HB+639+Texas+Legislature+81st+Session

HB 639

INTRODUCTION: The house bill 639 will address a possible force task for the prevention of sex trafficking. This bill will also require that the legal prostitution age for a minor be changed from 16 to 17. It also looks at alternatives reprimands for minors involved in prostitution. This bill also addresses any loopholes that traffickers have been taking in the trafficking process. ** This bill was filed on January 15, 2009 by Senfronia Thompson, along with Anchia, Burnam, Naishtat, Christian. The bill was co-authored by Alonzo, Chavez, Jackson(Jim), Laubenberg, Leibowitz, Weber, and Wooley. With all this support this bill was read February 18, 2009. That same day it was referred to the Judiciary and civil Jurisprudence. The bill lied there for a month not doing much until March 23, 2009 where the bill was scheduled and considered for a public hearing. That same day there was several actions of the bill. The committee substitute was considered in the committee, after this the a testimony was taken, registered, and recorded in committee. At the end of this day it was left pending in committee. Actions ceased until seven days later. Again, the bill was considered in public hearing. After that once again, the committee substitute was considered in committee. That same day they recommended the bill to be sent to Local and Consent. The last thing that happened that day is the bill was reported favorably as substituted. Action ceased for another seventeen days. The on April 17, 2009 the Comte report was filed with the committee coordinator. Also that day, the committee report was printed and distributed. A few days later the committee report was sent to Local and Consent calendar. The final day of action was March 24, 2009. Several things happened, starting with the bill was considered in Local and Consent calendars. Then it was transferred to Calendars Committee, and last the committee report was sent to Calendars. Now with the legislature being finished the bill never made it to a vote in the house. ** This bill is concerning the examination, penalty, and avoidance of offenses concerning trafficking of persons or certain forced or sex-based work or services, law enforcement preparation concerning the trafficking of persons, and the formation of the trafficking of persons analysis and prosecution account in the general revenue fund. Being from the state of Texas, it was brought to my attention that we are one of the most influential states with sex trafficking. I-10 is a highway that takes you through the whole state leading you all the way to California. This highway is the most popular was of travel for most slaves involved in Sex trafficking. It is estimated that between 600,000-800,000 are brought across international borders for the point of sex-slavery. Human trafficking is now recognized as the second biggest crime industry in the world. It is also expected that 20% of these people are brought to Texas. Big cities allow for this to precede. Even more shocking was the fact that Houston has the heaviest flow of human-trafficking slaves. Recently there was a large bust in a prostitution ring, in Houston. This all being fresh I felt it was appropriate to present this bill. This bill would allow for a statewide task force. This human-trafficking task force would potentially develop policies, collect information, and coordinate with several other state agencies in order to prevent and prosecute human traffickers. This bill also considers alternatives from the juvenile justice system for children who are involved in prostitution. The age of a minor for prostitution is currently 16, and this bill would make that age 17. Several traffickers find ways around the law in order to traffic without the possibility of conviction. This bill addresses several things that clarify human trafficking of minors and adults. This is such an evident problem in Houston and deserves the attention of every other issues before legislature. Sex trafficking is going to be a continued problem until it is adequately punished and addressed. Traffickers will use several methods to keep their victims in fear. Some of the methods include telling the victim that they must repay their debts (for U.S. citizenship), confiscating their legal papers, and telling the victim they will be imprisoned for disobeying immigration laws. The victims are typically not native of the United States; therefore, they have a lack of knowledge of the laws and rights they do have. The TVPA, TVPA reauthorization, and PROTECT are all laws passed between 2000 and 2003 that prohibit trafficking. The TVPA was the first law passed in congress outlawing the trafficking across borders. The TVPA reauthorized provided financial resources to help from 18,000 to 20,000 trafficked victims a year. This seems to be a significant dent In the problem, but the problem has gotten much stronger than 20,000 people. The last law passed by congress was the PROTECT law, Prosecutorial remedies and other tools to end the exploitation of children today. This law requires that if someone is convicted of trafficking a child for sex must receive a minimum of 30 years in prison. This progress nationally undeniably addressed the situation; however, we could do much more in the state of Texas. ** This bill is represented by Senfronia Thompson. Senfronia Thompson is a representative of Northeast Houston and Humble. She has passed over 200 Texas laws. Thompson is a former elementary school teacher; she has a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, a Master’s degree in Education, a law degree, and a Masters of Law in international law. Thompson was born and raised in Texas. She is the Dean of Women Legislators, as well as serving for 17 terms. This has made her the longest serving African-American women in Texas history. Mrs. Thompson’s main concerns seem to be those of racial discrimination as well as gender discrimination. Sex trafficking fits well into her concerns because the majority of sex slaves are white and foreign. Senfronia Thompson has played several roles in several committees, acts, and laws. She remains on of the top 5 house members, by Nation Magazine. **
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