AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

The Joint Committee on Human Trafficking meeting during the interim heard testimony on the need for legislation to require the Texas Crime Stoppers Council to include human trafficking as one of its areas of focus and included in its committee's interim report a recommendation to require the council to focus on anti-human trafficking efforts.

 

H.B. 1120 seeks to further those efforts by enacting the committee's recommendation in the form of a requirement for the council to create a program to encourage citizens to report criminal activity relating to trafficking of persons and for the council to provide financial rewards for tips leading or substantially contributing to arrests or apprehensions of traffickers.

 

H.B. 1120 amends current law relating to the duties of the Texas Crime Stoppers Council to encourage individuals to report criminal activity related to trafficking of persons.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 414.005, Government Code, as follows:

 

Sec. 414.005.  DUTIES.  Requires the Texas Crime Stoppers Council to:

 

(1)-(5) Makes no change to these subdivisions;

 

(6) create specialized programs targeted at detecting specific crimes or types of crimes, including at least one program that:

 

(A) Makes no change to this paragraph;

 

(B) encourages individuals to report criminal activity relating to the trafficking of persons, as described under Chapter 20A (Trafficking of Persons), Penal Code; and

 

(C) financially rewards each individual who makes a report described by Paragraph (A) (relating to encouraging individuals to report sex offenders who have failed to register under Chapter 62 (Sex Offender Registration Program), Code of Criminal Procedure) or (B) that leads or substantially contributes to the arrest or apprehension of a person suspected of engaging in conduct that constitutes an offense under Chapter 20A, Penal Code; and

 

(7) Makes no change to this subdivision.

 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2013.