By: Thompson of Harris, et al. H.B. No. 1272
        (Senate Sponsor - Van de Putte)
         (In the Senate - Received from the House April 15, 2013;
  April 17, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on
  Criminal Justice; May 9, 2013, reported favorably by the following
  vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 9, 2013, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the continuation and duties of the Human Trafficking
  Prevention Task Force.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 402.035, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (d) and (h) and adding Subsection (g-1) to
  read as follows:
         (d)  The task force shall:
               (1)  collaborate, as needed to fulfill the duties of
  the task force, with:
                     (A)  United States attorneys for the districts of
  Texas; and
                     (B)  special agents or customs and border
  protection officers and border patrol agents of:
                           (i)  the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
                           (ii)  the United States Drug Enforcement
  Administration;
                           (iii)  the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
  Firearms and Explosives;
                           (iv)  [the] United States Immigration and
  Customs Enforcement [Agency]; or
                           (v)  the United States Department of
  Homeland Security;
               (2)  collect, organize, and periodically publish
  statistical data on the nature and extent of human trafficking in
  this state;
               (3)  solicit cooperation and assistance from state and
  local governmental agencies, political subdivisions of the state,
  nongovernmental organizations, and other persons, as appropriate,
  for the purpose of collecting and organizing statistical data under
  Subdivision (2);
               (4)  ensure that each state or local governmental
  agency and political subdivision of the state that assists in the
  prevention of human trafficking collects statistical data related
  to human trafficking, including, as appropriate:
                     (A)  the number of investigations concerning,
  arrests and prosecutions for, and convictions of:
                           (i)  the offense of trafficking of persons;
  and
                           (ii)  the offense of forgery or an offense
  under Chapter 43, Penal Code, if committed as part of a criminal
  episode involving the trafficking of persons;
                     (B)  demographic information on persons who are
  convicted of offenses described by Paragraph (A) and persons who
  are the victims of those offenses;
                     (C)  geographic routes by which human trafficking
  victims are trafficked and geographic patterns in human
  trafficking, including the country or state of origin and the
  country or state of destination;
                     (D)  means of transportation and methods used by
  persons who engage in trafficking to transport their victims; and
                     (E)  social and economic factors that create a
  demand for the labor or services that victims of human trafficking
  are forced to provide;
               (5)  work with the Commission on Law Enforcement
  Officer Standards and Education to develop and conduct training for
  law enforcement personnel, victim service providers, and medical
  service providers to identify victims of human trafficking;
               (6)  work with the Texas Education Agency, the
  Department of Family and Protective Services, and the Health and
  Human Services Commission to:
                     (A)  develop a list of key indicators that a
  person is a victim of human trafficking;
                     (B)  develop a standardized curriculum for
  training doctors, nurses, emergency medical services personnel,
  teachers, school counselors, school administrators, and personnel
  from the Department of Family and Protective Services and the
  Health and Human Services Commission to identify and assist victims
  of human trafficking;
                     (C)  train doctors, nurses, emergency medical
  services personnel, teachers, school counselors, school
  administrators, and personnel from the Department of Family and
  Protective Services and the Health and Human Services Commission to
  identify and assist victims of human trafficking;
                     (D)  develop and conduct training for personnel
  from the Department of Family and Protective Services and the
  Health and Human Services Commission on methods for identifying
  children in foster care who may be at risk of becoming victims of
  human trafficking; and
                     (E)  develop a process for referring identified
  human trafficking victims and individuals at risk of becoming
  victims to appropriate entities for services;
               (7)  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;
               (8) [(7)]  examine training protocols related to human
  trafficking issues, as developed and implemented by federal, state,
  and local law enforcement agencies;
               (9) [(8)]  collaborate with state and local
  governmental agencies, political subdivisions of the state, and
  nongovernmental organizations to implement a media awareness
  campaign in communities affected by human trafficking;
               (10) [(9)]  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; and
               (11) [(10)]  examine the extent to which human
  trafficking is associated with the operation of sexually oriented
  businesses, as defined by Section 243.002, Local Government Code,
  and the workplace or public health concerns that are created by the
  association of human trafficking and the operation of sexually
  oriented businesses.
         (g-1)  In this section, "emergency medical services
  personnel" has the meaning assigned by Section 773.003, Health and
  Safety Code.
         (h)  This section expires September 1, 2015 [2013].
         SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
 
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