Title: Human Trafficking

Summary: Requiring the Department of Transportation and certain employers to display human trafficking public awareness signs at specified locations; providing civil penalties for violations, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to human trafficking; creating s. 787.08, F.S.; requiring the Department of Transportation and certain employers to display human trafficking public awareness signs at specified locations; providing civil penalties for violations; requiring the Attorney General, in consultation with certain others, to develop specifications for the form and content of such signs; providing sign requirements; providing that the Attorney General is responsible for enforcement; requiring rulemaking; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Section 787.08, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 787.08 Human trafficking public awareness signs.  (1) The Department of Transportation shall display a public awareness sign developed under subsection (3) in every rest area and welcome center in the state that is open to the public. (2)(a) The employer at each of the following establishments shall display a public awareness sign developed under subsection (3) near the public entrance of the establishment or in another conspicuous location that is clearly visible to both the public and employees of the establishment: 1. A strip club or other adult entertainment establishment. 2. An establishment found to be a nuisance for prostitution under s. 893.138. 3. A primary airport. 4. A passenger or light rail station. 5. A bus station. 6. A truck stop. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term  truck stop  means a privately owned and operated facility that provides food, fuel, shower or other sanitary facilities, and lawful overnight truck parking. 7. An emergency room within a general acute care hospital. 8. An urgent care center. 9. The premises of a farm labor contractor where farm laborers are regularly present. 10. A privately operated job recruitment center. 11. A business or establishment that offers massage or bodywork services for compensation that is not owned by a health care profession regulated pursuant to chapter and defined in s. 456.001. 12. A public K-12 school as described in s. 1000.04. 13. A public library. 14.  A health department and a health clinic. (b) The Attorney General shall impose a civil penalty of $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for a second or subsequent offense for an employer who knowingly fails to comply with paragraph (a). The civil penalty is the exclusive remedy for failure to comply with this section. (3)(a) The Attorney General shall, in consultation with anti-trafficking organizations and human trafficking survivors, develop specifications for the form and content of signs required by this section. (b) The required public notice must be at least 8.5 inches by inches in size, must be printed in at least a 16-point type, and must state substantially the following in English, Spanish, or any other language required by the Attorney General:  If you or someone you know is being forced to engage in an activity and cannot leave whether it is commercial sex, housework, farm work, factory work, retail work, restaurant work, or any other activity call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at [insert number] or text INFO or HELP to [insert number] to access help and services. Victims of slavery and human trafficking are protected under United States and Florida law.  (4) The Attorney General is responsible for enforcement of this section and shall adopt rules to implement this section. Section 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2016.