason that Florida is a hot spot for human trafficking is because of the state’s booming tourism industry and the agriculture industry.
“Not a year has gone by that we have not strengthened or added laws in Florida to go after human traffickers and better protect victims,” Moody said.
DeSantis also announced Tuesday, that the statewide grand jury report that was impaneled by the Florida Supreme Court has discovered that at least 250,000 unaccompanied minors have entered the U.S. since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
