Bill Analysis
If an individual was convicted of continuous trafficking of persons, and the trafficking was related to sex crimes, this bill would make the crime punishable by registering as a sex offender. Under current law, a conviction for the continuous trafficking of persons for crimes related to sex is not included under reporting requirements for the sex offender registry.
Vote Recommendation Notes
While it is within the proper role for the state to penalize individuals who harm others, it is unclear whether making individuals register under the sex offender registry accomplishes this. If a person who continuously traffics people connected with sex crimes continues to be a danger to the public, perhaps a better option is to remain incarcerated. One must wonder why people with this track record of deplorable criminal history would ever be allowed to walk free to begin with. A sex offender registry is unlikely to cause such a person to change their behavior.
It is also worth noting that the sex offender registry is filled with all sorts of people required to register who pose no actual threat. This causes confusion for the public and waters down the value of the registry to begin with. We remain neutral on HB 491.
