83R4505 AJZ-D
By: Thompson of Harris, Fletcher, McClendon, H.B. No. 1272
Harless, Riddle
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the continuation and duties of the Human Trafficking
Prevention Task Force.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 402.035, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (d) and (h) and adding Subsection (g-1) to
read as follows:
(d) The task force shall:
(1) collaborate, as needed to fulfill the duties of
the task force, with:
(A) United States attorneys for the districts of
Texas; and
(B) special agents or customs and border
protection officers and border patrol agents of:
(i) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(ii) the United States Drug Enforcement
Administration;
(iii) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives;
(iv) [the] United States Immigration and
Customs Enforcement [Agency]; or
(v) the United States Department of
Homeland Security;
(2) collect, organize, and periodically publish
statistical data on the nature and extent of human trafficking in
this state;
(3) solicit cooperation and assistance from state and
local governmental agencies, political subdivisions of the state,
nongovernmental organizations, and other persons, as appropriate,
for the purpose of collecting and organizing statistical data under
Subdivision (2);
(4) ensure that each state or local governmental
agency and political subdivision of the state that assists in the
prevention of human trafficking collects statistical data related
to human trafficking, including, as appropriate:
(A) the number of investigations concerning,
arrests and prosecutions for, and convictions of:
(i) the offense of trafficking of persons;
and
(ii) the offense of forgery or an offense
under Chapter 43, Penal Code, if committed as part of a criminal
episode involving the trafficking of persons;
(B) demographic information on persons who are
convicted of offenses described by Paragraph (A) and persons who
are the victims of those offenses;
(C) geographic routes by which human trafficking
victims are trafficked and geographic patterns in human
trafficking, including the country or state of origin and the
country or state of destination;
(D) means of transportation and methods used by
persons who engage in trafficking to transport their victims; and
(E) social and economic factors that create a
demand for the labor or services that victims of human trafficking
are forced to provide;
(5) work with the Commission on Law Enforcement
Officer Standards and Education to develop and conduct training for
law enforcement personnel, victim service providers, and medical
service providers to identify victims of human trafficking;
(6) work with the Texas Education Agency and the
Health and Human Services Commission to:
(A) develop a list of key indicators that a
person is a victim of human trafficking;
(B) develop a standardized curriculum for
training doctors, nurses, emergency medical services personnel,
teachers, school counselors, and school administrators to identify
victims of human trafficking; and
(C) train doctors, nurses, emergency medical
services personnel, teachers, school counselors, and school
administrators to identify victims of human trafficking;
(7) 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;
(8) [(7)] examine training protocols related to human
trafficking issues, as developed and implemented by federal, state,
and local law enforcement agencies;
(9) [(8)] collaborate with state and local
governmental agencies, political subdivisions of the state, and
nongovernmental organizations to implement a media awareness
campaign in communities affected by human trafficking;
(10) [(9)] 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; and
(11) [(10)] examine the extent to which human
trafficking is associated with the operation of sexually oriented
businesses, as defined by Section 243.002, Local Government Code,
and the workplace or public health concerns that are created by the
association of human trafficking and the operation of sexually
oriented businesses.
(g-1) In this section, "emergency medical services
personnel" has the meaning assigned by Section 773.003, Health and
Safety Code.
(h) This section expires September 1, 2015 [2013].
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.