Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday that prevents anyone under 21 from working as a stripper and sets other laws in an effort to further crack down on human trafficking in the state.
DeSantis signed HB 7063 at a news conference at Granada Church in Coral Gables.
The law prohibits the employment of persons younger than 21 years of age in adult entertainment establishments
The bill also extends the lifetime of the statewide council on human trafficking in Florida's Department of Legal Affairs and requires Florida rest area service plazas, emergency rooms, strip clubs, massage parlors, and other places where trafficking can occur to display human trafficking awareness signs with numbers to human trafficking hotlines, and increase punishments for businesses that fail to do so.
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It also requires an entity that contracts with the state government to provide the state assurances they don't use coerced labor, and prohibits minors from being employed by adult entertainment establishments in any role and increases punishments for knowingly violating that.
The bill will take effect on July 1.
"This legislation will help better protect the most vulnerable in our communities, it will ensure that if businesses are not complying with these very modest, reasonable requirements, whether knowingly or unknowingly, they will be held accountable," DeSantis said. "And of course, anybody actively involved in human trafficking will have the book thrown at them in the state of Florida."
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DeSantis also announced that he would be approving $4.9 million in the state's budget to expand access to emergency beds for people rescued from human trafficking and to provide additional staff to increase human trafficking prevention efforts.
He also announced a $900K grant program enhance staffing and training for law enforcement combatting human trafficking.
Earlier this month, DeSantis signed a bill that will provide just over $1 million for fighting sex trafficking at massage establishments.
The bill, HB 197, will fund eight full-time positions at the Florida Department of Health to investigate an anticipated increase in complaints about the businesses.
The measure also will increase situations in which the agency can suspend licenses of massage therapists or massage establishments.
Last year, DeSantis signed a series of bills to fight human trafficking, including laws that increase penalties for those who prey on human trafficking victims and set a mandatory minimum sentence if a human trafficker discharges a firearm.
Another law also allow victims of human trafficking to recover damages from adult entertainment establishments, and requires hotels to follow human trafficking awareness laws, or be liable for thousands of dollars in fines daily.
