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The '''[http://alecexposed.org/w/images/9/9e/7K11-State_Law_to_Abolish_Human_Trafficking_Exposed.pdf State Law to Abolish Human Trafficking]''' was adopted by ALEC's Criminal Justice and Homeland Security Task Force at the Spring Task Force Summit on May 17, 2008, approved by the full ALEC Board of Directors in June, 2008. {{AEX2011}}
==ALEC Bill Text==
Section.1 {Purposes} The purposes of this Act are to combat trafficking in persons;
to protect victims of human trafficking, assist them in the rebuilding of their lives, and to
restore them to their inherent dignity; to ensure the just and effective punishment of
traffickers; and to create an environment in the State of [STATE] in which the abolition of
human trafficking is effectuated.
Section. 2. {Findings} The legislature finds that:
(A) As a nation, our founding rests on the principle that all persons are created equal and
endowed with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness. We are at our best as a people when we are faithful to that principle and
struggle to realize its promise for all persons.
(B) Throughout history, many regimes of power have used the law to countenance de
jure slavery, and have thereby denied the rights and inherent dignity of whole classes of
people.
(C) Throughout history, persons of power and evil intent have isolated and coerced
vulnerable individuals into exploitation, thereby preventing them from knowing or
enforcing their rights. Sometimes these perpetrators have operated on the fringes of the
law or have benefited from gaps in it, such as the restrictive common-law definition of
coercion requiring an imminent threat of physical harm.
(D) The Thirteenth Amendment is an act to fulfill our founding principle. It mandates that
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude . . . shall exist within the United States or any
place subject to their jurisdiction,” and it further obligates Congress to enforce that
mandate with “appropriate legislation.” This state also has an affirmative obligation to
eradicate the badges and incidents of slavery.
(E) Trafficking in persons is a modern-day manifestation of slavery. It consists of the
exploitation of individuals in situations of commercial sex or forced labor for the purpose
of financial gain.
(F) The highest order of the state is to fulfill the promise of our founding principle. This
fulfillment is achieved by, inter alia, restoring the liberty and inherent dignity of an
individual subjected to trafficking in persons.
(G) Every year traffickers in persons prey on hundreds of thousands of people around the
world. Traffickers operate within or across international and state borders and usually
target a society’s most vulnerable, most of whom are women and children. They subject
their victims to exploitation through labor trafficking or commercial sex trafficking.
(H) In this country and state, both US citizens and non-citizens fall prey to traffickers of
persons.
(I) Vulnerable people are often trafficked or maintained in trafficking because they do not
know their rights or do not know how to assert their rights.
(J) Traffickers use various techniques to instill fear in victims and keep them enslaved.
Some traffickers keep their victims under lock and key. More frequently, traffickers
employ less obvious techniques including, inter alia, isolating their victims from family
and the public, confiscating passports, visas, driver’s licenses, or other identification
documents, inflicting physical violence or the threat thereof against victims or their
family, threatening to use legal processes against them or reporting them to law
enforcement, immigration or juvenile authorities, fostering addiction, controlling their
access to addicted substances, and controlling their funds.
(K) Many victims fear that their traffickers will exact retribution on their family members,
whether residing in this country or abroad.
(L) Victims of human trafficking typically endure terrible physical and mental trauma.
Victims often suffer from traumatic bonding (Stockholm Syndrome), post traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), and other conditions resulting from the psychological harm
inflicted upon them. When rescued, the extent of this trauma must be recognized and
assessed; victims need to be provided immediate access to stabilization services before
they can effectively contribute to the investigation of the crimes that have been
perpetrated against them.
(M) Due to the fear instilled in them by the traffickers, and to the experiences in foreign
countries from which they came, victims often have a profound suspicion of law
enforcement and will not seek the protection of law enforcement officers and agencies.
(N) Due to their fears and the psychological harms inflicted upon them, as noted in the
US State Department’s 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report, trafficking victims are unlikely
to self-identify themselves as victims.
(O) Within the context of interactions with authorities, victims of human trafficking must
primarily be recognized as the victims of a serious crime, and only secondarily as a
witness to a crime. As stated in the 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report:
A government should provide efficient access to justice for these victims, if they so
choose, and access to shelter, medical care, legal aid, and psycho-social counseling.
As further stated in the 2007 Report:
By placing the needs of victims front and center, victims of this heinous crime are
assured of the protection they so desperately need. Once given those assurances, many
victims step forward voluntarily and without pressure to become powerful and confident
witnesses….
(P) Jurisprudence concerning the Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution holds
that no person can consent to be enslaved, including agreement to debt bondage, nor
can a person under the age of 18 consent to participate in commercial sex.
(Q) The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 is an act that fulfills the promise
of the Thirteenth Amendment at the national level. This Act seeks to fulfill that promise
within the state of [STATE].
Section 3. {Title _____ of the criminal code and Title _____ of the human
services code shall be amended as follows}:
Section AAA.01 {Definitions} In this Article:
(A) “Blackmail” is to be given its ordinary meaning as defined by [state blackmail statute,
if any] and includes but is not limited to a threat to convey or publish any fact or
purported fact tending to subject any person to embarrassment, contempt, defamation,
hatred, ridicule or worry.
(B) “Coercion” means (a) threats of harm to or physical restraint against any person; (b)
any act, scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that performing,
or failing to perform, an act would result in serious physical, financial, or emotional harm
or distress to or physical restraint against any person; (c) the abuse or threatened abuse
of the legal process; (d) knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating or
possessing any actual or purported passport, labor or other immigration document, or
other government identification document (including but not limited to drivers licenses
and birth certificates), of another person; (e) facilitating or controlling a person’s access
to any addictive or controlled substance other than for legal medical purposes; (f)
blackmail; (g) demanding or claiming money, goods, or any other thing of value from or
on behalf of a prostituted person where such demand or claim arises from or is directly
related to the act of prostitution; (h) determining, dictating or setting the price for which
another person will engage in an act of prostitution with a third party; (i) determining,
dictating or setting the times at which another person will be available to engage in an
act of prostitution with a third party; (j) determining, dictating or setting the places at
which another person will be available for solicitation of, or to engage in, an act of
prostitution with a third party; or (k) determining, dictating or setting the places at which
another person will reside for purposes of making such person available to engage in an
act of prostitution with a third party.
(C) “Commercial sex” means (a) (i) any sex, or other, act intended to appeal to the sexual
interests of any person or to arouse sexual excitement or gratification and (ii) with
respect to which value is directly or indirectly given, promised to, or received by any
person or with respect to which images or sounds are recorded or transmitted for the
purposes of directly or indirectly giving, promising, or receiving value, or (b) any sex act
intended to further a person’s entry into, or participation in, prostitution or pornography.
(D) “Financial harm” includes credit extortion as defined by [state extortion statute, if
any], criminal violation of the usury laws as defined by [state statutes defining usury],
employment contracts that violate the Statute of Frauds as defined by [state statute of
frauds], or imposing or threatening to impose a financial hardship on a person.
(E) “Forced labor” shall include debt bondage, involuntary servitude, peonage, and
slavery.
(F) “Legal process” refers to the criminal law, the civil law, or the regulatory system of the
federal government, any state, territory, district, commonwealth, or trust territory
therein, and any foreign government or subdivision thereof and includes legal civil
actions, criminal actions, and regulatory petitions or applications.
(G) “Minor” means anyone under the age of 18 (or 21, according to state law).
(H) “Debt Bondage” means the status or condition of a debtor arising from a pledge by
the debtor of his or her personal services or of those of a person under his or her control
as a security for debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied
toward the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not
respectively limited and defined;
(I) “Peonage” means holding someone against his or her will to pay off a debt.
(J) “Human Smuggling” means the transportation of a person across a border illegally.
(K) “Trafficking in Persons” means commercial sex trafficking or labor trafficking.
(L) Commercial sex trafficking is the:
(a)(i) Recruiting, enticing, harboring, maintaining, transporting, providing or obtaining,
by any means, another person (ii) through deception, force, fraud, threat or coercion (iii)
for purposes of engaging the person in a commercial sex act; or
(b)(i) Recruiting, enticing, harboring, maintaining, transporting, providing or obtaining,
by any means, (ii) a person under the age of 18 [or 21, according to the state] (iii) for
purposes of engaging the person in a commercial sex act; or
(c) Receipt of money, goods, or acceptance of the promise thereof knowing that such
money, goods, or promise thereof arose from the trafficking of a person for commercial
sex.
(M) Labor trafficking is the:
(a)(i) Recruiting, enticing, harboring, maintaining, transporting, providing or obtaining,
by any means, another person (ii) through deception, force, fraud, threat or coercion (iii)
for purposes of engaging the person in forced labor; or
(b) Receipt of money, goods, or acceptance of the promise thereof knowing that such
money, goods, or promise thereof arose from the trafficking of a person for forced labor.
(N) “Victim of Trafficking” means:
(a) a person who has been (i) recruited, enticed, harbored, maintained, transported,
provided or obtained, by any means, (ii) through deception, force, fraud, threat or
coercion (iii) in order to be engaged in a commercial sex act or forced labor; or
(b) a person under age 18 who has been recruited, enticed, harbored, maintained,
transported, provided or obtained, by any means for purposes of a commercial sex act.
Section 4. {Title _____ of the criminal code shall be amended as follows}:
Section BBB.02. {Criminal Provisions}
(A) Trafficking for labor or services- Any person who knowingly trafficks a person for labor
or services shall be punished as follows:
1) [Sentences to be in accordance with the state felony sentencing structure and shall
also take into account the length of the servitude and the overall harm inflicted upon the
victim].
2) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where the victim has been
subjected to assault or battery [enhancement in accordance with state sentencing
structure].
3) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where another person has
been subjected to assault or battery where the purpose or effect has been to coerce
another into, or maintain a person in, trafficking [enhancement in accordance with state
sentencing structure].
4) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where the victim has been
subjected to rape, sexual assault or sexual abuse [enhancement in accordance with state
sentencing structure].
5) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where another person has
been subjected to rape, sexual assault or sexual abuse where the purpose or effect has
been to coerce another into, or maintain a person in, trafficking [enhancement in
accordance with state sentencing structure].
6) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where death results from a
violation of this section or if such violation includes an attempt to kill, kidnapping or an
attempt to kidnap [enhancement in accordance with state sentencing structure].
7) The court shall order the defendant to pay restitution to any trafficking victim and any
child of the victim who was under age 18 [or 21 in accordance with state law] at any
time during the trafficking in an amount equal to:
(i) The greater of the gross income to
the defendant as a result of the victim having been trafficked or the reasonable value of
the victim's labor; plus
(ii) The value of the victim's time under the greater of the federal
or state wage laws and overtime regulations; plus
(iii) an amount determined by the
court to be necessary for the mental and physical rehabilitation of the victim and any
child of the victim.
8) The court, in imposing sentence on any person convicted of a violation of this chapter,
shall order, in addition to any other sentence imposed and irrespective of any other
provision of law, that such person shall forfeit to the state –
(i) such person's interest in any property, real or personal, that was used or intended to
be used to commit or to facilitate the commission of such violation, and
(ii) any property, real or personal, constituting or derived from, any proceeds that such
person obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of such violation.
9) The first priority of such forfeited property shall be to pay the restitution to the victims
of the defendant and to satisfy civil judgments obtained against the defendant under this
Act.
(B) Trafficking for commercial sex- Any person who knowingly trafficks a person for
commercial sex shall be punished as follows:
1) [Sentences to be in accordance with state felony sentencing structure and shall also
take into account the length of the servitude and the overall harm inflicted upon the
victim].
2) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where the victim has been
subjected to assault or battery [enhancement in accordance with state sentencing
structure].
3) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where another person has
been subjected to assault or battery where the purpose or effect has been to coerce
another into, or maintain a person in, trafficking [enhancement in accordance with state
sentencing structure].
4) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where the victim has been
subjected to rape, sexual assault or sexual abuse [enhancement in accordance with state
sentencing structure].
5) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where another person has
been subjected to rape, sexual assault or sexual abuse where the purpose or effect has
been to coerce another into, or maintain a person in, trafficking [enhancement in
accordance with state sentencing structure].
6) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where death results from a
violation of this section or if such violation includes an attempt to kill, kidnapping or an
attempt to kidnap [enhancement in accordance with state sentencing structure].
7) The court shall order the defendant to pay restitution to any trafficking victim and any
child of the victim who was under age 18 [or 21 in accordance with state law] at any
time during the trafficking in an amount equal to: (i) The gross income to the defendant
as a result of the victim having been trafficked; plus (ii) The value of the victim's time
under the greater of the federal or state wage laws and overtime regulations; plus (iii) an
amount determined by the court to be necessary for the mental and physical
rehabilitation of the victim and any child of the victim.
8) The court, in imposing sentence on any person convicted of a violation of this chapter,
shall order, in addition to any other sentence imposed and irrespective of any other
provision of law, that such person shall forfeit to the state –
(i) such person's interest in any property, real or personal, that was used or intended to
be used to commit or to facilitate the commission of such violation, and
(ii) any property, real or personal, constituting or derived from, any proceeds that such
person obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of such violation.
9) The first priority of such forfeited property shall be to pay the restitution to the victims
of the defendant and to satisfy civil judgments obtained against the defendant under this
Act.
(C) Trafficking of a child for labor or services- Any person who knowingly trafficks a person
under age 18 [or 21, in accordance with state law] for labor for services shall be punished
as follows:
1) [Sentences to be in accordance with state felony sentencing structure and shall also
take into account the length of the servitude and the overall harm inflicted upon the
victim].
2) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where the victim has been
subjected to assault or battery [enhancement in accordance with state sentencing
structure].
3) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where another person has
been subjected to assault or battery where the purpose or effect has been to coerce
another into, or maintain a person in, trafficking [enhancement in accordance with state
sentencing structure].
4) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where the victim has been
subjected to rape, sexual assault or sexual abuse [enhancement in accordance with state
sentencing structure].
5) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where another person has
been subjected to rape, sexual assault or sexual abuse where the purpose or effect has
been to coerce another into, or maintain a person in, trafficking [enhancement in
accordance with state sentencing structure].
6) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where death results from a
violation of this section or if such violation includes an attempt to kill, kidnapping or an
attempt to kidnap [enhancement in accordance with state sentencing structure].
7) The court shall order the defendant to pay restitution to any trafficking victim and any
child of the victim who was under age 18 [or 21 in accordance with state law] at any
time during the trafficking in an amount equal to: (i) The greater of the gross income to
the defendant as a result of the victim having been trafficked or the reasonable value of
the victim's labor; plus (ii) The value of the victim's time under the greater of the federal
or state wage laws and overtime regulations; plus (iii) an amount determined by the
court to be necessary for the mental and physical rehabilitation of the victim and any
child of the victim.
8) The court, in imposing sentence on any person convicted of a violation of this chapter,
shall order, in addition to any other sentence imposed and irrespective of any other
provision of law, that such person shall forfeit to the state –
(i) such person's interest in any property, real or personal, that was used or intended to
be used to commit or to facilitate the commission of such violation, and
(ii) any property, real or personal, constituting or derived from, any proceeds that such
person obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of such violation.
9) The first priority of such forfeited property shall be to pay the restitution to the victims
of the defendant and to satisfy civil judgments obtained against the defendant under this
Act.
(D) Trafficking of a child for commercial sex - Any person who trafficks a person under
age 18 [or 21, in accordance with state law] for commercial sex shall be punished as
follows:
1) [Sentences to be in accordance with state felony sentencing structure and shall also
take into account the length of the servitude and the overall harm inflicted upon the
victim].
2) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where the victim has been
subjected to assault or battery [enhancement in accordance with state sentencing
structure].
3) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where another person has
been subjected to assault or battery where the purpose or effect has been to coerce
another into, or maintain a person in, trafficking [enhancement in accordance with state
sentencing structure].
4) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where the victim has been
subjected to rape, sexual assault or sexual abuse [enhancement in accordance with state
sentencing structure].
5) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where another person has
been subjected to rape, sexual assault or sexual abuse where the purpose or effect has
been to coerce another into, or maintain a person in, trafficking [enhancement in
accordance with state sentencing structure].
6) The defendant shall be subject to [enhanced penalties] where death results from a
violation of this section or if such violation includes an attempt to kill, kidnapping or an
attempt to kidnap [enhancement in accordance with state sentencing structure].
7) The court shall order the defendant to pay restitution to any trafficking victim and any
child of the victim who was under age 18 [or 21 in accordance with state law] at any
time during the trafficking in an amount equal to: (i) The gross income to the defendant
as a result of the victim having been trafficked; plus (ii) The value of the victim's time
under the greater of the federal or state wage laws and overtime regulations; plus (iii) an
amount determined by the court to be necessary for the mental and physical
rehabilitation of the victim and any child of the victim.
8) The court, in imposing sentence on any person convicted of a violation of this chapter,
shall order, in addition to any other sentence imposed and irrespective of any other
provision of law, that such person shall forfeit to the state --
(i) such person's interest in any property, real or personal, that was used or intended to
be used to commit or to facilitate the commission of such violation, and
(ii) any property, real or personal, constituting or derived from, any proceeds that such
person obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of such violation.
9) The first priority of such forfeited property shall be to pay the restitution to the victims
of the defendant and to satisfy civil judgments obtained against the defendant under this
Act.
10) It shall not be a defense that the defendant was unaware that the victim was under
age 18 [or 21, in accordance with state law], nor shall it be a defense that the victim or
anyone acting on the victim’s behalf gave consent.
(E) [If state law does not currently deem commercial sex with a minor to be a felony]
Amendment of Prostitution Statutes. Engaging in an act of commercial sex with a person
under the age of 18 [or 21 in accordance with state law] shall be a felony [punishment in
accordance with state felony structure].
Section CCC.03. {Causes of Action}
(A) The Attorney General may bring a civil action in the [court of general jurisdiction] to
recover a civil penalty of not more than [amounts] dollars for each violation of [criminal
sections], injunctive and other equitable relief as the court may, in its discretion, may
order. A criminal case or prosecution is not a necessary precedent to such an action. The
first priority of any money or property collected under such an action shall be to pay the
restitution to the victims of the defendant and to satisfy civil judgments obtained against
the defendant under this Act.
(B) Any person aggrieved by a violation of section XX of this Act may bring a civil action
against the person or persons who committed such violation to recover actual and
punitive damages and reasonable attorneys’ fees. A criminal case or prosecution is not a
necessary precedent to such an action. The statute of limitations for such cause of action
shall not commence until the latter of the victim’s emancipation from the defendant or
the victim’s twenty-first birthday.
Section DDD.04. {Affirmative Defenses}
(A) It shall be an affirmative defense for any victim of trafficking under any prosecution
that such person was a victim of trafficking during the time of the alleged offense and
that such crime was committed at the direction of the defendant or in furtherance of the
trafficking enterprise.
Section 4. (Title _____ of the criminal code and Title _____ of the human
services code shall be further amended as necessary to implement the
following}:
Section EEE.05 {State Government Response to and Responsibilities for
the Abolition of Human Trafficking.}
(A) Within 1 year from the passage of this bill:
1) The state human services department shall establish procedures for identifying victims
of trafficking, including a list of all agencies and entities that should be trained on the
issue. Such agencies shall include but not be limited to state law enforcement agencies,
child protective services, juvenile courts, and runaway and homeless youth shelter
administrators.
2) The state human services department shall compile a list of services and programs
available to (i) victims of human trafficking with a T visa, federal continued presence
status, or a federal Letter of Eligibility and (ii) to putative victims who have not received a
designation in subparagraph (i); (iii) to US juvenile citizens or permanent residents who
are victims; and (iv) US adult citizens or permanent residents.
3) The human services department shall appoint and train a Trafficking Victims Director
to track and coordinate the provision of services to victims and putative victims of human
trafficking. The department shall develop procedures for providing assistance to persons
who are putative victims, including assistance in obtaining full benefits and services
under federal and state law.
4) The state shall establish education programs and “standard operating procedures” for
relevant state employees and contractors, including caseworkers, juvenile justice workers,
healthcare workers and child protective service workers, for assisting, under federal and
state law, and identifying trafficking victims.
5) The state human services department shall establish a program for the comprehensive
care and treatment of child victims of commercial sex.
(B) With respect to child victims of commercial sex, no such victim shall be charged or
prosecuted under state criminal law on account of such acts.
(C) The referral of a child to the Trafficking Victims Director shall constitute compliance
with the state’s “must report” laws and regulations.
(D) State law enforcement agencies and child protective services shall report all putative
victims of human trafficking to the Trafficking Victims Director. If a child victim falls under
the jurisdiction of child protective services and the Trafficking Victims Director, both
offices shall work together to develop a care and treatment plan to attain the best
interests of the child.
(E) State legal assistance programs for victims of crime shall be available to putative
trafficking victims for purposes of obtaining assistance under this statute and for
purposes of pursuing civil actions against their defendants.
(F) The primary duty of the Trafficking Victims Director is to assist the victim in
recovering from the trafficking and in fully enjoying the rights and privileges provided by
the federal and state constitutions.
(G) Victims’ Rights:
1) Victims of human trafficking shall have the same rights as other victims of a crime,
including the right to receive victim compensation.
2) Victims of human trafficking shall also be entitled to basic information, including but
not limited to information on their legal rights, human rights, immigration rights,
emergency assistance and resources, and any other applicable right and resources.
3) Any statement by a putative victim of human trafficking or the minor child of such
victim to a qualified social worker or case-worker, guardian appointed under this title, or
advocate is a privileged communication unless waived by the victim’s attorney, the adult
victim, or the advocate or guardian of a child victim.
3) State employees and contractors shall provide information and statements to a person
or such person’s attorney, guardian, or legal representative for purposes of such person’s
application for immigration relief or benefits under the TVPA or other victim assistance law
or regulation. Any statement made under this subsection shall be privileged for purposes
of any criminal or civil action.
4) The Trafficking Victims Director shall appoint an advocate who is not a state or federal
employee for putative child victims of trafficking who shall have the authority to appoint
and fire an attorney for the child victim, and to authorize legal process and applications.
Such authority shall end when the advocate determines with the agreement of the
Director that the child is not a victim of trafficking, the child attains the age of 21, or
thirty days after the child receives a T visa, a U visa, a Letter of Eligibility, Continued
Presence or Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and is, pursuant to such receipt, placed in
a suitable long-term care situation including, but not limited to, the federal URM program.
5) Victims of human trafficking shall not be required to cooperate with law enforcement
in the investigation or prosecution of their traffickers as a condition to receiving any social
service or benefit, including legal services.
Adopted by the Criminal Justice & Homeland Security Task Force at the Spring Task Force
Summit, May 17, 2008.
Approved by the full ALEC Board of Directors June 2008.