Jones: Fighting human trafficking

This fall, the House and Senate held a joint interim committee to discuss the continued fight against human trafficking. The committee consisted of Representatives, Senators, law enforcement, county attorneys, criminal defense attorneys, the judicial branch, and others working to stop this abhorrent crime. Senate File 562 directed the committee to review initiatives, laws, policies, and other matters relating to human trafficking, including appropriate human trafficking-related training for law enforcement officers, county attorneys, and juvenile service officers and identification of funding needs.

The House Judiciary Committee has worked tirelessly over the years to combat human trafficking and this year is no different. On Thursday, two bills advanced out of committee aimed at ensuring those guilty of human trafficking serve a minimum sentence and that victims are protected.

House Study Bill 530 – Human Trafficking Parole and Victim Counselors: This bill allows the court to set a mandatory sentence that must be served before a person convicted of human trafficking would be eligible for parole. A person sentenced to a class “B” felony for human trafficking would be required to serve between 1/2 and 70 percent of their sentence before being considered for parole or work release.

The definition of victim is expanded to include those subjected to human trafficking and expands the definition of victim counselor to include training in laws relating to human trafficking.

Under current law, a child who is a prosecution witness in certain crimes, is entitled to have a guardian ad litem with them at all stages of the proceedings. The bill expands the GAL appointment to include those who have a mental disability.

House File 594 – Restitution: Under current law, if a person is convicted of a felony that caused the death of another, the defendant is ordered to pay $150,000 to the victim’s estate. HF 594 amends that code provision to exempt individuals whose offense was directly related to being a victim of human trafficking. This bill was drafted after the case of Pieper Lewis.

This will not be the end of our work on this issue. Every time we pass a law, they seem to find a new way to traffic humans. The work here will never stop because humans deserve better and no one should have to live a life of trafficking.

Rep. Megan Jones (R-Sioux Rapids) represents parts of Clay and Buena Vista counties in House District 6.