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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the prosecution of the offense of trafficking of |
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persons. |
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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 services |
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that are performed or provided by another person and obtained |
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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 to |
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entice, recruit, harbor, provide, or otherwise obtain another |
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person for transport by any means [by deception, coercion, or
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force]. |
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SECTION 2. Section 20A.02(a), Penal Code, is amended to |
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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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(A) [(1)] forced labor or services; or |
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(B) [(2)] conduct that constitutes an offense |
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under Chapter 43; 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. |
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SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |