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