Texas Political Lobbyist 83rd Legislative Session Update: HB 8
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/
This bill aims to redefine “trafficking of persons” in the present Code of Criminal Procedure as any offense that has a result of a person, or persons, working against their will that may be prosecuted under specified areas of the Penal Code. Soliciting or receiving profits from a person under the age of 18 will be made a state jail felony, or a second degree felony. Currently, it is classified only as a Class A misdemeanor. The bill also allows for trafficking victims to conceal their addresses using the Address Confidentiality Program and adds these victims to the list of people eligible to recieve relocation and rent benefits from the Crime Victims Compensation Program. There are no significant state or local level fiscal implications.