Enrolled Bill Summary

House Bill 2096 amends the Transportation Code to prohibit a person from operating a truck, road tractor, or truck tractor when another person occupies a trailer or semitrailer that is being drawn by that vehicle. The bill provides that it is a defense to prosecution if the vehicle is operated in a parade, hayride, or emergency, or to transport farmworkers from field to field on certain roads; if the vehicle operator was unaware that another person occupied the trailer or semitrailer; or if the person was in a part of the trailer or semitrailer designed for human habitation. House Bill 2096 amends the Penal Code to make it a felony offense for a person to knowingly traffic another person with the intent that the trafficked person engage in forced labor or services.