81R1962 GCB-D

By: Thompson H.B. No. 639

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the prosecution, punishment, and prevention of offenses involving trafficking of persons or certain forced or sex-based labor or services, law enforcement training relating to the trafficking of persons, and the creation of the trafficking of persons investigation and prosecution account in the general revenue fund.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 402, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 402.035 to read as follows:

Sec. 402.035. HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION TASK FORCE. (a) In this section, "task force" means the human trafficking prevention task force.

(b) The office of the attorney general shall establish the human trafficking prevention task force to develop policies and procedures to assist in the prevention and prosecution of human trafficking crimes.

(c) The task force is composed of the following:

(1) the attorney general or the attorney general's designee;

(2) the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission or the executive commissioner's designee;

(3) the commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services or the commissioner's designee;

(4) the public safety director of the Department of Public Safety or the director's designee; and

(5) as appointed by the attorney general:

(A) a public defender, as defined by Article 26.044, Code of Criminal Procedure;

(B) an attorney representing the state;

(C) representatives of local law enforcement agencies affected by human trafficking; and

(D) representatives of nongovernmental entities making comprehensive efforts to combat human trafficking by:

(i) identifying human trafficking victims;

(ii) providing legal or other services to human trafficking victims;

(iii) participating in community outreach or public awareness efforts regarding human trafficking;

(iv) providing or developing training regarding the prevention of human trafficking; or

(v) engaging in other activities designed to prevent human trafficking.

(d) The task force shall:

(1) collaborate with United States attorneys for the districts of Texas and special agents, customs and border protection officers, and border patrol agents of the United States Department of Homeland Security as needed to fulfill the duties of the task force;

(2) collect and organize data on the nature and extent of human trafficking in Texas;

(3) develop and conduct training for law enforcement personnel and victim service providers to identify victims of human trafficking;

(4) on the request of a judge of a county court, county court at law, or district court or a county attorney, district attorney, or criminal district attorney, assist and train the judge or the judge's staff or the attorney or the attorney's staff in the recognition and prevention of human trafficking;

(5) examine training protocols related to human trafficking issues, as developed and implemented by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies;

(6) implement a media awareness campaign in communities affected by human trafficking; and

(7) develop recommendations on how to strengthen state and local efforts to prevent human trafficking, protect and assist human trafficking victims, and prosecute human trafficking offenders.

(e) The presiding officer of the task force is the attorney general or the attorney general's designee.

(f) The office of the attorney general shall supervise the administration of the task force. The attorney general shall provide the necessary staff and facilities to assist the task force in performing its duties.

(g) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, the task force shall submit a report regarding the task force's activities, findings, and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives.

(h) This section expires September 1, 2013.

SECTION 2. Section 772.006, Government Code, is amended by adding Subsections (d), (e), and (f) to read as follows:

(d) The trafficking of persons investigation and prosecution account is created in the general revenue fund. The account is composed of legislative appropriations and other money required by law to be deposited in the account. Income from money in the account shall be credited to the account. Sections 403.095 and 404.071 do not apply to the account.

(e) The legislature may appropriate money from the trafficking of persons investigation and prosecution account created under Subsection (d) only to the criminal justice division for the purposes of this subsection. The division may use the appropriated money solely to distribute grants to:

(1) counties that apply for the grants and that have dedicated full-time or part-time personnel to identify, prevent, investigate, or prosecute offenses under Chapter 20A, Penal Code; and

(2) nongovernmental organizations that apply for the grants and that provide comprehensive services in this state to prevent the commission of offenses under Chapter 20A, Penal Code, or to address the needs of victims of those offenses, including public awareness activities, community outreach and training, victim identification services, legal services, and other services designed to assist victims.

(f) The total amount of grants that may be distributed to counties and nongovernmental organizations from the trafficking of persons investigation and prosecution account during each state fiscal year may not exceed $10 million.

SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 141, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Section 141.056 to read as follows:

Sec. 141.056. STUDY OF ALTERNATIVES TO JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM FOR CHILDREN WHO ENGAGE IN ACTS OF PROSTITUTION. (a) The director shall establish a committee to evaluate alternatives to the juvenile justice system, such as government programs, faith-based programs, and programs offered by nonprofit organizations, for children who are accused of engaging in acts of prostitution.

(b) The director shall determine the size of the committee. The committee must be composed of:

(1) members of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, the Texas Youth Commission, and other relevant state agencies as determined by the director;

(2) members of the legislature;

(3) members of nongovernmental organizations that provide programs and services to combat and prevent trafficking of persons as described by Section 20A.02, 20A.03, or 20A.04, Penal Code, in this state, including the following with respect to that trafficking:

(A) programs to promote public awareness;

(B) programs to identify and provide services to victims;

(C) legal services; and

(D) community outreach and training programs; and

(4) other juvenile justice experts.

(c) Not later than January 1, 2011, the committee shall prepare and deliver to each member of the legislature a report that includes the results of the study and recommendations for alternatives to the juvenile justice system for children who are accused of engaging in acts of prostitution.

(d) This section expires June 1, 2011.

SECTION 4. Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is amended by adding Section 1701.258 to read as follows:

Sec. 1701.258. EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS ON TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS. (a) The commission by rule shall require an officer 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 program must:

(1) consist of at least four hours of training; and

(2) include a review of the substance of Sections 20A.02, 20A.03, 20A.04, and 43.05, Penal Code.

(b) The commission shall make available to each officer a voluntary advanced education, instruction, and training program on the trafficking of persons, sex trafficking, and compelling prostitution prohibited under Sections 20A.02, 20A.03, 20A.04, and 43.05, Penal Code.

(c) Not later than January 1, 2011, the commission shall begin offering the basic and advanced programs established under this section. This subsection expires September 1, 2011.

SECTION 5. Section 1701.402, Occupations Code, is amended by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:

(h) As a requirement for an intermediate or advanced proficiency certificate issued by the commission on or after January 1, 2011, an officer must complete the basic education and training program on the trafficking of persons described by Section 1701.258(a).

SECTION 6. Section 20A.01(1), Penal Code, is amended to read as follows:

(1) "Forced labor or services" means labor or services[, including conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 43.02,] that are performed or provided by another person and obtained through an actor's:

(A) causing or threatening to cause bodily injury to the person or another person or otherwise causing the person performing or providing labor or services to believe that the person or another person will suffer bodily injury;

(B) restraining or threatening to restrain the person or another person in a manner described by Section 20.01(1) or causing the person performing or providing labor or services to believe that the person or another person will be restrained;

(C) knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or withholding from the person or another person, or threatening to destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate, or withhold from the person or another person, the person's actual or purported:

(i) government records;

(ii) identifying information; or

(iii) personal property;

(D) threatening the person with abuse of the law or the legal process in relation to the person or another person;

(E) threatening to report the person or another person to immigration officials or other law enforcement officials or otherwise blackmailing or extorting the person or another person;

(F) exerting financial control over the person or another person by placing the person or another person under the actor's control as security for a debt to the extent that:

(i) the value of the services provided by the person or another person as reasonably assessed is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt;

(ii) the duration of the services provided by the person or another person is not limited and the nature of the services provided by the person or another person is not defined; or

(iii) the principal amount of the debt does not reasonably reflect the value of the items or services for which the debt was incurred; or

(G) using any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause the person to believe that the person or another person will be subjected to serious harm or restraint if the person does not perform or provide the labor or services.

SECTION 7. Chapter 20A, Penal Code, is amended by amending Section 20A.02 and adding Sections 20A.03, 20A.04, and 20A.05 to read as follows:

Sec. 20A.02. TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly:

(1) [knowingly] traffics another person with the intent or knowledge that the trafficked person will engage in forced labor or services, other than forced labor or services constituting an offense under Section 43.02; or

(2) [intentionally or knowingly] benefits from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (1), including by receiving labor or services the person knows are forced labor or services.

(b) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, an offense under this section is a felony of the second degree. An offense under this section is a felony of the first degree if[:

[(1) the applicable conduct constitutes an offense under Section 43.02 and the person who is trafficked is younger than 18 years of age at the time of the offense; or

[(2)] the commission of the offense results in the death of the person who is trafficked.

[(c) If conduct constituting an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section or under both sections.]

Sec. 20A.03. SEX TRAFFICKING OF AN ADULT. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly:

(1) traffics another person who is 18 years of age or older, with the intent or knowledge that the trafficked person will engage in forced labor or services constituting an offense under Section 43.02; or

(2) benefits from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (1), including by receiving labor or services the person knows are forced labor or services.

(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree.

Sec. 20A.04. SEX TRAFFICKING OF A CHILD. (a) In this section, "child" means a person younger than 18 years of age.

(b) A person commits an offense if the person, regardless of whether the person knows the age of the child at the time the person commits the offense, knowingly:

(1) traffics a child with the intent or knowledge that the child will engage in conduct constituting an offense under Section 43.02 or 43.25; or

(2) benefits from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (1).

(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the first degree.

Sec. 20A.05. PROSECUTION OF CONDUCT CONSTITUTING SEPARATE OFFENSE. If conduct constituting an offense under this chapter also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the actor may be prosecuted under this chapter, the other section of this code, or both this chapter and the other section of this code.

SECTION 8. Section 43.02, Penal Code, is amended by adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:

(d) It is an exception to the application of this section that the actor was younger than 18 years of age at the time of the offense.

(e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the actor engaged in the conduct that constitutes the offense because the actor was the victim of conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 20A.03.

SECTION 9. Section 43.05, Penal Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 43.05. COMPELLING PROSTITUTION. (a) A person commits an offense if the person [he] knowingly:

(1) causes another by force, threat, or fraud to commit prostitution; or

(2) causes by any means a person younger than 18 [17] years to commit prostitution, regardless of whether the actor knows the age of the person at the time the actor commits the offense.

(b) An offense under Subsection (a)(1) [this section] is a felony of the second degree. An offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a felony of the first degree.

SECTION 10. (a) Not later than December 1, 2009, the office of the attorney general shall establish the human trafficking prevention task force as required by Section 402.035, Government Code, as added by this Act.

(b) Not later than October 1, 2009, the director of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission shall establish a committee to evaluate alternatives to the juvenile justice system for children who are accused of engaging in acts of prostitution, as required by Section 141.056, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act.

(c) Not later than December 1, 2010, the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education shall adopt the rules necessary to implement Section 1701.258, Occupations Code, as added by this Act.

(d) The changes in law made by this Act to Chapters 20A and 43, Penal Code, apply only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that date.

SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.