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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the prosecution and punishment of the offense of |
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trafficking of persons and a report concerning the offense. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 20A.01, Penal Code, is amended to read as |
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follows: |
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Sec. 20A.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: |
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(1) "Forced labor or services" means labor or |
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services, including conduct that constitutes an offense under |
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Section 43.02, that are performed or provided by another person and |
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obtained through an actor's: |
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(A) causing or threatening to cause bodily injury |
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to the person or another person or otherwise causing the person |
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performing or providing labor or services to believe that the |
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person or another person will suffer bodily injury; |
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(B) restraining or threatening to restrain the |
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person or another person [another] in a manner described by Section |
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20.01(1) or causing the person performing or providing labor or |
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services to believe that the person or another person will be |
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restrained; [or] |
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(C) knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, |
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confiscating, or withholding from the person or another person, or |
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threatening to destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate, or withhold |
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from the person or another person, the person's actual or |
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purported: |
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(i) government records; |
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(ii) identifying information; or |
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(iii) personal property; |
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(D) threatening the person with abuse of the law |
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or the legal process in relation to the person or another person; |
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(E) threatening to report the person or another |
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person to immigration officials or other law enforcement officials |
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or otherwise blackmailing or extorting the person or another |
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person; |
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(F) exerting financial control over the person or |
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another person; or |
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(G) using any scheme, plan, or pattern intended |
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to cause the person to believe that the person or another person |
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will be subjected to serious harm or restraint if the person does |
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not perform or provide the labor or services. |
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(2) "Traffic" means to transport, [another person or
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to] entice, recruit, harbor, provide, or otherwise obtain another |
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person by any means [for transport by deception, coercion, or
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force]. |
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SECTION 2. Sections 20A.02(a) and (b), Penal Code, are |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) A person commits an offense if the person: |
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(1) knowingly traffics another person with the intent |
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or knowledge that the trafficked person will engage in[:
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[(1)] forced labor or services; or |
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(2) intentionally or knowingly benefits from |
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participating in a venture that involves an activity described by |
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Subdivision (1), including by receiving labor or services the |
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person knows are forced labor or services [conduct that constitutes
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an offense under Chapter 43]. |
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(b) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, an |
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offense under this section is a felony of the second degree. An |
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offense under this section is a felony of the first degree if: |
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(1) the applicable conduct constitutes an offense |
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under Section 43.02 [offense is committed under Subsection (a)(2)] |
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and the person who is trafficked is younger than 18 [14] years of |
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age at the time of the offense; or |
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(2) the commission of the offense results in the death |
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of the person who is trafficked. |
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SECTION 3. (a) Not later than September 1, 2008, the |
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attorney general, in consultation with the Health and Human |
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Services Commission, shall prepare and issue a report: |
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(1) outlining how existing laws and rules concerning |
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victims and witnesses address or fail to address the needs of |
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victims of human trafficking; and |
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(2) recommending areas of improvement and |
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modifications in existing laws and rules. |
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(b) Not later than September 1, 2008, the Health and Human |
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Services Commission, in consultation with the attorney general, |
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shall prepare and issue a report: |
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(1) outlining how existing social service programs |
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address or fail to address the needs of victims of human |
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trafficking; |
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(2) with respect to those needs, outlining the |
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interplay of existing social service programs with federally funded |
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victim service programs; and |
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(3) recommending areas of improvement and |
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modifications in existing social service programs. |
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SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and |
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the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs |
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before the effective date. |
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SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |