Suffolk sex trafficking bill falls short

Suffolk County's bill to encourage hotels and motels to get out of the sex trafficking business is a compromise that mollifies business operators when victims must be lawmakers’ priority.

The tepid bill — adopted unanimously Tuesday — requires hotels and motels to rent rooms for at least six hours. Earlier drafts of the bill sought to eliminate hourly rates, but hospitality industry lobbyists intervened to soften the bill.

Sex trafficking victims don’t have lobbyists. They are brutalized and remain victims for life. Who is advocating for them?

Sex trafficking on Long Island is "running rampant," said the bill's lead sponsor, Legis. Chad Lennon, who called Tuesday's action a positive "first step." And yes, the bill will give law enforcement another tool to fight traffickers. But more needs to happen.

A Newsday news investigation found 59 hotels or motels named in charges where paid sexual encounters occurred, with 17% of those involving minors. A 2022 study states 79% of victims who called the National Human Trafficking Hotline were exploited at hotels and motels. A law enforcement official told Newsday that sex trafficking, regardless of the price or prestige of the hotel or motel, "... is happening everywhere."

The legislature said it extended the ban on hourly rates from one hour to six to protect hotels and motels who cater to clients who need a place for a few hours to relax before surgery or between connecting flights. Time will tell if this loophole eventually negates the purpose of the bill.

It would impose fines on establishments that violate the six-hour restriction, but those fines — from $500 to $1,000 for a first violation — are unlikely to deter people involved in such a lucrative illicit business. The penalties should be higher.

The bill also requires hotels and motels to keep digital copies of photo identification of guests for five years and video footage for at least 90 days, which is a positive impact. And training requirements for hotel staff should aid law enforcement in identifying victims and traffickers.

Suffolk deserves credit for doing something when many municipalities don’t. Newsday's investigation identified 19 communities in Nassau County during a 2½-hour period in November where online prostitutions ads were placed. What is the Nassau Legislature's response to sex trafficking?

The Suffolk County Legislature has an admirable history of passing first-in-the-nation bills that protect residents. Do current legislators have the spine to do more to take on sex traffickers and find additional ways to curb the use of hotels and motels as sex trafficking hot spots?

January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and Long Island politicians will likely be wearing blue on Jan. 11 to raise awareness. They need to do more for victims by enacting tougher laws that stop businesses from profiting from sex trafficking.