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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to a presumption that certain conduct constitutes force, |
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fraud, or coercion for purposes of the offense of trafficking of |
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persons. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 20A.02, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Subsection (a-1) to read as follows: |
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(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a)(3), it is a rebuttable |
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presumption that the person used force, fraud, or coercion if the |
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person knowingly: |
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(1) destroys, conceals, confiscates, or withholds |
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from the trafficked person, or threatens to destroy, conceal, |
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confiscate, or withhold from the trafficked person, the trafficked |
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person's actual or purported: |
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(A) government records; or |
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(B) identifying information or documents; or |
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(2) receives any form of support, whether financial or |
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otherwise, from the proceeds of an activity described by Subsection |
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(a)(3). |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only to |
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an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the |
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former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
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this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |