By: Thompson of Harris, et al. H.B. No. 188
(Senate Sponsor - Menéndez)
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 20, 2015;
April 23, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on
Criminal Justice; May 6, 2015, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 6, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the composition, duties, and continuation of the human
trafficking prevention task force.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 402.035(c), (d), and (h), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) The task force is composed of the following:
(1) the governor or the governor's designee;
(2) the attorney general or the attorney general's
designee;
(3) the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission or the executive commissioner's designee;
(4) the commissioner of the Department of Family and
Protective Services or the commissioner's designee;
(5) the commissioner of the Department of State Health
Services or the commissioner's designee;
(6) the public safety director of the Department of
Public Safety or the director's designee;
(7) one representative from each of the following
state agencies, appointed by the chief administrative officer of
the respective agency:
(A) the Texas Workforce Commission;
(B) the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;
(C) the Texas Juvenile Justice Department [Youth
Commission;
[(D) the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission];
and
(D) [(E)] the Texas Alcoholic Beverage
Commission; and
(8) as appointed by the attorney general:
(A) a chief public defender employed by a public
defender's office, as defined by Article 26.044(a), Code of
Criminal Procedure, or an attorney designated by the chief public
defender;
(B) an attorney representing the state;
(C) a representative of:
(i) a hotel and motel association;
(ii) a district and county attorneys
association; [and]
(iii) a state police association; and
(iv) a statewide medical association;
(D) representatives of sheriff's departments;
(E) representatives of local law enforcement
agencies affected by human trafficking; and
(F) 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, 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) United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement; 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, including data described by Subdivisions (4)(A), (B),
(C), (D), and (E);
(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 and each state or
local law enforcement agency, district attorney, or county attorney
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 the offense was committed as part
of a criminal episode involving the trafficking of persons; and
(iii) an offense punishable under Section
43.02(c)(3), Penal Code, regardless of whether the offense was
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, including routes by which victims are
trafficked across this state's international border, 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 Texas 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, the
Department of Family and Protective Services, 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, school administrators, and personnel
from the Department of Family and Protective Services and the
Health and Human Services Commission to identify and assist victims
of human trafficking;
(C) train doctors, nurses, emergency medical
services personnel, teachers, school counselors, school
administrators, and personnel from the Department of Family and
Protective Services and the Health and Human Services Commission to
identify and assist victims of human trafficking;
(D) develop and conduct training for personnel
from the Department of Family and Protective Services and the
Health and Human Services Commission on methods for identifying
children in foster care who may be at risk of becoming victims of
human trafficking; and
(E) develop a process for referring identified
human trafficking victims and individuals at risk of becoming
victims to appropriate entities for services;
(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) examine training protocols related to human
trafficking issues, as developed and implemented by federal, state,
and local law enforcement agencies;
(9) 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) 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) 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; and
(12) develop recommendations for addressing the
demand for forced labor or services or sexual conduct involving
victims of human trafficking, including recommendations for
increased penalties for individuals who engage or attempt to engage
in prostitution with victims younger than 18 years of age.
(h) This section expires September 1, 2017 [2015].
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, 2015.
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