Florida Senate - 2009 CS for SB 168
By the Committee on Criminal Justice and Senators Joyner and
Rich
591-02147-09 2009168c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to human trafficking; creating within
3 the Executive Office of the Governor the Florida
4 Statewide Task Force on Human Trafficking; prescribing
5 the membership of the task force; providing for
6 members of the task force to serve without
7 compensation or reimbursement for per diem and travel
8 expenses; providing specific responsibilities and
9 duties of the task force and its members; requiring
10 that the task force prepare a final report by a
11 specified date; providing duties of the Florida State
12 University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights;
13 abolishing the task force on a specified date;
14 providing an effective date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Florida Statewide Task Force on Human
19 Trafficking.—
20 (1) The Legislature declares that the purpose of this act
21 is to create a public and private task force to examine and
22 analyze the problem of human trafficking and to plan for a
23 coordinated, humane response for victims of human trafficking
24 through a review of existing programs, a clarification of
25 existing options for such victims, and revised policy efforts to
26 coordinate governmental and private efforts.
27 (2)(a) There is created within the Executive Office of the
28 Governor the Florida Statewide Task Force on Human Trafficking,
29 a task force as defined in s. 20.03, Florida Statutes. The task
30 force is created for the express purpose of examining the
31 problem of human trafficking and recommending strategies and
32 actions for reducing or eliminating the unlawful trafficking of
33 men, women, and children into this state.
34 (b) The task force shall consist of the following
35 governmental members, or a designee:
36 1. The executive director of the Department of Law
37 Enforcement, who shall serve as co-chair.
38 2. The Secretary of Children and Family Services, who shall
39 serve as co-chair.
40 3. The Chief Financial Officer.
41 4. The Commissioner of Agriculture.
42 5. The Attorney General.
43 6. The State Surgeon General.
44 7. The statewide prosecutor.
45 8. The executive director of the Florida Commission on
46 Human Relations.
47 9. The Secretary of Business and Professional Regulation.
48 10. A sheriff.
49 11. A police chief.
50 (c) The task force shall consist of the following
51 nongovernmental members, or a designee:
52 1. The executive director of the Florida State University
53 Center for the Advancement of Human Rights.
54 2. The executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy
55 Center.
56 3. The secretary of the Coalition of Immokolee Workers.
57 4. The executive director of the Florida Coalition Against
58 Human Trafficking.
59 5. The executive director of the Florida Freedom
60 Partnership.
61 6. The executive director of Gulf Coast Legal Services.
62 7. The executive director of the Florida Council Against
63 Sexual Violence.
64 8. The executive director of the Florida Coalition Against
65 Domestic Violence.
66 (d) The Governor shall appoint the sheriff and police chief
67 by July 1, 2009. The Governor may appoint ex officio members at
68 any time.
69 (e) Members of the task force shall serve without
70 compensation or reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses.
71 (3)(a) The task force shall receive the Statewide Strategic
72 Plan currently being formulated by the Florida State University
73 Center for the Advancement of Human Rights. The strategic plan
74 shall be presented to the task force at the first meeting of the
75 task Force no later than November 1, 2009.
76 (b) The work of the task force is to receive, revise, and
77 propose a plan of implementation of the strategic plan no later
78 than October 1, 2010.
79 (4) The Florida State University Center for the Advancement
80 of Human Rights shall:
81 (a) Collect and organize data concerning the nature and
82 extent of trafficking of persons in Florida and measure and
83 evaluate the progress in the state in preventing trafficking,
84 protecting and providing assistance to victims of trafficking,
85 and prosecuting persons engaged in trafficking activities;
86 (b) Identify available federal, state, and local programs
87 in this state which provide services to victims of trafficking,
88 including, but not limited to, health care and human services,
89 housing services, education services, legal assistance, job
90 training or preparation classes, interpreting services, English
91 as a Second Language classes, and victim's compensation;
92 (c) Evaluate approaches to increase public awareness of
93 trafficking, particularly the risks of becoming a trafficking
94 victim; the common recruitment techniques; the use of debt
95 bondage, blackmail, forced labor and services, prostitution, and
96 other coercive tactics; the crime victims' rights; and the
97 reporting of recruitment activities involved in trafficking;
98 (d) Analyze the current state, local, and federal criminal
99 statutes for their adequacy in addressing trafficking and, if
100 the analysis determines that those statutes are inadequate,
101 recommend revisions to those statutes or the enactment of new
102 statutes that specifically define and address trafficking; and
103 (e) Consult with governmental and nongovernmental
104 organizations, especially those specializing in stopping
105 trafficking or representing diverse communities
106 disproportionately affected by trafficking, in developing
107 recommendations to strengthen state and local efforts to prevent
108 trafficking, protect and assist victims of trafficking, and
109 prosecute traffickers.
110 (5) The task force is abolished July 1, 2011.
111 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.