Tampa Rep Toledo Announces Bill To Fight Human Trafficking Prior To #WearBlueDay

TAMPA, FL — As the nation observes National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in January and Human Trafficking Awareness Day Tuesday, state Rep. Jackie Toledo, R-Tampa, joined fellow state leaders, advocates and survivors at the Florida Capitol Monday to announce she's filed House Bill 1439, the Human Trafficking Reduction Act.

This legislation builds upon the gains won last session for prosecutors and trafficking survivors by seeking to ban hourly rates at motels, increase the penalties for first-time sex buyers, protect survivors when they petition to expunge offenses committed while under the control of traffickers, and support law enforcement in efforts to gather and collect data to better deter and detect trafficking across the state.

"Eliminating hourly-rate motels in our state is more one step toward eradicating this crime by shutting the doors on places for this illicit activity to occur," Toledo said. "By raising the bar for penalties associated with first-time sex buying from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, we will deter potential johns from entering into this multi-billion dollar marketplace. The bill also offers survivors the ability to petition for confidential expunction of a criminal record obtained while they were victims of trafficking."

HB 1439 also establishes the University of South Florida-St. Petersburg Trafficking in Persons Risk to Resilience Lab (TIP Lab) as a statewide repository for human trafficking data collected from law enforcement sources across the state.

This multi-faceted approach is seeking to run traffickers out of Florida by stripping them of places to hide, reducing demand, supporting victims in getting back on their feet and not falling back into the lifestyle while also giving law enforcement a huge injection of data for evidence-based strategies to better curb and prevent trafficking around the state, Toledo said.

Toledo was appointed to the Florida Statewide Council on Human Trafficking in December 2020 by Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R- Palm Harbor. In 2021, she passed a nationally acclaimed bill on human trafficking that streamlines advocate training, aids in the expungement of victims’ criminal records and strengthens the state’s role in the prosecution of trafficking cases to assume the role of victim, preventing the victim from reliving the trauma over again throughout trial.

“I said it last year and I will say it again, we want to make sure the message is loud and clear that Florida is closed to human trafficking," she said. "House Bill 1439 will give our law enforcement partners the necessary tools not only to deter and prevent this horrendous crime, but also to have the data they need to best address trafficking in their part of the state. Additionally, we are continuing to reform the expungement process for survivors so that they may regain their life and livelihood,” said Toledo.

Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island, has filed a companion bill in the Florida Senate targeting hourly rates at hotels, motels and vacation rentals to deny traffickers venues here in Florida.

“We are not making room at our hotels here in Florida for trafficking. While Florida has certainly made strides in its legislative response to human trafficking in recent years, we are not done," Bradley said. "Florida still ranks third in the country in instances of human trafficking. Our work in the state Legislature will not be done until we eradicate it from our borders.”

Brent Woody, lead attorney and executive director of the Justice Restoration Center, represents 150 survivors of human trafficking who are seeking to expunge undeserved criminal records.

“HB 1439 squarely addresses the fact that individuals who buy or attempt to buy women and men for prostitution create the demand that fuels the sex trafficking of women, men and children," he said. "With the passage of this bill, Florida will be one of only a few states to make first-time sex-buying a felony offense. Also, HB 1439 will further protect and empower survivors by requiring clerks of court to keep petitions to expunge confidential and by enabling survivors to expunge certain arrest records where the state dismissed the charge or the survivor was found not guilty.”

"Our team works tirelessly to eradicate this type of criminal activity from our community," said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister. "It's a sickening practice, and it's a business that, in the most unfortunate way, resembles modern-day slavery. Throughout the year, we run undercover operations in hopes of catching these criminals who prey on the most vulnerable in our society. It's a non-stop job. I want to commend Rep. Jackie Toledo for her continued efforts to keep individuals involved in this practice out of our beloved community and deter others from coming here to do so. There is a zero-tolerance policy for human trafficking in Hillsborough County."

In addition to the policy solutions offered in this bill, the USF-St. Petersburg TIP Lab is one of the pre-eminent institutions in the world that addresses human trafficking data collection and analysis. It is run by Dr. Joan A. Reid, a leading expert on the topic who has authored two books and more than 50 articles on the subject. This initiative will allow law enforcement to benefit from technology and academic analysis of the common human trafficking routes in the state as well as hotspots and warning signs to better predict, react and ultimately prevent human trafficking.

“A key request from those on the front lines combatting human trafficking in Florida is for good, clean human trafficking data," Reid said. "Currently, the lack of good data means we are combatting human trafficking in the dark with no reliable information on where and how to address the problem. Accurate, complete data from a statewide data depository will provide crime trend identification, support law enforcement development of more specific interdiction strategies, close knowledge gaps, and better position providers to address all survivor needs. This bill filed by Rep. Jackie Toledo – who is a true champion of the anti-trafficking movement – will substantially advance anti-trafficking efforts in Florida by informing those on the front lines.”

“This bill would assist law enforcement agencies throughout the state in not only helping the victims of human trafficking but in giving them access to a coordinated set of resources to help apprehend human traffickers," Chief Anthony Holloway of the St. Petersburg Police Department and head of the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force said.

House Bill 1439 was filed Monday in advance of the start of Florida’s 2022 Legislative Session.

Residents can join in the fight against human trafficking on Tuesday, Jan. 11, by participating in #WearBlueDay to bring attention to human trafficking and start conversations about the crime.

"Just wear something blue and post a photo of yourself with the hashtag #WearBlueDay on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram," Toledo said. noting that blue is the international color of human trafficking awareness.