Bill Text: TX HB2393 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to training for certain health and human services personnel to identify and assist victims of human trafficking.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-11 - Referred to Human Services [HB2393 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB2393-Introduced.html
83R9306 JSL-F | ||
By: Burkett | H.B. No. 2393 |
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relating to training for certain health and human services | ||
personnel to identify and assist victims of human trafficking. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 402.035(d), Government Code, is amended | ||
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) 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; | ||
(7) examine training protocols related to human | ||
trafficking issues, as developed and implemented by federal, state, | ||
and local law enforcement agencies; | ||
(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; | ||
(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; [ |
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(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; and | ||
(11) work with the Health and Human Services | ||
Commission and the Department of Family and Protective Services to | ||
develop and conduct training for commission and department | ||
personnel on identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking | ||
that includes instruction on: | ||
(A) recognition of human trafficking indicators; | ||
(B) methods for identification of children in | ||
foster care who may be at risk of becoming victims of human | ||
trafficking; and | ||
(C) a referral process for identified human | ||
trafficking victims and individuals at risk of becoming victims. | ||
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. |