By: Parker S.B. No. 1011
(Cook)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the punishment for the offense of trafficking of
persons.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 20A.02(b), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection and
Subsection (b-1), 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 Subsection (a)(5), (6), (7), or (8), regardless of whether
the actor knows the age of the child at the time of the offense;
(2) the commission of the offense results in the death
of the person who is trafficked;
(3) the commission of the offense results in the death
of an unborn child of the person who is trafficked; or
(4) the actor recruited, enticed, or obtained the
trafficked person [victim of the offense] from a:
(A) shelter or facility operating as a
residential treatment center that serves runaway youth, foster
children, the homeless, or persons subjected to human trafficking,
domestic violence, or sexual assault; or
(B) correctional facility while the trafficked
person was confined in the facility.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies 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
governed by the law in effect on the date 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 occurred
before that date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.