82R7607 BPG-D
 
  By: Hunter H.C.R. No. 68
 
 
 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
         WHEREAS, Human trafficking is a serious and escalating
  problem in the United States, particularly in Texas; and
         WHEREAS, A multibillion-dollar business, human trafficking
  is second only to drug dealing in criminal profitability and is the
  fastest-growing illegal enterprise, according to the Polaris
  Project, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that maintains the
  National Human Trafficking Resource Center; it is estimated that
  18,000 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each
  year and that the number of U.S. citizens trafficked within our own
  borders is even higher, with more than 200,000 American children at
  high risk for trafficking into the sex industry; and
         WHEREAS, Texas is a major point of illegal entry into the
  United States; its large geographic size along with its
  demographics make the Lone Star State appealing to traffickers, who
  endeavor to blend into the population while exploiting their
  victims in forced labor and prostitution; and
         WHEREAS, Although Texas has been recognized as a leader in
  the effort to end the scourge of human trafficking, eradication of
  this modern-day form of slavery is a difficult challenge, and every
  means of combating it should be explored; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
  hereby request the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house
  of representatives to create a joint interim committee to study the
  problem of human trafficking in Texas; and, be it further
         RESOLVED, That the committee submit a full report, including
  findings and recommendations, to the 83rd Texas Legislature when it
  convenes in January 2013.