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BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

H.B. 530

By: Anchia

Public Safety

Committee Report (Unamended)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings and is considered a form of modern-day slavery. The U.S. Department of State estimates that between 18,000 and 20,000 victims are trafficked into the United States annually. According to the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, since 2001, more than 20 percent of the total identified victims of human trafficking nationwide have been located in Texas. Human traffickers use many methods to control their victims, including language barriers, torture, beatings, and threats of retaliation against family members, as well as telling victims that the police are the enemy and that if caught, the victim will be deported.

 

H.B. 530 requires peace officers first licensed on or after January 1, 2011, to complete within a reasonable time period after being licensed, a one-time basic education and training program on the trafficking of persons, sex trafficking, and compelling prostitution, to be made available by the peace officer's law enforcement agency. The bill ensures that peace officers are trained in identifying and aiding victims of human trafficking.    

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education in SECTIONS 1 and 2 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

 

H.B. 530 amends the Occupations Code to require the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education to require by rule a peace officer or reserve law enforcement officer who is first licensed by the commission on or after January 1, 2011, to complete within a reasonable time after obtaining the license a one-time basic education and training program on the trafficking of persons. The bill requires the program to consist of at least four hours of training and to include a review of state laws relating to the offenses for trafficking of persons and compelling prostitution. The bill requires the commission to make a voluntary advanced education, instruction, and training program on the trafficking of persons, sex trafficking, and compelling prostitution as prohibited under state law available to each officer.
The bill requires the commission to begin offering the basic and advanced programs on the trafficking of persons not later than January 1, 2011 and provides that such requirement expires September 1, 2011. The bill requires the commission to adopt the rules necessary to implement the education and training programs relating to the trafficking of persons not later than December 1, 2010.  

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

September 1, 2009.