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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to human trafficking; amending s. 2
562.13, F.S.; revising applicability; creating s. 3
787.30, F.S.; providing definitions; prohibiting the 4
employment of persons younger than 21 years of age in 5
adult entertainment establishments; providing criminal 6
penalties; requiring adult entertainment 7
establishments to check identification of 8
entertainers; specifying forms of identification that 9
may be used; providing an effective date. 10
11
WHEREAS, Florida is ranked third nationally for reported 12
cases of human trafficking abuses, many of which involved sex 13
trafficking, and 14
WHEREAS, adult entertainment establishments are widely 15
recognized as being a sign ificant part of the sex trafficking 16
network used by traffickers to coerce and facilitate men, women, 17
and children into performing sexual acts, which places the 18
employees of these establishments in direct and frequent contact 19
with the victims of human traff icking, and 20
WHEREAS, victims of sex trafficking are frequently 21
recruited to work as performers or employees in adult 22
entertainment establishments, and 23
WHEREAS, researchers have found that sex trafficking 24
victims are more likely to be trafficked by someon e from within 25
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her or his own community, and 26
WHEREAS, persons younger than 21 years of age are more 27
likely to still remain within and dependent on the community in 28
which they were raised, and 29
WHEREAS, research studies have identified the average age 30
at which a person in the United States enters the sex trade for 31
the first time is age 17, and 32
WHEREAS, sex trade at adult entertainment establishments is 33
a common occurrence in Florida, thereby subjecting performers at 34
these establishments to frequent proposit ions and enticements to 35
engage in sex trade actions and sex trafficking from customers, 36
as well as strip club employees, managers, and owners, and 37
WHEREAS, an understanding of history and human nature 38
reveals that there are sex criminals of various kinds who will 39
prey on the young and vulnerable, and 40
WHEREAS, restricting the employment of persons younger than 41
21 years of age at adult entertainment establishments furthers 42
an important state interest of protecting those vulnerable 43
individuals from sex traff icking, drug abuse, and other harm, 44
and 45
WHEREAS, many court opinions recognize that while 46
expressive activities are entitled to some First Amendment 47
protections at adult entertainment establishments, content 48
neutral restrictions or regulations intended to minimize the 49
secondary harmful effects of those businesses tend to be upheld, 50
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and 51
WHEREAS, on November 16, 2018, the federal Fifth Circuit 52
Court of Appeals, in the case of Jane Doe I v. Landry , 909 F.3d 53
99 (5th Cir. 2018), upheld a Louisiana law that pro hibited 54
establishments licensed to serve alcohol from employing nearly 55
nude entertainers younger than 21 years of age on the grounds 56
that the law furthered the state's interests in curbing human 57
trafficking and prostitution, and 58
WHEREAS, the federal distr ict court in Valadez v. Paxton, 59
553 F.Supp.3d 387 (W.D. Tex. 2021), denied a motion for a 60
preliminary injunction against the enforcement of Texas Senate 61
Bill 315 prohibiting "all working relationships between 18 -20-62
year-olds and sexually-oriented businesses" because the 63
plaintiffs failed to show that the age restrictions were not 64
rationally related to the state's interest in curbing human 65
trafficking, and 66
WHEREAS, the federal district court in DC Operating, LLC v. 67
Paxton, 586 F.Supp.3d 554 (W.D. Tex. 2022) , denied a motion for 68
a preliminary injunction against Texas Senate Bill 315, at least 69
in part, because of the state's evidence of the correlation 70
between raising the minimum employment age and reducing human 71
trafficking, and 72
WHEREAS, the federal district court in Wacko's Too, Inc., 73
v. City of Jacksonville , 658 F.Supp.3d 1086 (M.D. Fla. 2023), 74
upheld age restrictions in a City of Jacksonville ordinance 75
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requiring performers at adult entertainment establishments to be 76
at least 21 years of age based, at least in part, on evidence 77
that there was a reasonable basis to believe that the age 78
restrictions would further the city's interest in preventing 79
human and sex trafficking, NOW, THEREFORE, 80
81
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 82
83
Section 1. Section 562.13, Florida Statutes, is amended to 84
read: 85
562.13 Employment of minors or certain other persons by 86
certain vendors prohibited; exceptions. — 87
(1) Unless otherwise provided in this section, it is 88
unlawful for any vendor licensed und er the Beverage Law to 89
employ any person under 18 years of age. 90
(2) This section shall not apply to: 91
(a) Professional entertainers 17 years of age who are not 92
in school. 93
(b) Minors employed in the entertainment industry, as 94
defined by s. 450.012(5), who have either been granted a waiver 95
under s. 450.095 or employed under the terms of s. 450.132 or 96
under rules adopted pursuant to either of these sections. 97
(c) Persons under the age of 18 years who are employed in 98
drugstores, grocery stores, department stores, florists, 99
specialty gift shops, or automobile service stations which have 100
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obtained licenses to sell beer or beer and wine, when such sales 101
are made for consumption off the premises. 102
(d) Persons 17 years of age or over or any person 103
furnishing evidence that he or she is a senior high school 104
student with written permission of the principal of said senior 105
high school or that he or she is a senior high school graduate, 106
or any high school graduate, employed by a bona fide food 107
service establishment wh ere alcoholic beverages are sold, 108
provided such persons do not participate in the sale, 109
preparation, or service of the beverages and that their duties 110
are of such nature as to provide them with training and 111
knowledge as might lead to further advancement in food service 112
establishments. 113
(e) Persons under the age of 18 years employed as 114
bellhops, elevator operators, and others in hotels when such 115
employees are engaged in work apart from the portion of the 116
hotel property where alcoholic beverages are offered for sale 117
for consumption on the premises. 118
(f) Persons under the age of 18 years employed in bowling 119
alleys in which alcoholic beverages are sold or consumed, so 120
long as such minors do not participate in the sale, preparation, 121
or service of such beverages . 122
(g) Persons under the age of 18 years employed by a bona 123
fide dinner theater as defined in this paragraph, as long as 124
their employment is limited to the services of an actor, 125
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actress, or musician. For the purposes of this paragraph, a 126
dinner theater means a theater presenting consecutive 127
productions playing no less than 3 weeks each in conjunction 128
with dinner service on a regular basis. In addition, both events 129
must occur in the same room, and the only advertised price of 130
admission must include both the cost of the meal and the 131
attendance at the performance. 132
(h) Persons under the age of 18 years who are employed in 133
places of business licensed under s. 565.02(6), provided such 134
persons do not participate in the sale, preparation, or service 135
of alcoholic beverages. 136
137
However, a minor who qualifies for one of the exceptions in this 138
subsection to whom this subsection otherwise applies may not be 139
employed if the employment, whether as a professional 140
entertainer or otherwise if such employment, involves nudity, as 141
defined in s. 847.001, on the part of the minor and such nudity 142
is intended as a form of adult entertainment , or be employed by 143
an adult entertainment establishment, as defined in s. 847.001 . 144
(3)(a) It is unlawful for any vendor licensed under the 145
beverage law to employ as a manager or person in charge or as a 146
bartender any person: 147
1. Who has been convicted within the last past 5 years of 148
any offense against the beverage laws of this state, the United 149
States, or any other state. 150
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2. Who has been convicted within the last past 5 years in 151
this state or any other state or the United States of soliciting 152
for prostitution, pandering, letting premises for prostitution, 153
keeping a disorderly place, or any felony violation of chapter 154
893 or the controlled su bstances act of any other state or the 155
Federal Government. 156
3. Who has, in the last past 5 years, been convicted of 157
any felony in this state, any other state, or the United States. 158
159
The term "conviction" shall include an adjudication of guilt on 160
a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or forfeiture of a bond when 161
such person is charged with a crime. 162
(b) This subsection shall not apply to any vendor licensed 163
under the provisions of s. 563.02(1)(a) or s. 564.02(1)(a). 164
Section 2. Section 787.30, Florida Sta tutes, is created to 165
read: 166
787.30 Employing persons under the age of 21 years in 167
adult entertainment establishments prohibited. — 168
(1) As used in this section, the term: 169
(a) "Adult entertainment establishment" has the same 170
meaning as in s. 847.001. 171
(b) "Nude" means the showing of the human male or female 172
genitals, pubic area, or buttock with less than a fully opaque 173
covering; or the showing of the female breast with less than a 174
fully opaque covering of any portion thereof below the top of 175
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the nipple; or the depiction of covered male genitals in a 176
discernibly turgid state. A mother's breastfeeding of her baby 177
does not under any circumstance constitute nudity, regardless of 178
whether the nipple is covered during or incidental to feeding. 179
(2)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), an owner, a 180
manager, an employee, or a contractor of an adult entertainment 181
establishment who knowingly employs, contracts with, contracts 182
with another person to employ, or otherwise permits a person 183
younger than 21 years of age to perform or work in an adult 184
entertainment establishment commits a misdemeanor of the first 185
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 186
(b) An owner, a manager, an employee, or a contractor of 187
an adult entertainment establishment who knowingly employs, 188
contracts with, contracts with another person to employ, or 189
otherwise permits a person younger than 21 years of age to 190
perform or work while nude in an adult entertainment 191
establishment commits a felony of the second degree, punishable 192
as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 193
(3) An owner, a manager, an employee, or a contractor of 194
an adult entertainment establishment who permits a person to 195
perform as an entertainer or work in any c apacity for the 196
establishment shall carefully check the person's driver license 197
or identification card issued by this state or another state of 198
the United States, a passport, or a United States Uniformed 199
Services identification card presented by the person and act in 200
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good faith and in reliance upon the representation and 201
appearance of the person in the belief that the person is 21 202
years of age or older. 203
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 204