By: Guillen H.B. No. 4816
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the punishment for certain criminal conduct involving
trafficking of persons, the human trafficking prevention
coordinating council and the human trafficking prevention task
force; increasing criminal penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 20A.02, Penal Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 20A.02. TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS. (a) A person commits
an offense if the person knowingly:
(1) traffics another person with the intent that the
trafficked person engage in forced labor or services;
(2) receives a benefit 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;
(3) traffics another person and, through force, fraud,
or coercion, causes the trafficked person to engage in conduct
prohibited by:
(A) Section 43.02 (Prostitution);
(B) Section 43.03 (Promotion of Prostitution);
(B-1) Section 43.031 (Online Promotion of
Prostitution);
(C) Section 43.04 (Aggravated Promotion of
Prostitution);
(C-1) Section 43.041 (Aggravated Online
Promotion of Prostitution); or
(D) Section 43.05 (Compelling Prostitution);
(4) receives a benefit from participating in a venture
that involves an activity described by Subdivision (3) or engages
in sexual conduct with a person trafficked in the manner described
in Subdivision (3);
(5) traffics a child or disabled individual with the
intent that the trafficked child or disabled individual engage in
forced labor or services;
(6) receives a benefit from participating in a venture
that involves an activity described by Subdivision (5), including
by receiving labor or services the person knows are forced labor or
services;
(7) traffics a child or disabled individual and by any
means causes the trafficked child or disabled individual to engage
in, or become the victim of, conduct prohibited by:
(A) Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of
Young Child or Disabled Individual);
(B) Section 21.11 (Indecency with a Child);
(C) Section 22.011 (Sexual Assault);
(D) Section 22.021 (Aggravated Sexual Assault);
(E) Section 43.02 (Prostitution);
(E-1) Section 43.021 (Solicitation of
Prostitution);
(F) Section 43.03 (Promotion of Prostitution);
(F-1) Section 43.031 (Online Promotion of
Prostitution);
(G) Section 43.04 (Aggravated Promotion of
Prostitution);
(G-1) Section 43.041 (Aggravated Online
Promotion of Prostitution);
(H) Section 43.05 (Compelling Prostitution);
(I) Section 43.25 (Sexual Performance by a
Child);
(J) Section 43.251 (Employment Harmful to
Children); or
(K) Section 43.26 (Possession or Promotion of
Child Pornography); or
(8) receives a benefit from participating in a venture
that involves an activity described by Subdivision (7) or engages
in sexual conduct with a child or disabled individual trafficked in
the manner described in Subdivision (7).
(a-1) Repealed by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 807 (H.B.
1540), Sec. 62(5) and Ch. 905 (H.B. 3521), Sec. 2, eff. September 1,
2021.
Text of subsection as amended by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 93
(S.B. 1527), Sec. 2.02
(b) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (b-1), an
offense under this section is a felony of the firstsecond 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 or whether the actor knows the
victim is disabled at the time of the offense;
(2) the commission of the offense results in serious
bodily injury to or 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:
(A) used or exhibited a deadly weapon during the
commission of the offense;
(B) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly
impeded the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of the
trafficked person by applying pressure to the person's throat or
neck or by blocking the person's nose or mouth; or
(C) recruited, enticed, or obtained the
trafficked person from 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.
Text of subsection as amended by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 452
(H.B. 3554), Sec. 1
(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; or
(3) the commission of the offense results in the death
of an unborn child of the person who is trafficked.
Text of subsection as amended by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 451
(H.B. 3553), Sec. 2
(b-1) An offense under this section is a felony of the first
degree punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice for life or for a term of not more than 99 years or
less than 25 years if it is shown on the trial of the offense that
the actor committed the offense in a location that was:
(1) on the premises of or within 1,000 feet of the
premises of:
(A) a school; or
(B) an institution of higher education or private
or independent institution of higher education, as defined by
Section 61.003, Education Code; or
(2) on premises or within 1,000 feet of premises
where:
(A) an official school function was taking place;
or
(B) an event sponsored or sanctioned by the
University Interscholastic League was taking place.
Text of subsection as amended by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 452
(H.B. 3554), Sec. 1
(b-1) An offense under this section is a felony of the first
degree punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice for life or for a term of not more than 99 years or
less than 25 years if it is shown on the trial of the offense that
the actor committed the offense in a location that was:
(1) on the premises of or within 1,000 feet of the
premises of:
(A) a school;
(B) a juvenile detention facility;
(C) a post-adjudication secure correctional
facility;
(D) a shelter or facility operating as a
residential treatment center that serves runaway youth, foster
children, people who are homeless, or persons subjected to human
trafficking, domestic violence, or sexual assault;
(E) a community center offering youth services
and programs; or
(F) a child-care facility, as defined by Section
42.002, Human Resources Code; or
(2) on premises or within 1,000 feet of premises
where:
(A) an official school function was taking place;
or
(B) an event sponsored or sanctioned by the
University Interscholastic League was taking place.
(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.
(d) If the victim of an offense under Subsection (a)(7)(A)
is the same victim as a victim of an offense under Section 21.02, a
defendant may not be convicted of the offense under Section 21.02 in
the same criminal action as the offense under Subsection (a)(7)(A)
unless the offense under Section 21.02:
(1) is charged in the alternative;
(2) occurred outside the period in which the offense
alleged under Subsection (a)(7)(A) was committed; or
(3) is considered by the trier of fact to be a lesser
included offense of the offense alleged under Subsection (a)(7)(A).
SECTION 2. Section 402.034(f), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(f) The strategic plan must include:
(1) an inventory of human trafficking prevention
programs and services in this state that are administered by state
agencies, including an institution of higher education as defined
by Section 61.003, Education Code, or a private college or
university that receives state funds;
(2) regarding the programs and services described by
Subdivision (1):
(A) a report on the number of persons served by
the programs and services; and
(B) a plan to coordinate the programs and
services to achieve the following goals:
(i) eliminate redundancy;
(ii) ensure the agencies' use of best
practices in preventing human trafficking; and
(iii) identify and collect data regarding
the efficacy of the programs and services; and
(iv) focus on interdiction strategies in
the Texas-Mexico Border Region as defined by Section
2056.002(e)(3), Government Code; and
(3) in relation to the goals for programs and services
as described by Subdivision (2)(B), a plan to coordinate the
expenditure of state funds allocated to prevent human trafficking
in this state, including the expenditure of state funds by the human
trafficking prevention task force established under Section
402.035.
(g) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the council shall submit to the legislature a report detailing the
progress of the strategic plan's implementation. The report must
include:
(1) a description of the level of participation in the
strategic plan by each agency represented on the council and how the
implementation of the strategic plan serves to coordinate the
programs and services described by Subsection (f)(1) and achieve
the goals described by Subsection (f)(2)(B); and
(2) an update of the inventory of programs and
services described by Subsection (f)(1) that further the goals of
the strategic plan.
SECTION 3. Section 402.035(d), Government Code, is amended
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' offices for all of
the federal 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:
(A) the number of investigations concerning,
arrests and prosecutions for, and convictions of:
(i) the offense of trafficking of persons;
(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 as a felony of
the second degree under Section 43.021, 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;
(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) work with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
to develop and conduct training for law enforcement personnel,
victim service providers, and medical service providers to identify
victims of human trafficking;
(5) 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;
(6) 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;
(7) examine training protocols related to human
trafficking issues, as developed and implemented by federal, state,
and local law enforcement agencies;
(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;
(9) develop recommendations on how to strengthen state
and local efforts to prevent human trafficking, protect and assist
human trafficking victims, curb markets and other economic avenues
that facilitate human trafficking and investigate and prosecute
human trafficking offenders, differentiating recommendations for
the Texas-Mexico Border Region as defined by Section
2056.002(e)(3), Government Code, from recommendations for other
parts of the state;
(10) examine:
(A) the extent to which human trafficking is
associated with the operation of:
(i) sexually oriented businesses, as
defined by Section 243.002, Local Government Code; and
(ii) massage establishments permitting
conduct described by Section 455.202(b)(4), Occupations Code; and
(B) the workplace or public health concerns that
are created by the association of human trafficking and the
operation of sexually oriented businesses and massage
establishments described by Paragraph (A);
(11) 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 solicitation of prostitution with victims younger than 18 years
of age; and
(12) identify and report to the governor and
legislature on laws, licensure requirements, or other regulations
that can be passed at the state and local level to curb trafficking
using the Internet and in sexually oriented businesses and massage
establishments.
SECTION 4. 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 5. This act takes effect September 1, 2025.