Dear friends,
The previous two columns we have been reporting to you on the 2023 Legislative Session and today we are bringing you the third installment in this series. This month we will continue by highlighting some other passed legislation that will be of interest to you.
Last month’s release of the blockbuster film “Sound of Freedom” has captivated American audiences and, rightfully so, brought much attention and awareness to the devastation of human trafficking. Florida continues to lead on this front to the best of our ability (our federal government must step up and secure our borders!) and a number of bills were passed to help us combat this issue. One such bill was SB 7064 by Senator Ileana Garcia. This bill requires that law enforcement officers successfully complete 4 hours of training in identifying and investigating human trafficking as part of their basic recruit training or additional training. The Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission will develop the training in consultation with the Department of Legal Affairs and the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking. Further, SB 7064 also establishes the state’s unified Statewide Data Repository for Anonymous Human Trafficking Data at the University of South Florida Trafficking in Persons – Risk to Resilience Lab. The human trafficking data, which must be submitted by law enforcement agencies and other entities, will be used to aid in combatting human trafficking, prosecuting those engaged in human trafficking, and assisting victims of human trafficking.
The Biden Administration has failed to protect our border. Because of this, Florida is now under a declared state of emergency. The Florida Senate cannot independently fix the immigration process in this country, but we can make it clear that we value law and order, and we value the lives of immigrants being smuggled in to this country. SB 1718 requires private employers, with 25 or more employees, to use E-Verify for new employees, beginning on July 1, 2023. Also, any employer who knowingly hires an unauthorized alien will face penalties of license suspension or revocation. The bill makes human smuggling a second degree felony adds human smuggling to the list of crimes that allow for prosecution under Florida‘s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act. The legislation provides for invalidating driver’s licenses exclusively issued by another state to undocumented immigrants, and requires the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) to issue citations and maintain a list of out-of-state classes of driver licenses that are invalid.
The Florida Senate is committed to protecting our communities from the influx of deadly drugs on our streets. As criminals find new ways to harm our communities, it is imperative that we provide law enforcement the tools they need to stop them in their tracks. Synthetic alternatives of fentanyl are emerging in our country that are even more dangerous. SB 736 takes a proactive step by placing nitazene a drug much more potent than heroine or morphine, on the Schedule I substance list, empowering prosecutors to bring the full power of the law and help get these drugs off the streets. HB 365 makes it a second degree felony or a first degree felony (second or subsequent offense) for an adult to unlawfully distribute heroin, fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, and mixtures containing any of these substances, and an injury or overdose results, when such substance or mixture is proven to have caused or been a substantial factor in causing the injury or overdose. The bill ranks the second degree felony in level 6 of the Criminal Punishment Code offense severity ranking chart.
We hope you find this informative and encouraging. Florida is strong, and we continue to lead this country on very important issues. Thank you for letting me serve you in the Florida Senate.
Onward & Upward. – Senator Dennis Baxley
