Human Trafficking (H 7527, S 2413 as amended)

Language in legislation to combat human trafficking carried serious potential for unintended consequences, including the further victimization of individuals caught up in trafficking. In February and March, the ACLU testified before the House and Senate Judiciary committees, respectively, with concerns about the legislation. The bill provided immunity to trafficked minors only if they stated in their defense that they were a trafficking victim – a statement many victims are not ready to make when they are arrested. Other parts of the legislation raised First Amendment concerns, and penalized behavior that was not criminal at the time it was conducted. The legislation also would have turned soliciting prostitution from a misdemeanor into a felony, imposing extremely harsh penalties on individuals engaged in consensual sexual activity. The Senate approved an amended version of this legislation in April, but it failed to move in the House.