81R1962 GCB-D
By: Thompson H.B. No. 639
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution, punishment, and prevention of offenses
involving trafficking of persons or certain forced or sex-based
labor or services, law enforcement training relating to the
trafficking of persons, and the creation of the trafficking of
persons investigation and prosecution account in the general
revenue fund.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 402, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 402.035 to read as follows:
Sec. 402.035. HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION TASK FORCE. (a)
In this section, "task force" means the human trafficking
prevention task force.
(b) The office of the attorney general shall establish the
human trafficking prevention task force to develop policies and
procedures to assist in the prevention and prosecution of human
trafficking crimes.
(c) The task force is composed of the following:
(1) the attorney general or the attorney general's
designee;
(2) the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission or the executive commissioner's designee;
(3) the commissioner of the Department of Family and
Protective Services or the commissioner's designee;
(4) the public safety director of the Department of
Public Safety or the director's designee; and
(5) as appointed by the attorney general:
(A) a public defender, as defined by Article
26.044, Code of Criminal Procedure;
(B) an attorney representing the state;
(C) representatives of local law enforcement
agencies affected by human trafficking; and
(D) representatives of nongovernmental entities
making comprehensive efforts to combat human trafficking by:
(i) identifying human trafficking victims;
(ii) providing legal or other services to
human trafficking victims;
(iii) participating in community outreach
or public awareness efforts regarding human trafficking;
(iv) providing or developing training
regarding the prevention of human trafficking; or
(v) engaging in other activities designed
to prevent human trafficking.
(d) The task force shall:
(1) collaborate with United States attorneys for the
districts of Texas and special agents, customs and border
protection officers, and border patrol agents of the United States
Department of Homeland Security as needed to fulfill the duties of
the task force;
(2) collect and organize data on the nature and extent
of human trafficking in Texas;
(3) develop and conduct training for law enforcement
personnel and victim service providers to identify victims of human
trafficking;
(4) on the request of a judge of a county court, county
court at law, or district court or a county attorney, district
attorney, or criminal district attorney, assist and train the judge
or the judge's staff or the attorney or the attorney's staff in the
recognition and prevention of human trafficking;
(5) examine training protocols related to human
trafficking issues, as developed and implemented by federal, state,
and local law enforcement agencies;
(6) implement a media awareness campaign in
communities affected by human trafficking; and
(7) develop recommendations on how to strengthen state
and local efforts to prevent human trafficking, protect and assist
human trafficking victims, and prosecute human trafficking
offenders.
(e) The presiding officer of the task force is the attorney
general or the attorney general's designee.
(f) The office of the attorney general shall supervise the
administration of the task force. The attorney general shall
provide the necessary staff and facilities to assist the task force
in performing its duties.
(g) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the task force shall submit a report regarding the task force's
activities, findings, and recommendations, including any proposed
legislation, to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the
speaker of the house of representatives.
(h) This section expires September 1, 2013.
SECTION 2. Section 772.006, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (d), (e), and (f) to read as follows:
(d) The trafficking of persons investigation and
prosecution account is created in the general revenue fund. The
account is composed of legislative appropriations and other money
required by law to be deposited in the account. Income from money
in the account shall be credited to the account. Sections 403.095
and 404.071 do not apply to the account.
(e) The legislature may appropriate money from the
trafficking of persons investigation and prosecution account
created under Subsection (d) only to the criminal justice division
for the purposes of this subsection. The division may use the
appropriated money solely to distribute grants to:
(1) counties that apply for the grants and that have
dedicated full-time or part-time personnel to identify, prevent,
investigate, or prosecute offenses under Chapter 20A, Penal Code;
and
(2) nongovernmental organizations that apply for the
grants and that provide comprehensive services in this state to
prevent the commission of offenses under Chapter 20A, Penal Code,
or to address the needs of victims of those offenses, including
public awareness activities, community outreach and training,
victim identification services, legal services, and other services
designed to assist victims.
(f) The total amount of grants that may be distributed to
counties and nongovernmental organizations from the trafficking of
persons investigation and prosecution account during each state
fiscal year may not exceed $10 million.
SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 141, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 141.056 to read as follows:
Sec. 141.056. STUDY OF ALTERNATIVES TO JUVENILE JUSTICE
SYSTEM FOR CHILDREN WHO ENGAGE IN ACTS OF PROSTITUTION. (a) The
director shall establish a committee to evaluate alternatives to
the juvenile justice system, such as government programs,
faith-based programs, and programs offered by nonprofit
organizations, for children who are accused of engaging in acts of
prostitution.
(b) The director shall determine the size of the committee.
The committee must be composed of:
(1) members of the Texas Juvenile Probation
Commission, the Texas Youth Commission, and other relevant state
agencies as determined by the director;
(2) members of the legislature;
(3) members of nongovernmental organizations that
provide programs and services to combat and prevent trafficking of
persons as described by Section 20A.02, 20A.03, or 20A.04, Penal
Code, in this state, including the following with respect to that
trafficking:
(A) programs to promote public awareness;
(B) programs to identify and provide services to
victims;
(C) legal services; and
(D) community outreach and training programs;
and
(4) other juvenile justice experts.
(c) Not later than January 1, 2011, the committee shall
prepare and deliver to each member of the legislature a report that
includes the results of the study and recommendations for
alternatives to the juvenile justice system for children who are
accused of engaging in acts of prostitution.
(d) This section expires June 1, 2011.
SECTION 4. Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1701.258 to read as follows:
Sec. 1701.258. EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS ON
TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS. (a) The commission by rule shall require an
officer first licensed by the commission on or after January 1,
2011, to complete within a reasonable time after obtaining the
license a one-time basic education and training program on the
trafficking of persons. The program must:
(1) consist of at least four hours of training; and
(2) include a review of the substance of Sections
20A.02, 20A.03, 20A.04, and 43.05, Penal Code.
(b) The commission shall make available to each officer a
voluntary advanced education, instruction, and training program on
the trafficking of persons, sex trafficking, and compelling
prostitution prohibited under Sections 20A.02, 20A.03, 20A.04, and
43.05, Penal Code.
(c) Not later than January 1, 2011, the commission shall
begin offering the basic and advanced programs established under
this section. This subsection expires September 1, 2011.
SECTION 5. Section 1701.402, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) As a requirement for an intermediate or advanced
proficiency certificate issued by the commission on or after
January 1, 2011, an officer must complete the basic education and
training program on the trafficking of persons described by Section
1701.258(a).
SECTION 6. Section 20A.01(1), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(1) "Forced labor or services" means labor or
services[, including conduct that constitutes an offense under
Section 43.02,] that are performed or provided by another person
and obtained through an actor's:
(A) causing or threatening to cause bodily injury
to the person or another person or otherwise causing the person
performing or providing labor or services to believe that the
person or another person will suffer bodily injury;
(B) restraining or threatening to restrain the
person or another person in a manner described by Section 20.01(1)
or causing the person performing or providing labor or services to
believe that the person or another person will be restrained;
(C) knowingly destroying, concealing, removing,
confiscating, or withholding from the person or another person, or
threatening to destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate, or withhold
from the person or another person, the person's actual or
purported:
(i) government records;
(ii) identifying information; or
(iii) personal property;
(D) threatening the person with abuse of the law
or the legal process in relation to the person or another person;
(E) threatening to report the person or another
person to immigration officials or other law enforcement officials
or otherwise blackmailing or extorting the person or another
person;
(F) exerting financial control over the person or
another person by placing the person or another person under the
actor's control as security for a debt to the extent that:
(i) the value of the services provided by
the person or another person as reasonably assessed is not applied
toward the liquidation of the debt;
(ii) the duration of the services provided
by the person or another person is not limited and the nature of the
services provided by the person or another person is not defined; or
(iii) the principal amount of the debt does
not reasonably reflect the value of the items or services for which
the debt was incurred; or
(G) using any scheme, plan, or pattern intended
to cause the person to believe that the person or another person
will be subjected to serious harm or restraint if the person does
not perform or provide the labor or services.
SECTION 7. Chapter 20A, Penal Code, is amended by amending
Section 20A.02 and adding Sections 20A.03, 20A.04, and 20A.05 to
read as follows:
Sec. 20A.02. TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS. (a) A person commits
an offense if the person knowingly:
(1) [knowingly] traffics another person with the
intent or knowledge that the trafficked person will engage
in forced labor or services, other than forced labor or services
constituting an offense under Section 43.02; or
(2) [intentionally or knowingly] benefits from
participating in a venture that involves an activity described by
Subdivision (1), including by receiving labor or services the
person knows are forced labor or services.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, an
offense under this section is a felony of the second degree. An
offense under this section is a felony of the first degree if[:
[(1) the applicable conduct constitutes an offense
under Section 43.02 and the person who is trafficked is younger than
18 years of age at the time of the offense; or
[(2)] the commission of the offense results in the
death of the person who is trafficked.
[(c) If conduct constituting an offense under this section
also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the
actor may be prosecuted under either section or under both
sections.]
Sec. 20A.03. SEX TRAFFICKING OF AN ADULT. (a) A person
commits an offense if the person knowingly:
(1) traffics another person who is 18 years of age or
older, with the intent or knowledge that the trafficked person will
engage in forced labor or services constituting an offense under
Section 43.02; or
(2) benefits from participating in a venture that
involves an activity described by Subdivision (1), including by
receiving labor or services the person knows are forced labor or
services.
(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second
degree.
Sec. 20A.04. SEX TRAFFICKING OF A CHILD. (a) In this
section, "child" means a person younger than 18 years of age.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person, regardless of
whether the person knows the age of the child at the time the person
commits the offense, knowingly:
(1) traffics a child with the intent or knowledge that
the child will engage in conduct constituting an offense under
Section 43.02 or 43.25; or
(2) benefits from participating in a venture that
involves an activity described by Subdivision (1).
(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the first
degree.
Sec. 20A.05. PROSECUTION OF CONDUCT CONSTITUTING SEPARATE
OFFENSE. If conduct constituting an offense under this chapter
also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the
actor may be prosecuted under this chapter, the other section of
this code, or both this chapter and the other section of this code.
SECTION 8. Section 43.02, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
(d) It is an exception to the application of this section
that the actor was younger than 18 years of age at the time of the
offense.
(e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
the actor engaged in the conduct that constitutes the offense
because the actor was the victim of conduct that constitutes an
offense under Section 20A.03.
SECTION 9. Section 43.05, Penal Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 43.05. COMPELLING PROSTITUTION. (a) A person commits
an offense if the person [he] knowingly:
(1) causes another by force, threat, or fraud to
commit prostitution; or
(2) causes by any means a person younger than 18 [17]
years to commit prostitution, regardless of whether the actor knows
the age of the person at the time the actor commits the offense.
(b) An offense under Subsection (a)(1) [this section] is a
felony of the second degree. An offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a
felony of the first degree.
SECTION 10. (a) Not later than December 1, 2009, the office
of the attorney general shall establish the human trafficking
prevention task force as required by Section 402.035, Government
Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Not later than October 1, 2009, the director of the
Texas Juvenile Probation Commission shall establish a committee to
evaluate alternatives to the juvenile justice system for children
who are accused of engaging in acts of prostitution, as required by
Section 141.056, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act.
(c) Not later than December 1, 2010, the Commission on Law
Enforcement Officer Standards and Education shall adopt the rules
necessary to implement Section 1701.258, Occupations Code, as added
by this Act.
(d) The changes in law made by this Act to Chapters 20A and
43, Penal Code, apply only to an offense committed on or after the
effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the
effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was
committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
the offense was committed before that date.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.