| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to travel for commercial sexual purposes; |
| 3 | amending s. 559.927, F.S.; defining the term "travel for |
| 4 | commercial sexual purposes"; amending s. 559.928, F.S.; |
| 5 | requiring the seller of travel to include in the initial |
| 6 | registration documents, and in the annual affidavit to |
| 7 | renew the registration, sent to the Department of |
| 8 | Agriculture and Consumer Services a statement that the |
| 9 | seller of travel does not knowingly offer for sale, |
| 10 | facilitate, or promote travel services for commercial |
| 11 | sexual purposes; requiring each independent agent to |
| 12 | include in the annual affidavit filed with the department |
| 13 | prior to engaging in business a statement that the seller |
| 14 | of travel does not knowingly offer for sale, facilitate, |
| 15 | or promote travel services for commercial sexual purposes; |
| 16 | providing that the department may deny or refuse to renew |
| 17 | the registration of any seller of travel based upon a |
| 18 | determination that the seller of travel has knowingly and |
| 19 | intentionally offered for sale, facilitated, advertised, |
| 20 | or promoted travel services for commercial sexual |
| 21 | purposes; amending s. 559.9335, F.S.; providing that an |
| 22 | offer of sale, an advertisement, or a promotion of travel |
| 23 | services for commercial sexual purposes is a violation of |
| 24 | part XI of ch. 559, F.S.; amending s. 559.937, F.S.; |
| 25 | providing that a seller of travel who knowingly and |
| 26 | intentionally offers for sale, facilitates, advertises, or |
| 27 | promotes travel services for commercial sexual purposes |
| 28 | commits a felony of the second degree; providing criminal |
| 29 | penalties; authorizing a court to freeze the assets of a |
| 30 | seller of travel who has or is about to commit such |
| 31 | offense; providing procedures; providing an effective |
| 32 | date. |
| 33 |
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| 34 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 35 |
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| 36 | Section 1. Present subsection (11) of section 559.927, |
| 37 | Florida Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (12), and a new |
| 38 | subsection (11) is added to that section to read: |
| 39 | 559.927 Definitions.--For the purposes of this part, the |
| 40 | term: |
| 41 | (11) "Travel for commercial sexual purposes" means travel, |
| 42 | transportation, or vacation services provided for the purposes |
| 43 | of enabling the customer to engage in prostitution or engage a |
| 44 | prostitute as defined in s. 796.07 or to engage in a sexual act, |
| 45 | sexual contact, sexual touching, or sexual activity, as defined |
| 46 | in s. 796.07, for which anything of value is given to or |
| 47 | promised or received by a person. |
| 48 | Section 2. Subsections (1), (3), and (9) of section |
| 49 | 559.928, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 50 | 559.928 Registration.-- |
| 51 | (1) Each seller of travel shall annually register with the |
| 52 | department, providing: its legal business or trade name, mailing |
| 53 | address, and business locations; the full names, addresses, |
| 54 | telephone numbers, and social security numbers of its owners or |
| 55 | corporate officers and directors and the Florida agent of the |
| 56 | corporation; a statement whether it is a domestic or foreign |
| 57 | corporation, its state and date of incorporation, its charter |
| 58 | number, and, if a foreign corporation, the date it registered |
| 59 | with the State of Florida, and occupational license where |
| 60 | applicable; the date on which a seller of travel registered its |
| 61 | fictitious name if the seller of travel is operating under a |
| 62 | fictitious or trade name; the name of all other corporations, |
| 63 | business entities, and trade names through which each owner of |
| 64 | the seller of travel operated, was known, or did business as a |
| 65 | seller of travel within the preceding 5 years; a list of all |
| 66 | authorized independent agents, including the agent's trade name, |
| 67 | full name, mailing address, business address, telephone numbers, |
| 68 | and social security number; the business location and address of |
| 69 | each branch office and full name and address of the manager or |
| 70 | supervisor; and proof of purchase of adequate bond or |
| 71 | establishment of a letter of credit or certificate of deposit as |
| 72 | required in this part. The registration documents sent to the |
| 73 | department must include a statement that the seller of travel |
| 74 | does not knowingly offer for sale, facilitate, or promote travel |
| 75 | services for commercial sexual purposes. A certificate |
| 76 | evidencing proof of registration shall be issued by the |
| 77 | department and must be prominently displayed in the seller of |
| 78 | travel's primary place of business. |
| 79 | (3) Each independent agent shall annually file an |
| 80 | affidavit with the department prior to engaging in business in |
| 81 | this state. This affidavit must include the independent agent's |
| 82 | full name, legal business or trade name, mailing address, |
| 83 | business address, telephone number, social security number, and |
| 84 | the name or names and addresses of each seller of travel |
| 85 | represented by the independent agent. The affidavit must also |
| 86 | state that the seller of travel does not knowingly offer for |
| 87 | sale, facilitate, or promote travel services for commercial |
| 88 | sexual purposes. A letter evidencing proof of filing must be |
| 89 | issued by the department and must be prominently displayed in |
| 90 | the independent agent's primary place of business. As used in |
| 91 | this subsection, the term "independent agent" means a person who |
| 92 | represents a seller of travel by soliciting persons on its |
| 93 | behalf; who has a written contract with a seller of travel which |
| 94 | is operating in compliance with this part and any rules adopted |
| 95 | thereunder; who does not receive a fee, commission, or other |
| 96 | valuable consideration directly from the purchaser for the |
| 97 | seller of travel; who does not at any time have any unissued |
| 98 | ticket stock or travel documents in his or her possession; and |
| 99 | who does not have the ability to issue tickets, vacation |
| 100 | certificates, or any other travel document. The term |
| 101 | "independent agent" does not include an affiliate of the seller |
| 102 | of travel, as that term is used in s. 559.935(3), or the |
| 103 | employees of the seller of travel or of such affiliates. |
| 104 | (9) The department may deny or refuse to renew the |
| 105 | registration of any seller of travel based upon a determination |
| 106 | that the seller of travel, or any of its directors, officers, |
| 107 | owners, or general partners: |
| 108 | (a) Has failed to meet the requirements for registration |
| 109 | as provided in this part; |
| 110 | (b) Has been convicted of a crime involving fraud, |
| 111 | dishonest dealing, or any other act of moral turpitude; |
| 112 | (c) Has not satisfied a civil fine or penalty arising out |
| 113 | of any administrative or enforcement action brought by any |
| 114 | governmental agency or private person based upon conduct |
| 115 | involving fraud, dishonest dealing, or any violation of this |
| 116 | part; |
| 117 | (d) Has pending against her or him any criminal, |
| 118 | administrative, or enforcement proceedings in any jurisdiction, |
| 119 | based upon conduct involving fraud, dishonest dealing, or any |
| 120 | other act of moral turpitude; or |
| 121 | (e) Has knowingly and intentionally offered for sale, |
| 122 | facilitated, advertised, or promoted travel services for |
| 123 | commercial sexual purposes; or |
| 124 | (f)(e) Has had a judgment entered against her or him in |
| 125 | any action brought by the department or the Department of Legal |
| 126 | Affairs pursuant to ss. 501.201-501.213 or this part. |
| 127 | Section 3. Subsection (25) is added to section 559.9335, |
| 128 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 129 | 559.9335 Violations.--It is a violation of this part for |
| 130 | any person: |
| 131 | (25) To knowingly and intentionally offer for sale, |
| 132 | facilitate, advertise, or promote travel services for commercial |
| 133 | sexual purposes. |
| 134 | Section 4. Section 559.937, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 135 | to read: |
| 136 | 559.937 Criminal penalties; freezing of assets.-- |
| 137 | (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), any person or |
| 138 | business that which violates this part commits a misdemeanor of |
| 139 | the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. |
| 140 | 775.083. |
| 141 | (2)(a) A seller of travel may not knowingly or |
| 142 | intentionally offer for sale, promote, advertise, or otherwise |
| 143 | facilitate travel for commercial sexual purposes. |
| 144 | (b) A seller of travel who violates paragraph (a) commits |
| 145 | a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. |
| 146 | 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. |
| 147 | (3)(a) A court may issue an attachment order directing a |
| 148 | financial institution to freeze some or all of the funds or |
| 149 | assets deposited with or held by the financial institution by or |
| 150 | on behalf of a seller of travel when there exists a reasonable |
| 151 | suspicion that the seller of travel has violated or is about to |
| 152 | violate paragraph (2)(a). |
| 153 | (b) A petition to attach assets must be filed by the |
| 154 | department and must contain: |
| 155 | 1. A statement of facts relied upon by the department, |
| 156 | including the details of the particular offense that is about to |
| 157 | be committed or that has been committed; and |
| 158 | 2. Identification of the name and financial institution |
| 159 | account number of the seller of travel. |
| 160 | (c) If the court finds there exists a reasonable suspicion |
| 161 | that the seller of travel has violated or is about to violate |
| 162 | paragraph (2)(a), that the accounts of the seller of travel can |
| 163 | be specifically identified, and that it is necessary to freeze |
| 164 | the account holder's funds or assets in order to ensure eventual |
| 165 | restitution to victims of the alleged offense, the court may |
| 166 | order a financial institution to freeze all or part of the |
| 167 | deposited funds or assets of the seller of travel so that the |
| 168 | funds or assets may not be withdrawn or disposed of until |
| 169 | further order of the court. |
| 170 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |