The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Criminal Justice
BILL: SB 450
INTRODUCER: Senator Wright
SUBJECT: Sheltering or Aiding Unmarried Minors
DATE: January 9, 2024
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Parker Stokes CJ Favorable
2. CF
3. RC
I. Summary:
SB 450 amends ss. 984.085 and 985.731, F.S., to create a presumption and defense to the crime
of sheltering or aiding an unmarried minor. Those sections provide that a person:
Who is not an authorized agent of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) or the
Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) may not knowingly shelter an unmarried minor for
more than 24 hours without the consent of the minor’s parent or guardian or without
notifying a law enforcement office of the minor’s name and the fact that the minor is being
provided shelter.
May not knowingly provide aid to an unmarried minor who has run away from home without
first contacting the minor’s parent or guardian or notifying a law enforcement officer. The
aid prohibited includes assisting the minor in obtaining shelter, such as hotel lodgings.
The bill increases the crime of sheltering or aiding an unmarried minor from a first degree
misdemeanor to a third degree felony.
The bill provides that proof that an unmarried minor has not attained 18 years of age creates a
presumption that the person knew the minor’s age or acted in reckless disregard thereof.
This bill creates a defense to the crime of unlawfully sheltering or aiding unmarried minors
where the defendant had reasonable cause to believe that his or her action was necessary to
preserve the minor from danger to his or her welfare.
The bill may have an indeterminate fiscal impact on the Department of Corrections. See Section
V. Fiscal Impact Statement.
The bill is effective October 1, 2024.
REVISED: BILL: SB 450 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
Federal law provides a definition for the term “homeless children and youths,” which means
individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes children
and youths who are:
Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar
reason;
Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative
adequate accommodations;
Living in emergency or transitional shelters or are abandoned in hospitals;
Utilizing for a primary nighttime residence a place that is a public or private place but not
designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train
stations, or similar settings; and
Migratory children living in circumstances described above.
1
The term “unaccompanied youth” includes a youth not in the physical custody of a parent or
guardian.
2
Homeless and Runaway Children and Youth
Florida law defines the term “children and youths who are experiencing homelessness” to have
the same meaning as “homeless children and youths” under federal law and described above.
3
Homeless Children and Youth
Each year, an estimated 3.5 million youth and young adults experience homelessness in the
United States, 700,000 of which are unaccompanied minors—meaning they are not part of a
family or accompanied by a parent or guardian. These estimates indicate that approximately one
in 10 adults’ ages 18 to 25, and one in 30 youth ages 13 to 17 will experience homelessness each
year.
4
The Voices of Youth Count from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago found, in part, that
one in 10 young adults ages 18-25, and at least one in 30 adolescents ages 13-17, experience
some form of homelessness unaccompanied by a parent or guardian over the course of a year.
29% of homeless youth report having substance abuse problems.
69% of homeless youth report mental health problems.
33% of homeless youth report having once been a part of the foster care system.
50% of homeless youth have been in the juvenile justice system, in jail, or detention.
Black youth face an 83% increased risk, and Hispanic youth 33% increased risk, than their
white peers.
LGBTQ youth were more than twice as likely to have experienced homelessness.
1
42 USC s. 11434a.
2
Id.
3
Section 1003.01(4), F.S.
4
National Network for Youth, Youth Homelessness, available at https://nn4youth.org/learn/youth-homelessness/ (last visited
December 12, 2023). BILL: SB 450 Page 3
The lack of a high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma is the number one
correlate for elevated risk of youth homelessness.
5
As of 2022, Florida had an estimated 19,519 people experiencing homelessness on any given
day, as reported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is
11.9 in every 10,000 people.
6
Of that total, 6,440 people were in families with children, 1,011
were unaccompanied homeless youth, 2,279 were veterans, and 4,233 were chronically homeless
individuals.
7
The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) reports that 78,277 students experienced
homelessness in the 2021-2022 school year, this is a 23 percent increase from the 2020-2021
school year. While the data shows an increase in youth homelessness in the 2021-2022 school
year, research has indicated an estimated 420,000 fewer youth experiencing homelessness were
identified during school year 2019-2020.
8
Runaway Youth
Research shows that almost 7 percent of youth, or 1.5 million children and adolescents, run away
each year.
9
Youth most often runaway from home and become homeless due to family conflicts,
abuse, and/or neglect.
10
The risk factors for running away from home or state care are
multifaceted, and there is no typical endangered runaway. The National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children defines an Endangered Runaway as a child under the age of 18 who is
missing on his or her own accord and whose whereabouts are unknown to their parent or legal
guardian.
11
These children are highly vulnerable and can experience homelessness when they are
missing. Research indicates that 77 percent of endangered runaways reported were between 15-
17 years old. It also states that 87 percent of missing children reported risk factors that put the
youth at an increased risk of running away or becoming homeless. Those risk factors include:
Physical or sexual abuse
Family conflict
Lack of acceptance of gender identity or sexual orientation
Struggling to manage mental health
Substance abuse
Medical issue/developmental or physical disability
5
Id.
6
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to
Congress, available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-ahar-part-1.pdf (last visited December 12,
2023).
7
Id.
8
Florida’s Council on Homelessness, 2023Annual Report, pg. 16, available at
https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2023-
07/Florida%27s%20Council%20On%20Homelessness%20Annual%20Report%202023.pdf#:~:text=The%20number%20of%
20people%20experiencing%20unsheltered%20homelessness%20in%20Florida%20increased,the%20number%20of%20unsh
eltered%20homeless (last visited December 12, 2023).
9
National Conference of State Legislatures, Youth Homelessness Overview, available at https://www.ncsl.org/human-
services/youth-homelessness-overview (last visited December 12, 2023).
10
Id.
11
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Endangered Runaways, available at Endangered Runaways
(missingkids.org) (last visited December 27, 2023). BILL: SB 450 Page 4
Pregnancy
Online enticement
To be with a friend, romantic partner, or biological family
Gang activity
Child sex trafficking
Social rejection or bullying
12
Risk of Human Trafficking
Homeless and runaway youth experience the risk factors of trafficking at a higher rate, such as
mental health issues, addiction, poverty, unemployment, and a history of abuse. As a result, they
are more susceptible to human trafficking and other forms of exploitation.
13
According to
research, an estimated 4.2 million young people (ages 13-25) experience homelessness annually,
including 700,000 unaccompanied minor youth ages 13 to 17. Many of those young people will
become victims of sex or labor trafficking. Research from numerous studies have found
trafficking rates among youth experiencing homelessness ranging from 19 percent to 40 percent.
Using the lower-end estimate of 1 in 5 youth experiencing homelessness also being trafficked for
sex, labor, or both, this means that approximately 800,000 youth who experience homelessness
are also survivors of trafficking.
14
The Florida Legislature recognizes human trafficking as a form of modern-day slavery whose
victims include young children, teenagers, and adults who may be citizens that are trafficked
domestically within the borders of the United States or smuggled across international borders
worldwide.
15
While victims of human trafficking are forced to work in prostitution or sexual
entertainment, trafficking also occurs in forms of labor exploitation, such as domestic servitude,
restaurant work, janitorial work, factory work, and agricultural work.
16
Florida law defines “human trafficking” as transporting, soliciting, recruiting, harboring,
providing, enticing, maintaining,
17
purchasing, patronizing, procuring, or obtaining
18
another
person for the purpose of exploitation of that person.
19
12
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Endangered Runaways, available at
https://www.missingkids.org/theissues/runaways (last visited December 12, 2023).
13
United Way, The intersection between Housing Instability and Human Trafficking, Richards, Daniele, April 25, 2022,
available at https://www.unitedway.org/blog/the-intersection-between-housing-instability-and-human-trafficking (last visited
December 27, 2023).
14
Human Trafficking Search, The Intersection Between Youth Homelessness and Human Trafficking, available at The
Intersection Between Youth Homelessness and Human Trafficking - Human Trafficking Search (last visited December 27,
2023).
15
Section 787.06, F.S.
16
Id.
17
Section 787.06(2)(f), F.S., provides “maintain” means, in relation to labor or services, to secure or make possible continued
performance thereof, regardless of any initial agreement on the part of the victim to perform such type service. Section
787.06(2)(h), F.S., defines “services” as any act committed at the behest of, under the supervision of, or for the benefit of
another, including forced marriage, servitude, or the removal of organs.
18
Section 787.06(2)(g), F.S., provides “obtain” means, in relation to labor, commercial sexual activity, or services, to receive,
take possession of, or take custody of another person or secure performance thereof. Section 787.06(2)(e), F.S., provides
“labor” means work of economic or financial value.
19
Section 787.06(2)(d), F.S. BILL: SB 450 Page 5
Human trafficking includes two types of exploitation: commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and
forced labor.
20
In 2022, according to the Department of Children and Families, 354 youth were
verified as victims of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) in Florida. The number has
decreased from 2021, when 379 youth were verified.
21
Sheltering or Aiding Unmarried Minors
Florida law provides criminal penalties under two sections of law for sheltering or aiding
unmarried minors.
Sections 984.085 and 985.731, F.S., provides it is a first degree misdemeanor
22
for a person:
Who is not an authorized agent of the DCF or the DJJ to knowingly shelter an unmarried
minor for more than 24 hours without the consent of the minor’s parent or guardian or
without notifying a law enforcement officer of the minor’s name and the fact that the minor
is being provided shelter.
To knowingly provide aid to an unmarried minor who has run away from home without first
contacting the minor’s parent or guardian or notifying a law enforcement officer. The aid
prohibited under this paragraph includes assisting the minor in obtaining shelter, such as
hotel lodgings.
23,24
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
The bill amends ss. 984.085 and 985.731, F.S., to create a presumption and defense to the crime
of sheltering or aiding an unmarried minor. Those sections provide that a person:
Who is not an authorized agent of the DCF or the DJJ may not knowingly shelter an
unmarried minor for more than 24 hours without the consent of the minor’s parent or
guardian or without notifying a law enforcement office of the minor’s name and the fact that
the minor is being provided shelter.
May not knowingly provide aid to an unmarried minor who has run away from home without
first contacting the minor’s parent or guardian or notifying a law enforcement officer. The
aid prohibited includes assisting the minor in obtaining shelter, such as hotel lodgings.
The bill increases the crime of sheltering or aiding an unmarried minor from a first degree
misdemeanor to a third degree felony.
The bill provides that proof that an unmarried minor has not attained 18 years of age creates a
presumption that the person knew the minor’s age or acted in reckless disregard thereof.
20
Section 787.06, F.S.
21
Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability, Annual Report on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Children in Florida, 2023, available at https://oppaga.fl.gov/Documents/Reports/23-08.pdf (last visited December 13, 2023).
22
A misdemeanor of the first degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year, as provided in s. 775.082
or s. 775.083, F.S.
23
Section 984.085, F.S.
24
Section 985.731, F.S. BILL: SB 450 Page 6
This bill creates a defense to the crime of unlawfully sheltering or aiding unmarried minors
where the defendant had reasonable cause to believe that his or her action was necessary to
preserve the minor from danger to his or her welfare.
The bill provides an effective date of October 1, 2024.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None identified.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
The bill may have an indeterminate fiscal impact on the Department of Corrections due to
the enhanced penalties under the bill and the possibility of offenders receiving prison
sentences.
Per FDLE, in FY 22-23, there were 8 arrests and 1 guilty/convicted for a violation of
s. 984.085, F.S., and there were 17 arrests and 4 guilty/convicted for a violation of BILL: SB 450 Page 7
s. 985.731, F.S. In FY 22-23, the incarceration rate for a Level 1, 3rd degree felony was
9.5 percent. The bill may have a positive insignificant fiscal impact.
25
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends the following sections of the Florida Statutes: 984.085 and
985.731.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.
25
Office of Economic and Demographic Research SB 450 Preliminary Estimate, (on file with the Senate Committee on
Criminal Justice).