By: Cook H.B. No. 6
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the punishment for the offense of trafficking of
  persons.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 20A.02(b), Penal Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  Except as otherwise provided by this subsection and
  Subsection (b-1), an offense under this section is a felony of the
  second degree. 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;
               (3)  the commission of the offense results in the death
  of an unborn child of the person who is trafficked; or
               (4)  the actor recruited, enticed, or obtained the
  trafficked person [victim of the offense] from a:
                     (A)  shelter or facility operating as a
  residential treatment center that serves runaway youth, foster
  children, the homeless, or persons subjected to human trafficking,
  domestic violence, or sexual assault; or
                     (B)  correctional facility while the trafficked
  person was confined in the facility.
         SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies 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 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.