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House Bill 2329 |
House Author: Zedler |
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Effective: 9-1-11 |
Senate Sponsor: Van de Putte |
House Bill 2329 amends provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Tax Code to authorize a trafficking of persons victim, a parent or guardian acting on behalf of such a victim younger than 18 years of age, or a prosecuting attorney acting on behalf of such a victim to apply for a protective order in an appropriate court and to authorize a court to enter a temporary ex parte order for the protection of an applicant or applicant's family or household member under certain circumstances. The bill sets out the findings required to be made by a court to issue a temporary pretrial protective order and a temporary post-trial protective order, establishes the conditions that a court may specify in a protective order for a trafficking of persons victim and the required contents of the order, and provides for the duration of a post-trial protective order. The bill provides for the confidentiality of the files and records of a trafficking of persons victim, makes it a Class C misdemeanor for a person who has access to certain identifying information of such a victim younger than 18 years of age to knowingly disclose that information to any unauthorized person, and establishes an affirmative defense to prosecution for that offense.