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Relating to the punishment for trafficking of persons, online solicitation of a minor, and prostitution and warning signs regarding certain penalties for trafficking of persons; increasing criminal penalties.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The Texas Education Agency is required to implement a provision of this Act only if the legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that purpose, the agency may, but is not required to, implement the provision using other appropriations available for that purpose.
SB 1831 would increase the criminal punishment for different trafficking offenses involving schools. It would increase various human trafficking offenses from a second-degree felony to first-degree felony, punishable by life imprisonment or between 25 and 99 years, if they are committed on the premises or within 1,000 feet of a school or on the premises or within 1,000 feet of a place where an official school function or University Interscholastic League event was taking place. The punishment for the solicitation of a prostitute would also increase to the next category if the same circumstances are shown. The punishment for the online solicitation of a minor would increase to the next category if it is shown that the defendant committed the offense during normal school hours and should have known that the minor was enrolled in a school at the time.
SB 1831 would also require each primary and secondary school in the state to post warning signs of the new penalties for trafficking of persons at various locations on their premises. If enacted, the Texas Education Agency would be required to provide the number of signs to each school without charge needed to comply with the rules.
Texas Action supports SB 1831 because it would advance individual liberty and personal responsibility. Trafficking is a violent crime; those who commit it, especially against children, deserve to be held accountable. SB 1831 would increase penalties for trafficking-related offenses near schools, further protecting the liberty of children.
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