| TO: | Honorable Joe Straus, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB4009 by Weber (Relating to the establishment of a victim assistance program to provide services to domestic victims of trafficking. ), As Passed 2nd House |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
|---|---|
| 2010 | ($11,627,519) |
| 2011 | ($11,183,374) |
| 2012 | ($10,971,179) |
| 2013 | ($11,168,944) |
| 2014 | ($10,000,000) |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1 |
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2009 |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | ($11,627,519) | 9.0 |
| 2011 | ($11,183,374) | 11.0 |
| 2012 | ($10,971,179) | 11.0 |
| 2013 | ($11,168,944) | 11.0 |
| 2014 | ($10,000,000) | 0.0 |
The bill would amend the Government Code to establish within the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) a human trafficking prevention task force that would develop policies, procedures, data collection, and training to assist in the prevention and prosecution of human trafficking crimes. Representatives from various state, local, and non-governmental entities would be on the task force. The bill would also create an account in the general revenue fund to fund the investigation, prosecution, and prevention of human trafficking activities, with a cap of $10 million per fiscal year.
The bill would amend the Human Resources Code to require the director of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission to establish a committee to evaluate and report on alternatives to the juvenile justice system for children who are accused of engaging in acts of prostitution.
The bill would amend the Occupations Code to authorize the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) to require newly licensed officers to take a one-time basic education and training program on the trafficking of persons, and would require the commission to make available to each peace officer a voluntary training program.
The bill would amend the Penal Code to provide separate offenses and sentencing for sex trafficking of an adult and sex trafficking of a child; and would allow for prosecution of offenses committed under this chapter as well as offenses that may be committed under other sections of the Penal Code. The bill would also increase protections for underage prostitutes and would increase penalties for compelling underage prostitution.
The bill would require the OAG to establish the human trafficking prevention task force not later than December 1, 2009, and would require the director of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission to establish, not later than October 1, 2009, a committee to evaluate alternatives to the juvenile justice system for children accused of engaging in acts of prostitution. It would also require TCLEOSE to adopt the necessary rules not later than December 1, 2010.
The bill would require the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to create a victim
assistance grant program to provide services to domestic victims of trafficking. The program must
have a searchable database of assistance programs for victims of domestic trafficking. The database
must include mental health services, other health services, services to meet victim’s basic needs, case
management services, and any other services HHSC deems reasonable. The bill would require HHSC
to implement an outreach program to victims about the availability of services.
The bill would require HHSC to create and provide training to judges, prosecutors, and law
enforcement personnel about the needs of domestic trafficking victims, the availability of services, the database of services, and potential funding sources for those services.
The majority of the bill's fiscal impact would come from the Governor's Criminal Justice Division for making grants to eligible organizations. The remaining fiscal impact would be with the OAG due to increased workload from:
• researching policies and procedures of other state task forces;
• conducting and attending Task Force meetings, both in state and out of state;
• reviewing existing internal and external human trafficking database systems and reports;
• creating and maintaining a database (estimate 500 to 1000 human trafficking incidents per year);
• reviewing existing training protocols with judges, attorneys, law enforcement, sexual assault programs, and human trafficking related coalitions;
• developing, scheduling and conducting training;
• implementing a media awareness campaign; and
• preparing biennial reports on data analysis and recommendations.
The OAG would require additional administrative, graphics, information, research, programming, database system, and investigative FTE positions as a result of this increased workload.
Select members of the Task Force would require travel, including out of state travel for meetings with Federal officials, and per diem reimbursements to attend meetings and participate in Task Force duties. An additional rider would need to be added to the OAG's bill pattern to authorize the reimbursement of travel expenses for select members of the task force.
The four hour classroom and online training courses provided by TCLEOSE would have a fiscal impact of $42,000 in FY2010, $2,000 in FY2012, and $2,000 for each subsequent biennium.
The bill would create or recreate a dedicated account in the General Revenue Fund, create or recreate a special or trust fund either with or outside of the Treasury, or create a dedicated revenue source. The fund, account, or revenue dedication would be subject to funds consolidation review.
It is assumed that the legislature will appropriate up to $10.0 million in General Revenue per fiscal year to the new GR-Dedicated Trafficking of Persons Investigation and Prosecution Account for grants to be awarded by the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division to counties and non-governmental organizations.
It is assumed that the number of offenders convicted under the provisions of the bill would not result in a significant fiscal impact on the programs and workload of state corrections agencies.
The bill would require HHSC to award grants to private and nonprofit organizations that provide
services to domestic trafficking victims. This grant program is required only if funds are available. HHSC would be permitted to fund the grant program with any appropriated funds and may accept
gifts, grants and donations from any source. Although the agency states that it would not implement the legislation without an appropriation, it is assumed that HHSC would have resources to draw upon to meet some of the bill's provisions related to grant programs for victims of trafficking.
| Source Agencies: | 302 Office of the Attorney General, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 405 Department of Public Safety, 407 Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, 529 Health and Human Services Commission, 530 Family and Protective Services, Department of, 665 Juvenile Probation Commission, 694 Youth Commission, 696 Department of Criminal Justice
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, ESi, SD, PJK, TP, MN, JM, GG
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