By: Miller (Senate Sponsor - Huffman) H.C.R. No. 35
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 29, 2019;
April 30, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on State
Affairs; May 14, 2019, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 14, 2019, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Human trafficking is a serious and escalating public
health issue in the United States, particularly in Texas; and
WHEREAS, It is estimated that there are more than 300,000
victims of human trafficking in the State of Texas, and nearly
80,000 of those are identified as minors; and
WHEREAS, The number of cases reported rose 82 percent from
2015 to 2017, giving Texas the second-highest number of human
trafficking reports in the country, with explosive growth occurring
across all segments of our society in every ethnicity, gender, and
age, regardless of immigration, socioeconomic, or family status;
and
WHEREAS, Victims of human trafficking experience a severe and
complex trauma that is recognized by the medical community as one of
the most challenging to effectively treat; it requires long-term
counseling, therapy, and often inpatient treatment, which is
complicated by the fact that relatively few facilities in Texas are
trained in trauma-informed care; and
WHEREAS, The health problems engendered by human trafficking
are a crisis that impacts a substantial number of Texans in
communities across the state; sexual exploitation of women and
children account for 84 percent of cases and cost the state an
estimated $6.6 billion in additional physical and mental health
care and social services; this also creates additional strain on
our health care and law enforcement systems; and
WHEREAS, Gangs and cartels have combined drug and human
trafficking operations to become a primary controlling influence in
both, with the traffickers involved proving to be some of the most
dangerous and violent criminals to whom thousands more innocent
victims fall prey each year; and
WHEREAS, All forms of human trafficking are criminal acts,
and it is imperative that this issue be appropriately addressed so
that we may bring an end to this atrocious crime and help survivors
to move forward with their lives; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby recognize human trafficking as a public health issue.
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