Bill Caption
Relating to prostitution and the trafficking of persons, civil racketeering related to trafficking, the prosecution of and punishment for certain sexual offenses and offenses involving or related to trafficking, reimbursement of certain costs for criminal victims who are children, and the release and reporting of certain information relating to a child; increasing a criminal penalty; creating a criminal offense.
Vote Recommendation Notes
We recognize that sex trafficking in Texas is a large and growing problem and this bill is well intentioned, however it is not without liberty-infringing provisions. This expansive bill violates a variety of our liberty principles while not solving the problem it seeks to solve.
One big concern is the amount of power vested in the office of the attorney general, including power to compel testimony or to produce documents that may contain evidence using a relatively low standard of proof the evidence exists in the first place. This is a significant increase in government power to be based on a "reason to believe" standard. This violates our commitment to limited government. It would be better to require probable cause and a warrant.
Another major concern is the mandatory curriculum changes for commercial driver’s licenses; not only is this unnecessary but it violates our commitment to free markets by making the process of acquiring an occupational license even more onerous. Commercial drivers are not an arm of law enforcement and they should not be treated as such; nor should the burden to get an occupational license be increased for a purpose which has no direct connection to the license. For these reasons we oppose HB 29.
We would withdraw our objection if the standard for the attorney general's office to compel testimony and documentary evidence was raised to a higher standard such as probable cause and a warrant, and if the CDL training was changed to be an optional rather than mandatory training requirement.
