Bill Text: TX HB3800 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to required reporting of human trafficking cases by certain law enforcement entities and by prosecutors.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Passed) 2019-06-14 - Effective on 9/1/19 [HB3800 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB3800-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Relating to required reporting of human trafficking cases by certain law enforcement entities and by prosecutors.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Passed) 2019-06-14 - Effective on 9/1/19 [HB3800 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB3800-Comm_Sub.html
By: Thompson of Harris, Lopez, Collier | H.B. No. 3800 | |
(Senate Sponsor - Huffman) | ||
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 13, 2019; | ||
May 14, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal | ||
Justice; May 17, 2019, reported adversely, with favorable | ||
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; | ||
May 17, 2019, sent to printer.) | ||
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 3800 | By: Whitmire |
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relating to the investigation and prosecution of criminal offenses | ||
involving the trafficking of persons. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, is | ||
amended by adding Article 2.305 to read as follows: | ||
Art. 2.305. REPORT REQUIRED CONCERNING HUMAN TRAFFICKING | ||
CASES. (a) This article applies only to: | ||
(1) a municipal police department, sheriff's | ||
department, constable's office, county attorney's office, district | ||
attorney's office, and criminal district attorney's office, as | ||
applicable, in a county with a population of more than 50,000; and | ||
(2) the Department of Public Safety. | ||
(b) An entity described by Subsection (a) that investigates | ||
the alleged commission of an offense under Chapter 20A, Penal Code, | ||
or the alleged commission of an offense under Chapter 43, Penal | ||
Code, which may involve human trafficking, shall submit to the | ||
attorney general the following information: | ||
(1) the offense being investigated, including a brief | ||
description of the alleged prohibited conduct; | ||
(2) regarding each person suspected of committing the | ||
offense and each victim of the offense: | ||
(A) the person's: | ||
(i) age; | ||
(ii) gender; and | ||
(iii) race or ethnicity, as defined by | ||
Article 2.132; and | ||
(B) the case number associated with the offense | ||
and the person suspected of committing the offense; | ||
(3) the date, time, and location of the alleged | ||
offense; | ||
(4) the type of human trafficking involved, including: | ||
(A) forced labor or services, as defined by | ||
Section 20A.01, Penal Code; | ||
(B) causing the victim by force, fraud, or | ||
coercion to engage in prohibited conduct involving one or more | ||
sexual activities, including conduct described by Section | ||
20A.02(a)(3), Penal Code; or | ||
(C) causing a child victim by any means to engage | ||
in, or become the victim of, prohibited conduct involving one or | ||
more sexual activities, including conduct described by Section | ||
20A.02(a)(7), Penal Code; | ||
(5) if available, information regarding any victims' | ||
service organization or program to which the victim was referred as | ||
part of the investigation; and | ||
(6) the disposition of the investigation, regardless | ||
of the manner of disposition. | ||
(c) An attorney representing the state who prosecutes the | ||
alleged commission of an offense under Chapter 20A, Penal Code, or | ||
the alleged commission of an offense under Chapter 43, Penal Code, | ||
which may involve human trafficking, shall submit to the attorney | ||
general the following information: | ||
(1) the offense being prosecuted, including a brief | ||
description of the alleged prohibited conduct; | ||
(2) any other charged offense that is part of the same | ||
criminal episode out of which the offense described by Subdivision | ||
(1) arose; | ||
(3) the information described by Subsections (b)(2), | ||
(3), (4), and (5); and | ||
(4) the disposition of the prosecution, regardless of | ||
the manner of disposition. | ||
(d) The attorney general shall enter into a contract with a | ||
public or private institution of higher education for the | ||
institution's assistance in the collection and analysis of | ||
information received under this article. | ||
(e) In consultation with the entities described by | ||
Subsection (a), the attorney general shall adopt rules to | ||
administer this article, including rules prescribing: | ||
(1) the form and manner of submission of a report | ||
required by Subsection (b) or (c); and | ||
(2) additional information to include in a report | ||
required by Subsection (b) or (c). | ||
SECTION 2. Article 13.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
Art. 13.12. TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS, FALSE IMPRISONMENT, | ||
KIDNAPPING, AND SMUGGLING OF PERSONS. (a) Venue for trafficking | ||
of persons, false imprisonment, kidnapping, and smuggling of | ||
persons is in: | ||
(1) the county in which the offense was committed; or | ||
(2) any county through, into, or out of which the | ||
person trafficked, falsely imprisoned, kidnapped, or transported | ||
may have been taken. | ||
(b) If a defendant commits an offense under Chapter 20A, | ||
Penal Code, that is part of a criminal episode, as defined by | ||
Section 3.01, Penal Code, all of the offenses arising out of the | ||
same criminal episode may be prosecuted in any county that has venue | ||
over an offense constituting part of that criminal episode. | ||
SECTION 3. Chapter 20A, Penal Code, is amended by adding | ||
Section 20A.05 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 20A.05. FORWARDING OF CASE INFORMATION ON COMPLETION | ||
OF INVESTIGATION BY CERTAIN STATE AGENCIES. On completion of an | ||
investigation of an offense under this chapter that is conducted by | ||
a state agency other than the office of the attorney general, the | ||
state agency shall forward copies of each offense report prepared | ||
in the investigation and all other case information to: | ||
(1) the appropriate local county or district attorney; | ||
and | ||
(2) the attorney general. | ||
SECTION 4. Title 5, Penal Code, is amended by adding Chapter | ||
20B to read as follows: | ||
CHAPTER 20B. CONCURRENT JURISDICTION IN CASES INVOLVING | ||
TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS | ||
Sec. 20B.01. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "criminal | ||
episode" has the meaning assigned by Section 3.01. | ||
Sec. 20B.02. PROSECUTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL IN | ||
MULTIJURISDICTIONAL CASES AUTHORIZED. (a) The attorney general | ||
may prosecute an offense under Chapter 20A if the offense or any | ||
element of the offense: | ||
(1) occurs in more than one county in this state; or | ||
(2) occurs in a county in this state as well as in | ||
another state or country. | ||
(b) The attorney general may prosecute any other offense | ||
that occurs in this state and arises out of the same criminal | ||
episode as an offense described by Subsection (a). | ||
(c) The attorney general may appear before a grand jury in | ||
connection with an offense the attorney general is authorized to | ||
prosecute under this section. | ||
(d) The authority to prosecute prescribed by this section | ||
does not affect the authority derived from other law to prosecute | ||
the same offenses. | ||
Sec. 20B.03. SINGLE JURISDICTIONAL CASE: CONCURRENT | ||
JURISDICTION FOLLOWING LOCAL PROSECUTOR'S RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL. | ||
(a) This section does not apply to an offense described by Section | ||
20B.02(a). | ||
(b) Not later than the 30th day after the date a local county | ||
or district attorney becomes aware of conduct that may constitute | ||
an offense under Chapter 20A, the local county or district attorney | ||
shall notify the attorney general in writing of the conduct. The | ||
notice provided under this subsection must describe the conduct | ||
that may constitute an offense under Chapter 20A and must describe | ||
or otherwise identify each person suspected at that time of having | ||
engaged in the conduct. | ||
(c) If a local county or district attorney described by | ||
Subsection (b) determines that the attorney will not pursue a | ||
criminal investigation of the applicable conduct or will not | ||
prosecute a criminal charge in relation to that conduct, the local | ||
county or district attorney shall notify the attorney general of | ||
that determination not later than the 30th day after the date of the | ||
determination. On receipt of notice under this subsection, the | ||
attorney general may begin a criminal investigation of the | ||
applicable conduct and may prosecute: | ||
(1) any offense under Chapter 20A relating to the | ||
attorney general's investigation of that conduct; and | ||
(2) any other offense arising out of the same criminal | ||
episode. | ||
Sec. 20B.04. EXPIRATION. This chapter expires September 1, | ||
2031. | ||
SECTION 5. Notwithstanding Article 2.305, Code of Criminal | ||
Procedure, as added by this Act: | ||
(1) the Department of Public Safety of the State of | ||
Texas is not required to comply with that article until August 1, | ||
2020; and | ||
(2) an entity described by Subsection (a) of that | ||
article, other than the Department of Public Safety of the State of | ||
Texas: | ||
(A) if located in a county with a population of | ||
more than 500,000, is not required to comply with that article until | ||
August 1, 2020; and | ||
(B) if located in a county with a population of | ||
500,000 or less, is not required to comply with that article until | ||
August 1, 2021. | ||
SECTION 6. Article 13.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, as | ||
amended by this Act, and Section 20A.05 and Chapter 20B, Penal Code, | ||
as added by this Act, apply only to the investigation and | ||
prosecution of an offense committed on or after the effective date | ||
of this Act. The investigation and prosecution of 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 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. | ||
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