87R9363 EAS/JES-D
 
  By: Hughes S.B. No. 1718
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to provisions to enable the prevention and prosecution of
  trafficking of persons and certain sexual offenses committed
  against children and to the commission of civil racketeering
  related to the trafficking of persons.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 140A.002, Civil Practice and Remedies
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 140A.002.  CIVIL RACKETEERING. A person or enterprise
  commits racketeering if, for financial gain, the person or
  enterprise commits an offense under Chapter 20A, Penal Code
  (trafficking of persons)[, and the offense or an element of the
  offense:
               [(1)  occurs in more than one county in this state; or
               [(2)  is facilitated by the use of United States mail,
  e-mail, telephone, facsimile, or a wireless communication from one
  county in this state to another].
         SECTION 2.  Article 12.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Art. 12.01.  FELONIES. Except as provided in Article 12.03,
  felony indictments may be presented within these limits, and not
  afterward:
               (1)  no limitation:
                     (A)  murder and manslaughter;
                     (B)  sexual assault under Section 22.011(a)(2),
  Penal Code, or aggravated sexual assault under Section
  22.021(a)(1)(B), Penal Code;
                     (C)  sexual assault, if:
                           (i)  during the investigation of the offense
  biological matter is collected and the matter:
                                 (a)  has not yet been subjected to
  forensic DNA testing; or
                                 (b)  has been subjected to forensic DNA
  testing and the testing results show that the matter does not match
  the victim or any other person whose identity is readily
  ascertained; or
                           (ii)  probable cause exists to believe that
  the defendant has committed the same or a similar sex offense
  against five or more victims;
                     (D)  continuous sexual abuse of young child or
  children under Section 21.02, Penal Code;
                     (E)  indecency with a child under Section 21.11,
  Penal Code;
                     (F)  an offense involving leaving the scene of an
  accident under Section 550.021, Transportation Code, if the
  accident resulted in the death of a person;
                     (G)  trafficking of persons under Section
  20A.02(a)(7) or (8), Penal Code;
                     (H)  continuous trafficking of persons under
  Section 20A.03, Penal Code; or
                     (I)  compelling prostitution under Section
  43.05(a)(2), Penal Code;
               (2)  ten years from the date of the commission of the
  offense:
                     (A)  theft of any estate, real, personal or mixed,
  by an executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, with intent to
  defraud any creditor, heir, legatee, ward, distributee,
  beneficiary or settlor of a trust interested in such estate;
                     (B)  theft by a public servant of government
  property over which the public servant exercises control in the
  public servant's official capacity;
                     (C)  forgery or the uttering, using or passing of
  forged instruments;
                     (D)  injury to an elderly or disabled individual
  punishable as a felony of the first degree under Section 22.04,
  Penal Code;
                     (E)  sexual assault, except as provided by
  Subdivision (1) or (8) [(7)];
                     (F)  arson;
                     (G)  trafficking of persons under Section
  20A.02(a)(1), (2), (3), or (4), Penal Code; or
                     (H)  compelling prostitution under Section
  43.05(a)(1), Penal Code;
               (3)  seven years from the date of the commission of the
  offense:
                     (A)  misapplication of fiduciary property or
  property of a financial institution;
                     (B)  securing execution of document by deception;
                     (C)  a felony violation under Chapter 162, Tax
  Code;
                     (D)  false statement to obtain property or credit
  under Section 32.32, Penal Code;
                     (E)  money laundering;
                     (F)  credit card or debit card abuse under Section
  32.31, Penal Code;
                     (G)  fraudulent use or possession of identifying
  information under Section 32.51, Penal Code;
                     (H)  exploitation of a child, elderly individual,
  or disabled individual under Section 32.53, Penal Code;
                     (I)  health care fraud under Section 35A.02, Penal
  Code; or
                     (J)  bigamy under Section 25.01, Penal Code,
  except as provided by Subdivision (7) [(6)];
               (4)  five years from the date of the commission of the
  offense:
                     (A)  theft or robbery;
                     (B)  except as provided by Subdivision (5),
  kidnapping or burglary;
                     (C)  injury to an elderly or disabled individual
  that is not punishable as a felony of the first degree under Section
  22.04, Penal Code;
                     (D)  abandoning or endangering a child; or
                     (E)  insurance fraud;
               (5)  if the investigation of the offense shows that the
  victim is younger than 17 years of age at the time the offense is
  committed, 20 years from the 18th birthday of the victim of one of
  the following offenses:
                     (A)  [sexual performance by a child under Section
  43.25, Penal Code;
                     [(B)]  aggravated kidnapping under Section
  20.04(a)(4), Penal Code, if the defendant committed the offense
  with the intent to violate or abuse the victim sexually; or
                     (B) [(C)]  burglary under Section 30.02, Penal
  Code, if the offense is punishable under Subsection (d) of that
  section and the defendant committed the offense with the intent to
  commit an offense described by Subdivision (1)(B) or (D) of this
  article or Paragraph (A) [(B)] of this subdivision;
               (6)  20 years from the 18th birthday of the victim of
  one of the following offenses:
                     (A)  trafficking of persons under Section
  20A.02(a)(5) or (6), Penal Code; or
                     (B)  sexual performance by a child under Section
  43.25, Penal Code;
               (7)  ten years from the 18th birthday of the victim of
  the offense:
                     (A)  [trafficking of persons under Section
  20A.02(a)(5) or (6), Penal Code;
                     [(B)]  injury to a child under Section 22.04,
  Penal Code; or
                     (B) [(C)]  bigamy under Section 25.01, Penal
  Code, if the investigation of the offense shows that the person,
  other than the legal spouse of the defendant, whom the defendant
  marries or purports to marry or with whom the defendant lives under
  the appearance of being married is younger than 18 years of age at
  the time the offense is committed;
               (8) [(7)]  two years from the date the offense was
  discovered: sexual assault punishable as a state jail felony under
  Section 22.011(f)(2), Penal Code; or
               (9) [(8)]  three years from the date of the commission
  of the offense: all other felonies.
         SECTION 3.  Section 2(a), Article 38.37, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Subsection (b) applies only to the trial of a defendant
  for:
               (1)  an offense under any of the following provisions
  of the Penal Code:
                     (A)  Section 20A.02, if punishable as a felony of
  the first degree under Section 20A.02(b-1)(1) [20A.02(b)(1)]
  ([Sex] Trafficking of a Child);
                     (B)  Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of
  Young Child or Children);
                     (C)  Section 21.11 (Indecency With a Child);
                     (D)  Section 22.011(a)(2) (Sexual Assault of a
  Child);
                     (E)  Sections 22.021(a)(1)(B) and (2) (Aggravated
  Sexual Assault of a Child);
                     (F)  Section 33.021 (Online Solicitation of a
  Minor);
                     (G)  Section 43.25 (Sexual Performance by a
  Child); or
                     (H)  Section 43.26 (Possession or Promotion of
  Child Pornography), Penal Code; or
               (2)  an attempt or conspiracy to commit an offense
  described by Subdivision (1).
         SECTION 4.  Section 20A.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding
  Subdivision (1-a) to read as follows:
               (1-a)  "Coercion" as defined by Section 1.07 includes:
                     (A)  destroying, concealing, confiscating, or
  withholding from a trafficked person, or threatening to destroy,
  conceal, confiscate, or withhold from a trafficked person, the
  person's actual or purported:
                           (i)  government records; or
                           (ii)  identifying information or documents;
                     (B)  causing a trafficked person, without the
  person's consent, to become intoxicated, as defined by Section
  49.01, to a degree that impairs the person's ability to appraise the
  nature of or resist engaging in any conduct, including performing
  or providing labor or services; or
                     (C)  withholding alcohol or a controlled
  substance to a degree that impairs the ability of a trafficked
  person with a chemical dependency, as defined by Section 462.001,
  Health and Safety Code, to appraise the nature of or resist engaging
  in any conduct, including performing or providing labor or
  services.
         SECTION 5.  Section 20A.02, Penal Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
  read as follows:
         (a)  A person commits an offense if the person [knowingly]:
               (1)  knowingly traffics another person with the intent
  that the trafficked person engage in forced labor or services;
               (2)  knowingly receives a benefit from participating in
  a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (1),
  including by receiving labor or services the person knows are
  forced labor or services;
               (3)  knowingly traffics another person and, through
  force, fraud, or coercion, causes the trafficked person to engage
  in conduct prohibited by:
                     (A)  Section 43.02 (Prostitution);
                     (B)  Section 43.03 (Promotion of Prostitution);
                     (B-1)  Section 43.031 (Online Promotion of
  Prostitution);
                     (C)  Section 43.04 (Aggravated Promotion of
  Prostitution);
                     (C-1)  Section 43.041 (Aggravated Online
  Promotion of Prostitution); or
                     (D)  Section 43.05 (Compelling Prostitution);
               (4)  either:
                     (A)  in the course of engaging in conduct that
  constitutes an offense under Section 43.02(b), engages in sexual
  conduct with a person trafficked in the manner described by
  Subdivision (3), regardless of whether the actor knows that the
  person has been trafficked in the manner described by that
  subdivision; or
                     (B)  knowingly receives a benefit from
  participating in a venture that involves an activity described by
  Subdivision (3) [or engages in sexual conduct with a person
  trafficked in the manner described in Subdivision (3)];
               (5)  knowingly traffics a child with the intent that
  the trafficked child engage in forced labor or services;
               (6)  knowingly receives a benefit from participating in
  a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (5),
  including by receiving labor or services the person knows are
  forced labor or services;
               (7)  knowingly traffics a child and by any means causes
  the trafficked child to engage in, or become the victim of, conduct
  prohibited by:
                     (A)  Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of
  Young Child or Children);
                     (B)  Section 21.11 (Indecency with a Child);
                     (C)  Section 22.011 (Sexual Assault);
                     (D)  Section 22.021 (Aggravated Sexual Assault);
                     (E)  Section 43.02 (Prostitution);
                     (F)  Section 43.03 (Promotion of Prostitution);
                     (F-1)  Section 43.031 (Online Promotion of
  Prostitution);
                     (G)  Section 43.04 (Aggravated Promotion of
  Prostitution);
                     (G-1)  Section 43.041 (Aggravated Online
  Promotion of Prostitution);
                     (H)  Section 43.05 (Compelling Prostitution);
                     (I)  Section 43.25 (Sexual Performance by a
  Child);
                     (J)  Section 43.251 (Employment Harmful to
  Children); or
                     (K)  Section 43.26 (Possession or Promotion of
  Child Pornography); or
               (8)  either:
                     (A)  in the course of engaging in conduct that
  constitutes an offense under Section 43.02(b), engages in sexual
  conduct with a child trafficked in the manner described by
  Subdivision (7), regardless of whether the actor knows that the
  child has been trafficked in the manner described by that
  subdivision; or
                     (B)  knowingly receives a benefit from
  participating in a venture that involves an activity described by
  Subdivision (7) [or engages in sexual conduct with a child
  trafficked in the manner described in Subdivision (7)].
         (b)  Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (b-1) [this
  subsection], an offense under this section is a felony of the second
  degree and an offense under Subsection (a)(4)(A) is a state jail
  felony.
         (b-1)  An offense under this section is a felony of the first
  degree if:
               (1)  the applicable conduct constitutes an offense
  under Subsection (a)(5), (6), (7), or (8), regardless of whether
  the actor knows the age of the child at the time of the offense;
               (2)  the commission of the offense results in the death
  of the person who is trafficked; or
               (3)  the commission of the offense results in the death
  of an unborn child of the person who is trafficked.
         SECTION 6.  STUDY REGARDING REGULATION OF UNMANNED TELLER
  MACHINES FOR PREVENTION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING.  (a)  In this section:
               (1)  "Department" means the Texas Department of
  Banking.
               (2)  "Unmanned teller machine" has the meaning assigned
  by Section 59.301, Finance Code.
         (b)  The department shall conduct a study to assess the
  efficacy and feasibility of regulating unmanned teller machines for
  the purpose of preventing human trafficking.
         (c)  In conducting the study, the department shall consider:
               (1)  regulation of unmanned teller machines
  implemented in other states;
               (2)  the resources necessary to effectively regulate
  unmanned teller machines; and
               (3)  the efficacy, for the purpose of preventing human
  trafficking, of regulating unmanned teller machines in specific
  locations, including in:
                     (A)  sexually oriented businesses, as that term is
  defined by Section 243.002, Local Government Code;
                     (B)  massage parlors, as that term is defined by
  Section 234.101, Local Government Code; and
                     (C)  establishments, including bars, open to the
  public that primarily sell and serve alcoholic beverages for
  on-premises consumption.
         (d)  Not later than December 1, 2022, the department shall
  submit a report to each member of the legislature that includes the
  results of the study conducted under Subsection (b) of this section
  and any recommendations of the department related to the study and
  statutory changes necessary to regulate unmanned teller machines
  for the purpose of preventing human trafficking.
         (e)  This section expires September 1, 2023.
         SECTION 7.  Section 20A.02(a-1), Penal Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 8.  The change in law made by this Act to Section
  140A.002, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, applies only to a cause
  of action that accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A
  cause of action that accrued before the effective date of this Act
  is governed by the law applicable to the cause of action immediately
  before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 9.  Article 12.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
  amended by this Act, does not apply to an offense if the prosecution
  of that offense becomes barred by limitation before the effective
  date of this Act. The prosecution of that offense remains barred as
  if this Act had not taken effect.
         SECTION 10.  The changes in law made by this Act to Article
  38.37, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Sections 20A.01 and 20A.02,
  Penal Code, apply only to an offense committed on or after the
  effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the
  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
  date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense
  was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element
  of the offense occurred before that date.
         SECTION 11.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.