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 276
INTRODUCER: Senator Wright
SUBJECT: Sheltering or Aiding Unmarried Minors
DATE: March 3, 2025
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Wyant Stokes CJ Pre-meeting
2. CF
3. RC
I. Summary:
SB 276 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. Current law provides prohibitions against knowingly
sheltering or aiding unmarried minors, except under specified conditions.
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.
• It is a defense to the crime of unlawfully sheltering or aiding unmarried a minor if 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 increases the crime of sheltering or aiding an unmarried minor from a first degree
misdemeanor to a third degree felony.
The bill may have an indeterminate fiscal impact on the Department of Corrections. See Section
V. Fiscal Impact Statement.
The bill takes effect on October 1, 2025.
II. Present Situation:
Homeless and Runaway Children and Youth
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:
REVISED: BILL: SB 276 Page 2
• 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
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.
• 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.
• Young parents – especially unmarried – had a three times higher risk for homelessness than
non-parenting peers.
• Youth with experiences in foster care, juvenile detention, jail, or prison are at a higher risk
for homelessness.
• Youth who do not complete high school are 3.5 times more likely to experience
homelessness than peers who completed a high school diploma.
5
As of 2024, Florida had an estimated 31,362 people experiencing homelessness on any given
day, as reported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is
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
March 3, 2025).
5
Id. BILL: SB 276 Page 3
14 in every 10,000 people.
6
Of that total, 7,563 people were in families with children, 1,367 were
unaccompanied homeless youth, 2,333 were veterans, and 6,100 were chronically homeless
individuals.
7
The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) reports that 94,902 students experienced
homelessness in the 2022-2023 school year, the overall number increased by 21 percent between
2022 and 2023.
8
Runaway Youth
Research shows that almost seven 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 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 in 2023, 74 percent of endangered runaways reported were between 15-17 years old. The
risk factors for running away from home or state care are multifaceted, and there is no typical
Endangered Runaway. Risk factors that put the youth at an increased risk of running away or
becoming homeless include:
• Physical or sexual abuse
• Family conflict
• Struggling to manage mental health
• Substance abuse
• Medical issue/developmental or physical disability
• Pregnancy
• Online enticement
• To be with a friend, romantic partner, or biological family
• Gang activity
• Child sex trafficking
• Social rejection or bullying
12
6
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to
Congress, available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2024-AHAR-Part-1.pdf (last visited March 3,
2025).
7
Id.
8
Florida’s Council on Homelessness, 2024 Annual Report, pg. 34, available at
https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2024-07/Council%202024%20Annual%20Homelessness%20Report.pdf
(last visited March 3, 2025).
9
National Conference of State Legislatures, Youth Homelessness Overview, available at https://www.ncsl.org/human-
services/youth-homelessness-overview (last visited March 3, 2025).
10
Id.
11
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Endangered Runaways, available at
https://www.missingkids.org/theissues/runaways (last visited March 3, 2025).
12
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Endangered Runaways, available at
https://www.missingkids.org/theissues/runaways (last visited March 3, 2025). BILL: SB 276 Page 4
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 one in five 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 many 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
Human trafficking includes two types of exploitation: commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and
forced labor.
20
In 2023, according to the Department of Children and Families, 339 youth were
verified as victims of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) in Florida. The overall number has
decreased by 11% since 2020.
21
13
United Way, The Intersection between Housing Instability and Human Trafficking, available at
https://www.unitedway.org/news/the-intersection-between-housing-instability-and-human-trafficking (last visited March 3,
2025).
14
Human Trafficking Search, The Intersection Between Youth Homelessness and Human Trafficking, available at
https://humantraffickingsearch.org/the-intersection-between-youth-homelessness-and-human-trafficking/ (last visited
March 3, 2025).
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.
20
Section 787.06, F.S.
21
Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability, Annual Report on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Minors, 2024, available at https://oppaga.fl.gov/Documents/Reports/24-04.pdf (last visited March 3, 2025). BILL: SB 276 Page 5
Sheltering or Aiding Unmarried Minors
In 2016, Sam Fugatt was arrested for two charges of sheltering or aiding two unmarried minors
by accompanying two runaways on a bus to Miami International Airport. One of the minors
alleged she and Fugatt engaged in sexual relations at least three times.
22
In 2018, Sam Fugatt was
arrested again on charges of having sexual relations and providing narcotics to a 14-year-old girl.
Police made statements that Fugatt will lure a girl, someone in foster care or who otherwise has
minimal parental supervision, to his home via social media and then take that girls phone to look
for others like her. Detective said they also were told that Fugatt provided drugs to the teen, got
her involved in other illegal activities, and would sometimes pick her up from school and take
her away for days at a time.
23
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
24
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.
25,26
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 shelter or aiding an unmarried minor. Current law provides prohibitions against knowingly
sheltering or aiding unmarried minors, except under specified conditions.
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.
• It is a defense to the crime of unlawfully sheltering or aiding unmarried a minor if 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.
22
The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Police: Daytona Man Sheltered Minor Runaways, Suzanne Hirt (August 4, 2017),
available at https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/crime/2017/08/04/police-daytona-man-sheltered-minor-
runaways/20017043007/ (last visited March 3, 2025).
23
The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Man Accused of Sexually Abusing Girl, 14, Tony Holt (September 7, 2018),
available at https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/crime/2018/09/07/daytona-man-accused-of-sexually-abusing-
girl-14/10816562007/ (last visited March 3, 2025).
24
A misdemeanor of the first degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year and a fine not exceeding
$1,000. Section 775.082 and 775.083, F.S.
25
Section 984.085, F.S.
26
Section 985.731, F.S. BILL: SB 276 Page 6
The bill increases the crime of sheltering or aiding an unmarried minor from a first degree
misdemeanor to a third degree felony.
The bill takes effect October 1, 2025.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
The bill does not require cities and counties to expend funds or limit their authority to
raise revenue or receive state-shared revenues as specified by Article VII, s. 18, of the
State Constitution.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
The bill may create a rebuttable or an irrebuttable presumption by creating a presumption
that a person in violation of this statute knew the minor’s age or acted in reckless
disregard thereof. A mandatory irrebuttable presumption violates due process because it
relieves the prosecution of the burden of persuasion on an element of the criminal
offense. A rebuttable presumption does not remove the presumed element the state must
prove, but it shifts the burden of proof to the defendant to persuade or provide evidence
otherwise, violating due process in most cases.
27
While the general rule is that every crime must include a specific intent, or a mens rea,
the legislature and courts recognize an exception where the state has a compelling interest
in protecting underage persons from being sexually abused or exploited. In cases relating
to sex offenses or abuse involving minors, a persons ignorance of the age of the victim is
not a defense, nor is the misrepresentation of age or a defendant’s real belief that such
victim is over the specified age.
28,29
27
Ibarrondo v. State, 1 So. 3d 226 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008)
28
State v. Sorakrai, 543 So. 2d 294 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)
29
Grady v. State, 701 So. 2d 1181 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997) BILL: SB 276 Page 7
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.
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.