Report Human Trafficking State Laws

State and federal laws addressing human trafficking include the topics of criminal penalties, judicial protections, funds and services, administration and cooperation, and awareness and regulation. Here's a detailed look at the areas.

Criminal Penalties

In 2003, Washington became the first state to criminalize human trafficking. Since then, every state has enacted laws establishing criminal penalties for traffickers seeking to profit from forced labor or sexual servitude. The laws vary in several ways including who is defined as a “trafficker,” the statutory elements required to prove guilt in order to obtain a conviction and the seriousness of the criminal and financial penalties those convicted will face.

Sex Trafficking

Common potential sex trafficking venues:

• Hostess/Strip Club-Based
• Residential Brothels
• Street-Based
• Online Advertisements
• Commercial-Fronted Brothels

Labor Trafficking

Common potential labor trafficking venues:

• Domestic Work
• Traveling Sales Crews
• Restaurants/ Food Service
• Agriculture
• Commercial-Fronted Brothels
• Health and Beauty Services

Source: National Human Trafficking Hotline, top venues/industries for sex and labor trafficking (for updated statistics on the potential number of cases reported at these venues follow the link).

Defining Trafficking Actions

State laws include a wide variety of activities under their definition of trafficking. Differences in trafficking definitions are critical to identifying who has criminal culpability. Most commonly, trafficking activities are defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons for the purpose of exploitation. Some jurisdictions have expanded their definition of trafficking by including activities like purchasing, benefitting or profiting.

Statutorily enumerated trafficking activities include:

Alaska identifies anyone who benefits from trafficking in any way as being guilty of human trafficking in the 2nd degree. Direct involvement is 1st degree trafficking.

Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi allow, under certain circumstances, businesses and corporations to be prosecuted for trafficking crimes.

Vermont’s trafficking definition includes “benefitting financially” from participation in a venture where a person is compelled to engage in commercial sex.

Means of Trafficking

In order to obtain a trafficking conviction, state laws, in most instances, require that prosecutors prove traffickers compelled their victims into labor or sexual servitude. The majority of laws include the elements force, fraud and coercion, but their definition can vary greatly from state to state. For example, in some states, their definition focuses primarily on the use of physical force. Other states more broadly include psychological control, financial threats, legal harassment and drug addiction.

Statutorily enumerated forms of force, fraud or coercion include:

• Threatening legal action.
• Withholding or destroying passports.
• Using or threatening force.
• Debt bondage.
• Using a controlled substance.
• Causing financial harm.
• Physical restraint.
• Blackmail or extortion.
• Kidnapping or abduction.
• Abusing a position of power.

California’s trafficking statute applies to actions that would deprive someone of their liberty, including coercion, violence, menace and duress.

Oklahoma’s definition of coercion includes destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating or possessing any actual or purported passport, labor or immigration document, or other government identification document, including a driver license or birth certificate.

Trafficking actions in Wisconsin's statute include debt bondage, extortion, fraud and deception.

Penalty Enhancements

State trafficking laws address many factors and circumstances that can enhance the criminal penalties for trafficking crimes. Laws for example, can assign more severe or additional penalties for trafficking when the crimes are committed against vulnerable populations like children, undocumented immigrants and people with a mental illness, or are effectuated through aggravating circumstances like the use of violence, branding or drug addiction.

Vulnerable Group Examples:

• Delaware raises labor trafficking from a class C to a class B felony when committed against a minor.
• Florida raises the trafficking penalty for commercial sexual activity from a first degree felony to a life felony when the crime is committed against a person who is “mentally defective or mentally incapacitated.”
• Missouri law creates the crime of “Contributing to Human Trafficking” for those who misuse immigration documents to facilitate trafficking crimes.

Aggravating Circumstance Examples:

• Nebraska raises labor trafficking from a class III to a class IIA felony when coerced by inflicting, or threatening to inflict, serious injury.
• New York raises labor trafficking from a class D to a class C felony when compelled by using a controlled substance to impair a person’s judgement.

• Utah raises the penalty for human trafficking from a second degree felony to a first degree felony when it results in death or serious bodily harm, involves rape or sodomy, involves 10 or more victims, or involves a victim who is held against their will for longer than 30 days.

Penalities for Businesses

Some states have enacted measures that specifically address penalties that apply to a business entity if it is has committed, or has been used in committing, a human trafficking crime. Laws also create procedures for the dissolution of the business entity, as well as, establish additional fines.

Criminal Penalties and Fines

• Alabama law makes a business entity criminally liable for human trafficking if an agent, by act or omission, performs an element of the crime while acting within the scope of his or her duties and the crime was authorized, requested, commanded, performed in a way that the entity knew or should have known was occurring.
• Massachusetts enables a business entity that commits trafficking of persons for forced labor services to be fined up to $1,000,000. The state also holds any business that knowingly aids, or is jointly involved in, labor trafficking civilly liable.
• South Carolina law requires an additional penalty of up to ten years in prison if a business owner used his or her business to facilitate sex or labor trafficking crimes.

Business Dissolution

• Hawaii requires, upon a conviction for labor trafficking, that the court revoke any business license issued by the state to the enterprise that the convicted person used to facilitate the offense.
• For businesses found guilty of trafficking, Minnesota law enables, in addition to criminal penalties, a court to dissolve or reorganize an entity, suspend or revoke any license or permit granted by a state agency, or order the surrender of its charter or its certificate to conduct business in the state.
• In Vermont, if any business is found guilty of human trafficking, the Attorney General is empowered to commence a proceeding in the Civil Division of the Superior Court to dissolve it.

Addressing Demand for Commercial Sex

State laws vary on the criminal penalties they assess on people who purchase sex. Some states punish sex purchasers the same as traffickers, generally with felony level crimes, while others punish them with misdemeanors associated with paying for prostitution or solicitation. A third option some states have taken is to assign a middle-ground crime, usually being either a more severe version of solicitation, or a less severe form of human trafficking.

South Dakota’s law assesses a class 1 misdemeanor for hiring a person for sexual activity, unless the person should have known they were hiring someone forced to engage in this activity through trafficking, then it is a class 6 felony.

Washington identifies anyone who purchases a sexually explicit act as a human trafficker guilty of a class A felony.

Resources with Trafficking Statistics

Estimating how prolific trafficking crimes are in the U.S. is challenging. Currently there is uneven data, particularity across state and local jurisdictions, concerning the extent to which state laws criminalizing trafficking have acted as an effective deterrent or been utilized in prosecutions. The efforts states and the federal government have made to track trafficking investigation and prosecution data are provided in the reports below.

Federal: 

• 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report, United States Department of State.
• Attorney General’s Annual Report to Congress and Assessment of U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Fiscal Year 2015.

State:

• Human Trafficking in Minnesota Report, Minnesota Department of Public Safety, 2019.
• An Analysis of Human Trafficking in Iowa, Iowa Department of Human Rights, January, 2016. 
• Ohio Human Trafficking Annual Report, Ohio Attorney General's Office, 2018.
• Human Trafficking in Georgia: A Survey of Law Enforcement, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, May 2015. 

Judicial Protections

State lawmakers have legislated several criminal protections and civil remedies for trafficking victims in the judicial system. Measures have provided immunity to, diversion from, and affirmative defenses against, criminal prosecution for actions victims were forced to commit by their traffickers. Laws additionally create mechanisms to seal, vacate or expunge previous criminal convictions and provide for civil standing and restitution procedures that enable survivors to recover financially from their traffickers.

Criminal Protections

Criminal protections for trafficked survivors have been implemented at different stages in the justice process.

• Immunity & Diversion - measures to prevent or divert survivors from the justice system.
• Affirmative Defense - measures ensuring survivors’ experiences are considered by courts.
• Vacation and Expungement - measures enabling survivors to clear their criminal records.

Financial Recovery

Lawmakers have also created mechanisms to help survivors recover financially from their traffickers.

• Restitution - as part of the criminal process, requires convicted traffickers to pay survivors for damages.
• Civil Standing - enables survivors to recover civilly for damages against them.
• Forfeiture - criminal forfeiture enables justice officials to seize assets used in, or benefitted from, criminal conduct.

Immunity and Diversion

To prevent arrested victims from entering the justice system, state laws can provide for immunity from prosecution or diversion to rehabilitative services. Many states apply these protections only to trafficked youth, as they are considered the most vulnerable population. Laws also charge agencies with developing comprehensive plans for assisting trafficked youth once they are identified and diverted from the justice system. Diversion options may require the admission of guilt, or entering a conditional plea.

• Kentucky, Montana, North Dakota and Oklahoma require that a youth be a victim of trafficking crimes to receive immunity.
• North Dakota provides immunity for misdemeanor forgery, misdemeanor theft, credit offenses and controlled substances crimes in addition to prostitution.
• Kentucky provides immunity from prosecution for status offenses committed by trafficked youth.
• Nebraska and Wyoming are the only states to provide immunity from prosecution for trafficked children and adults.

Affirmative Defense

The majority of states enable trafficked victims to assert an affirmative defense to criminal charges they face as a result of actions they were forced to commit by their traffickers. An affirmative defense is evidence that, if found credible, negates criminal liability even if it is proved the defendant committed the acts at issue. Statutes differ in the crimes for which an affirmative defense can be raised, but many cover prostitution, loitering and solicitation.

• Colorado allows an affirmative defense to be asserted if a person was under duress or coerced into committing offenses that were a direct result of, or incident to, trafficking.
• Illinois enables trafficked victims to assert an affirmative defense for charges of lewdness, prostitution and obscenity.
• Maryland requires a defendant wishing to assert an affirmative defense to notify the State’s Attorney at least 10 days prior to trial.

Vacating and Expunging

Many trafficked survivors have criminal records as a result of actions they were forced to commit by their traffickers. At least 29 states have created procedures for survivors to expunge, vacate or seal criminal records related to being trafficked. However, many of these laws have specific provisions and processes and are limited to certain crimes. Clearing a survivor’s criminal record removes barriers to obtaining housing, gaining employment, pursuing education and restoring certain civic rights.

• In Florida, the expungement law applies to arrests, charges or convictions if they occurred when a person was a victim of trafficking. The law does not limit the number of arrests or convictions.
• New Mexico enables a trafficked survivors’ record to be sealed for non-homicide crimes if their involvement was due to duress, coercion, use of force or fraud.

• Washington provides survivors with procedures to vacate their prostitution convictions if it resulted from certain crimes committed against them. The crimes are promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor, promoting prostitution in the first degree or trafficking.

Restitution

When traffickers are convicted of their crimes, laws in many states require that they pay restitution to their victims. The goal of restitution in criminal cases is to address financially the harms done to a person in order to make them whole. State restitution laws in trafficking cases may contribute to payment for medical and psychological services, housing, child care, property costs, repatriation and the cost of labor provided.

• Alabama requires forfeited proceeds from human trafficking crimes to first satisfy restitution.
• North Carolina requires restitution be paid in an amount equal to the value of the survivors' labor according to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Texas requires a person convicted of compelling prostitution to pay restitution in an amount equal to the cost of the medical and psychiatric treatment for all victims under 18 years of age.

Civil Standing

State laws provide guidance on the civil suits survivors can bring against their traffickers. These laws can establish in which court a survivor can file their suit, what sort of damages can be recovered (actual damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, attorney costs and fees, treble damages, etc.) and the statute of limitations for their case to be brought to court.

• Massachusetts requires a civil action to be brought within 3 years of the victim being identified, or if they were a child, within three years after they reach 18.
• Nevada enables a prevailing plaintiff in a civil action to also be awarded attorney costs and fees.
• West Virginia allows a trafficked survivor to recover treble damages if the defendant's acts were willful and malicious.

Forfeiture

State laws enable justice officials to seize the property and assets of individuals and business entities convicted of committing trafficking crimes. Assets able to be seized can include profits, buildings and vehicles. States can direct funds specifically to victims of trafficking crimes via special funds or restitution, to government entities incurring costs of investigation or prosecution or to funds for general victim services.

• Alabama law requires the forfeiture of assets used in first and second degree human trafficking. The assets are required to first be used to pay restitution to trafficking victims, then to pay damages awarded to survivors in a civil action, next to the cost of the investigation and prosecution of trafficking crimes, with the remainder going towards the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Fund.
• Rhode Island requires any person convicted of involuntary servitude or sex or labor trafficking to forfeit any profits, proceeds or property interest acquired or maintained as a result of the criminal activity. All forfeited proceeds will be deposited in the general fund.
• Wyoming requires the forfeiture of all buildings knowingly used to further human trafficking if the owner has knowledge of, or gives consent, to its use.

Citations

Funds & Services

Providing services to survivors of human trafficking is critical, as is the funding for those services. States provide many different types of services, from legal services to housing assistance, which differs state to state. In addition, the funding for these services varies greatly across states, with some setting up special funds to address human trafficking while others provide for targeted services in budget line items.

Services

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 establishes the 3P approach to addressing human trafficking encompassing prevention, protection, and prosecution. Since 2000 the concept has been expanded to include partnership, recognizing the need for multiple agency coordination in order to properly address the issue.

Trafficking survivors require a range of different services, which vary depending on the specific needs of the individual survivor. Required services may include shelter, advocacy, health care, legal assistance, mental health services, or many others. For example, an Evaluation of Services for Domestic Minor Victims of Human Trafficking, released in 2015, documented the demographics of child trafficking survivors as well as the services provided by three grant-funded direct service providers in San Francisco, Chicago and New York City. The report details what the client needs were at intake including:

• Case management
• Legal services
• Crisis intervention
• Safety planning
• Health care: medical, dental and sexual health care
• Food/clothing
• Education
• Mental health treatment
• Housing: long-term, emergency and transitional
• Employment/vocational assistance
• Assistance obtaining benefits
• Family reunification or family counseling
• Victim assistance/legal advocacy services
• Substance/alcohol abuse treatment
• Interpreter/translator

Legal Services

Survivors of sex and labor trafficking face complex legal issues that often require expertise in many areas of the law, including criminal, civil, immigration law and more. For example, one survivor may need legal assistance in many, if not all, of the following areas:

• Vacating & Expunging Criminal Records: survivors often have criminal records including crimes committed as part of or in furtherance of the trafficking activity (e.g. theft, drug possession or sales, loitering, prostitution etc.)
• Family Law: some survivors may need help getting out of an abusive relationship that led to the trafficking, or they may need assistance getting custody of their children.
• Immigration: survivors may have been brought to the United States illegally and need assistance gaining legal status in the country. This often comes in the form of a T or U visa.
• Victim/Witness Advocacy: the court process can be intimidating, particularly for human trafficking victims. Victim/witness advocacy can help survivors navigate the legal system while protecting their rights and safety.
• Identity Theft: identity theft is a large issue for survivors of human trafficking. Assistance reversing the damaging effects of identity theft, or just helping survivors get proper identification, can be invaluable.
• Obtaining Public Benefits such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, SNAP, Medicaid or others.

Housing

Housing needs of trafficking victims vary, and service providers employ different options to meet the emergency, transitional, and long-term housing needs of their clients, including through a variety of emergency and transitional shelters as well as group and independent living options, working with landlords, housing authorities, and other partners. Survivors, service providers, law enforcement, and other stakeholders cite housing as a top priority of victims of all forms of trafficking.

The evaluation of services to domestic minor sex trafficking survivors, cited above, also looked at what needs of the trafficking survivor were identified at intake. Nearly 75 percent of the client/survivors identified housing, either emergency, transitional, or long-term, as an area of need upon intake.

Trauma-Informed Services Delivery

It is important when providing services to victims of crime, particularly human trafficking survivors, to do so in a trauma-informed way. This includes recognizing the impact that prior trauma can have, identifying the signs of trauma in clients and knowing how to respond in a way that does not re-traumatize. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has identified Six Key Principles of a Trauma-Informed Approach:

1. Safety
2. Trustworthiness and Transparency
3. Peer Support
4. Collaboration and Mutuality
5. Empowerment, Voice and Choice
6. Cultural, Historical, and Gender Issues

State Legislation

State legislation regarding services for human trafficking survivors varies greatly. Some states require an agency or commission to develop a plan for providing services to trafficking survivors, others include programs to provide services to survivors, child welfare population specific statutes, or other, more specific services such as immigration.

Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act requires states to identify youth most at risk of becoming child sex trafficking victims and provide services for them to prevent them from being trafficked.

See below for examples of how states have addressed the provision of services to human trafficking survivors.

Plan to Provide Services to Trafficking Survivors

These statutes require specific departments to coordinate with other agencies, nongovernmental organizations and/or service providers to develop a plan for providing services to human trafficking survivors. Some statutes specify that they are for child survivors only, others apply to both labor and sex trafficking, while others are general to all human trafficking survivors and can be broadly construed.

• Ark. Code § 12-19-103
• Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 54-234
• Ga. Code § 49-5-8
• La. Rev. Stat. § 46-2161 et.seq.
• Minn. Stat. § 299A.795
• N.J. Stat. § 52:4B-44
• N.J. Stat. § 52:4B-44.1
• Penn. Stat. tit. 43, § 1499
• Tenn. Code § 71-1-135

Programs to Provide Services

These statutes are programs established to provide services to survivors of human trafficking. They are generally applicable to all human trafficking survivors, child and adult, who are survivors of both sex and labor trafficking.

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 566.223
• N.M. Stat. § 30-52-2
• N.Y. Soc. Serv. § 483-BB
• Okla. Stat. tit. 21, § 748.2
• Penn. Cons. Stat. tit. 18, § 3051 et.seq.
• Tex. Govt. Code § 531.381et.seq.
• Wyo. Stat. § 6-2-709

Child Welfare Specific Provisions

These statutes address children who are survivors of human trafficking and are currently, or are eligible to receive child welfare services, including secure foster care placements. The Connecticut and Texas statutes address both sex and labor trafficking. California and Florida address commercial sexual exploitation only and the others are general to human trafficking.

• Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code §16524.7 et.seq.
• Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 17a-106f
• Fla. Stat. § 409.1678
• Mich. Comp. Laws § 722.954e
• Tex. Fam. Code § 262.011
• Tex. Hum. Res. Code § 42.0531
• Wis. Stat. § 48.48

Services to Non-Citizen Survivors

These statutes generally extend public benefits to non-citizen/immigrant survivors of human trafficking. They are broadly applicable and generally apply to both sex and labor trafficking.

• Ark. Code § 12-19-104: immigration
• Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 18945
• Fla. Stat. § 402.87
• N.Y. Soc. Serv. § 483-DD
• N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 14-43.11(d)

State Special Funds

At least 22 states have created funds to pay for anti-trafficking efforts, including training of law enforcement and attorneys general and for the provision of services to survivors of human trafficking (see map). A study released in 2015 highlights the impact of state investment, “any state investment in human trafficking … is important in generating human trafficking arrests and prosecutions.”

States also generate funds for services by levying fines on sex traffickers and purchasers of commercial sex.

For example, in Louisiana the crime of purchasing commercial sexual activity carries increased fines based on the number of convictions and the age of the person from whom sex is being purchased. If the person is under 18, the maximum fine that can be imposed is $50,000; for those who purchase sex from children under 14, the maximum fine is $75,000. California’s law fines those convicted of labor, sex and child traffickers up to $500,000 in addition to providing for prison sentences.

Examples of states that created statutory special funds to provide training and services are included in the map and the citations below. The statutes vary from state to state. Georgia, Louisiana and Oregon have funds that apply only to children who are survivors of sex trafficking. Arizona, California and Hawaii specifically mention that the fund is available to both child and adult survivors of sex and labor trafficking. The remainder are general to all survivors of human trafficking and may be applied broadly.

• Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 41-114
• Ark. Stat. § 16-92-119
• Cal. Govt. Code § 8590.7
• Cal. Rev. and Tax. Code § 18809.2
• Ga. Code § 15-21-200 et.seq.
• Hawaii Rev. Stat. § 706-650.5
• Ill. Rev. Stat. ch. 730, § 5/5-9-1.21
• Ind. Code § 5-2-6-25
• Iowa Code §915.95
• Kan. Stat. Ann. § 75-758
• Ky. Stat. § 529.140
• La. Rev. Stat. § 15:539.2
• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 10, § 66A
• Mich. Comp. Laws § 752.975
• Miss. Code § 97-3-54.8
• Mont. Code §44-4-1504
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-1429.02
• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 217.500 et.seq.
• N.J. Stat. § 52:17B-238
• Ohio Rev. Code § 5101.87
• Or. Rev. Stat. § 147.480
• Tenn. Code § 39-13-312

Instead of providing a special fund, some states provide for specific services in line items of budget bills. For example, Virginia (2015 HB 5002) reads:
“Out of this appropriation, $100,000 the first year and $100,000 the second year from the general fund shall be provided to contract with Youth for Tomorrow (YFT) to provide comprehensive residential, education and counseling services to at-risk youth of the Commonwealth of Virginia who have been sexually exploited, including victims of sex trafficking…”

Other Resources

• Evaluation of Services for Domestic Minor Victims of Human Trafficking, National Institute of Justice, Final Report, 2014
• Final Report: Street Outreach Program Data Collection Study, Family & Youth Services Bureau, Administration for Children & Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2016
• Identifying Effective Counter-Trafficking Programs and Practices in the U.S.: Legislative, Legal, and Public Opinion Strategies that Work, Texas Christian University Department of Political Science, Northeaster University School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
• JuST Response State System Mapping Report, A Review of Current Statutes, Systems, and Services Responses to Juvenile Sex Trafficking. Provides examples and comparisons from Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Washington
• Trafficking in Persons Report: U.S. Narrative, U.S. Department of State, July 2015

• Attorney General’s Annual Report to Congress and Assessment of U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Fiscal Year 2015

Administration & Cooperation

To appropriately respond to the crime of human trafficking, state policymakers believe coordination of anti-trafficking efforts among various state and federal agencies is key. Several states have enacted legislation creating statewide work groups, task forces, advisory groups and the like to better coordinate services between the criminal justice, juvenile justice and child welfare agencies.

Coordination Efforts in the States

In recent years, nearly every state has created a working group, task force, advisory group, initiative or the like, to promote and encourage the cooperation and coordination among law enforcement, justice departments, and child welfare agencies, in addition to other important stakeholders.

Legislatively Created Statewide Task Forces

At least 26 states and Guam have enacted legislation creating a human trafficking task force, work group, study group or similar coordination effort. Eight of those states—Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri and Rhode Island—apply to sex trafficking only; the other states encompass both labor and sex trafficking. Most generally address both adult and minor sex and labor trafficking. Others specify that they only address minor sex trafficking.

• 2014 AL HJR 270
• Arkansas Code § 12-19-101
• California 2016 AB 1731 (Pending)
• Colorado Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18-3-505
• Connecticut Gen. Stat. Ann. § 46a-170
• Delaware Code tit. 11, § 787(k)
• Florida Stat. Ann § 16-617
• Guam Code Ann. § 26.20
• Illinois Rev. Stat. ch. 20, § 505/5.05
• Illinois 2015 HB 2822
• Kentucky Rev. Stat. § 15.706
• Louisiana 2013 SCR 27
• Maryland 2015 HB 456
• Maryland 2016 SB 863
• Michigan Comp. Laws § 752.971 et.seq.
• Minnesota Stat. § 145.4717
• Mississippi Code Ann. § 97-3-54.9
• Missouri 2016 HB 2116
• Nebraska Rev. Stat. § 81-1430
• New Jersey Stat. Ann. § 52:17B-237
• New Mexico Stat. Ann. § 30-52-3
• New York Soc. Serv. Law § 483-ee
• North Carolina Gen. Stat. § 114-70
• North Dakota Cent. Code § 54-12-33
• Rhode Island Gen. Laws § 11-67-7
• South Carolina Code § 16-3-2050
• Tennessee Code § 4-3-3001 through § 4-3-3002
• Texas Govt. Code § 402.035
• Washington Rev. Code § 7.68.350

Executive Statewide Initiatives/Task Forces

Several states also have task forces operated by separate agencies, such as the attorney general’s office or the department of justice.

• State of Alaska Task Force on the Crimes of Human Trafficking, Promoting Prostitution and Sex Trafficking
• Arizona Human Trafficking Council
• California Regional Anti-Human Trafficking Task Forces
• D.C. Human Trafficking Task Force
• Georgia Internet Crimes against Children Task Force, Human Trafficking component
• Indiana Protection for Abused and Trafficked Humans task force
• Iowa Office of the Attorney General, Fighting Human Trafficking
• Kansas Human Trafficking Advisory Board
• Montana Attorney General’s Office
• Nevada Attorney General’s Office, Human Trafficking in Nevada
• Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force
• Vermont Human Trafficking Task Force
• Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, Human Trafficking
• Wisconsin Department of Justice, Human Trafficking

Reports Issued by Task Forces

• ​2011 MA HB 3808: Interagency Human Trafficking Policy Task Force (2013 Report)
• 2010 PA SR 253: Advisory Group Report

Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act

Awareness & Regulation

Due to the covert nature of trafficking crimes, the public is often unaware that they can occur close to home, and that businesses in their neighborhood may benefit from, or be used as conduits for, sex and labor trafficking. State actions to raise public awareness of trafficking, and mitigate its influence on commerce, include disseminating information on trafficking crimes, services and prevention efforts, and setting standards in certain industries for licensing, advertising, training and disclosure.

Public Awareness

Laws Raise Trafficking Awareness by:

• Disseminating information about the national human trafficking hotline.
• Requiring state entities to engage in public awareness campaigns.
• Commemorating efforts to combat trafficking.

Business Regulations

Laws Regulate Businesses by:

• Requiring disclosures of anti-trafficking efforts.
• Encouraging voluntary anti-trafficking commitments.
• Setting standards for licensing in some professions and for advertising certain services.
• Requiring anti-trafficking training

National Human Trafficking Hotline

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have laws that promote access to information about human trafficking through the use of the National Human Trafficking Hotline. The hotline is a telephone and web service that members of the public can call to report suspected cases of trafficking, survivors can call for help, or interested persons can contact for trafficking information. Laws require or encourage the dissemination of information about the hotline, charge state entities with creating educational information for awareness about the hotline and mandate certain business and facilities post information related to the hotline.

State laws addressing the hotline information either require it be posted in certain locations or encourage its dissemination.

Statutorily enumerated locations signs are to be posted include:

• Agricultural labor contractors.
• Lodging facilities.
• Adult entertainment services.
• Airports, train stations and bus stations.
• Hospitals and urgent care centers.
• Rest areas and truck stops.
• Restaurants, bars, night clubs.
• Any location declared a nuisance.
• Major sporting events or conventions.
• Massage services.

Laws also require state entities to develop signs to promote information about the hotline. Here is an example from Tennessee, where posting it is voluntary:

Information Campaigns

In order to draw attention to human trafficking crimes and the efforts to combat them, states have charged a variety of entities within their borders with raising the public’s awareness. Generally these entities have many other duties including coordinating state resources to provide services to trafficking survivors and implementing training protocols on trafficking for state employees. In addition, states also commemorate efforts against trafficking by granting special recognition during specific days and months.

Entities Charged with Public Awareness

• Mississippi charges its statewide human trafficking coordinator with creating a website to promote its own work.
• North Dakota charges the state’s human trafficking commission with promoting public awareness of human trafficking, victim services, and prevention efforts.
• South Carolina charges its interagency task force with developing a public awareness program that, in part, will educate potential victims of the risks of human trafficking.

State Commemorations

• Hawaii designates January as “Human Trafficking Awareness Month” to promote public awareness of human trafficking as a significant societal and public health crisis.
• New Jersey designates Jan. 11 as “Human Trafficking Awareness Day,” with the purpose of raising awareness about the signs and consequences of human trafficking and to promote its opposition.

Businesses Disclosures

Texas lawmakers, in 2015, enacted the Human Trafficking Prevention Business Partnership, to be operated by the secretary of state. Companies that voluntarily join the partnership must adopt a zero tolerance policy on trafficking, ensure their employees comply with that policy, participate in public awareness campaigns, and develop best practices for combatting trafficking. Participating entities will receive a certificate of recognition from the secretary of state. The partnership began accepting members in 2016

In 2010, California lawmakers enacted the Transparency in Supply Chains Act to require retail and manufacturing businesses operating in California, who have over $100 million in annual worldwide gross receipts, to publically disclose their efforts to eradicate human trafficking from their supply chains. The goal of the law, as stated in the legislation, is to educate consumers so that they are not inadvertently supporting trafficking crimes, and can make market influencing purchase decisions with this information.

• The California Franchise Tax Board says nearly 3,200 businesses are subject to the law’s requirement.
• In 2015, California’s attorney general issued a resource guide to help companies by providing model disclosures and giving them guidance on enhancing their consumers’ understanding of its anti-trafficking and anti-slavery efforts.
• The law does not force companies to expand or adopt new policies to eradicate trafficking in their supply chains, only to disclose their efforts.

“Sweatfree” Procurement by State Agencies

California also requires their state agencies have sweatfree procurement policies. Specifically, the law mandates all contractors who contract with state agencies for the procurement, or laundering, of apparel to certify that no work was provided through the use of forced labor or exploitation. The law requires the Department of Industrial Relations to create a contractor responsibility program and code of conduct to be signed by all bidders on state contracts. The law does not apply to public works contracts.

Contractors are required, among other standards, to:

• Comply with laws concerning wages, overtime, workplace safety, non-discrimination standards and rights to association and assembly.
• Have a policy of only firing employees for just cause and provide employees access to a mediation process to resolve certain workplace disputes.
• Never use forced labor, child labor, or allow any youth under the age of 15 to be employed in the manufacturing process.
• Lying about any of these elements is a misdemeanor.

Sanctions for violations by a contractor can include:

• The contract being voided at the discretion of the state agency involved.
• A fine of the greater of $1,000 or 20 percent of the value of the goods.
• A contractor being removed from the bidders list for up to 360 days.

Licensing & Advertising

Certain industries have higher a reported number of incidents of human trafficking abuses than others. In order to aid in anti-trafficking efforts for those businesses, some states have instituted requirements to license professionals and set standards for the advertisement of their services.

• Florida requires anyone employed by a massage establishment to immediately present, upon request of a law enforcement officer, a valid government ID.
• Indiana requires adult entertainment business to be licensed and performers to provide proof of their age and legal United States residency by a government issued ID.
• Arizona requires advertisements for massage therapy businesses and escort services to include the license number for the individual and/or the business. The fine for violating the law is $500 for a first violation.

Training Requirements

At least 38 states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to require certain public agencies and/or private businesses to train their staff to appropriately recognize, report or respond to human trafficking crimes and victims. Common professions required to receive human trafficking training include police and other first responders, judicial officials, school employees, medical professionals and social services workers. In addition, at least six states have expanded those training requirements to the private sector.

Private Sector Training

• Connecticut requires the commissioner of children and families and the commissioner of emergency services and public protection, in consultation with lodging associations, to recommend training programs for the accurate and prompt reporting of suspected human trafficking. Prior to Oct. 1, 2017, the operator of each lodging service must certify that each employee has received training.
• Iowa’s law requires the crime victim assistance division of the department of justice to develop and conduct training programs for the general public and persons conducting business in industries that have a high statistical incidence of debt bondage or forced labor. The programs shall train participants to recognize and report incidents of human trafficking and to suppress the demand that fosters exploitation of persons and leads to human trafficking.
• New Jersey requires the department of community affairs to implement a training course, and provide training materials, on handling and responding to suspected cases of human trafficking for owners and staff of hotels and motels. Training must be completed within six months of hotel/motel ownership or employment.

Public Sector Training

• Nebraska’s Human Trafficking Task Force is required to develop training concerning human trafficking for prosecutors, public defenders, judges, juvenile detention center staff, and others involved in the juvenile justice and criminal justice system.
• In Tennessee, the Bureau of Investigation is charged with training law enforcement and other government officials who are directly involved with the investigation and intake of human trafficking complaints. Training, where appropriate, must include presentations by human trafficking experts with experience in the delivery of direct services to victims of human trafficking.