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Bill Aimed At Making It Easier For Victims To Sue Human Traffickers Passes First House Panel

Rep. Ross Spano (R-Dover) speaking last week to members of the House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee.
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
Rep. Ross Spano (R-Dover) speaking last week to members of the House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee.
Credit Florida Channel
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The Florida Channel
Rep. Ross Spano (R-Dover) speaking last week to members of the House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee.

Bills aimed at making it easier for human trafficking victims to sue their traffickers have passed a House committee.

Currently, Florida does have laws on the books that human trafficking victims can use to sue their traffickers or a person who assisted the trafficker. But, Rep. Ross Spano (R-Dover) says his two bills come with some added benefits.

“There is a provision that allows for the recovery of attorney’s fees, and so, these folks are going to be able to find attorneys to take their cases,” he said. “And, then, secondly, something that this law does that none of these others do is it funds some of these awards of these monies to a trust fund that will be responsible for paying out for some of the needs where the victims have suffered real damages, but their traffickers have no resources to go after.”

A similar bill passed the House during this past legislative session, but died in the Senate.

For more news updates, follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter: @SaschaCordner .

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