HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4098        FILED ON: 3/20/2009

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3926

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the Year Two Thousand Nine

_______________

An Act establishing a state task force for the prevention of trafficking..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  The governor shall establish a task force to develop and implement a state plan for prevention of trafficking in persons.  Such task force shall meet at least annually and should include all aspects of trafficking, including sex trafficking and labor trafficking of both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals.  The governor shall appoint the members of the task force, which shall include, at a minimum representatives from:

The attorney general’s office;

The department of labor (if applicable);

The police chief’s association;

The state sheriffs’ association;

The state police;

Local law enforcement entities;

The department of health;

The department of social services; and

Representatives from non-governmental organizations, especially those specializing in trafficking in persons, those representing diverse communities disproportionately affected by trafficking, agencies devoted to child services and runaway services, and academic researchers dedicated to the subject of human trafficking.

The governor shall invite representatives of the U.S. attorney’s offices and of federal law enforcement agencies’ offices within the state, including the federal bureau of investigation and U.S. immigration and customs enforcement, to be members of the task force.

The task force shall carry out the following activities either directly or via one or more of its constituent agencies:

Develop the state plan.

Coordinate the collection and sharing of trafficking data among government agencies, which data collection shall respect the privacy of victims of trafficking in persons.

Coordinate the sharing of information between agencies for the purposes of detecting criminal groups engaged in trafficking.

Explore the establishment of state policies for time limits for the issuance of law enforcement agency (LEA) endorsements as described in Section 214.11 (f)(1) of chapter 8 of the code of federal regulations.

Establish policies to enable state government to work with non-governmental organizations and other elements of civil society to prevent trafficking and provide assistance to U.S. citizen and foreign national victims.

Review the existing services and facilities to meet trafficking victims’ needs and recommend a system that would coordinate such services, including but not limited to:  health services, including mental health; housing; education and job training; English as a second language classes; interpreting services; legal and immigration services; and victim compensation.  Evaluate various approaches used by state and local governments to increase public awareness of the trafficking in persons, including U.S. citizen and foreign national victims of trafficking in persons.

Submit an annual report of its findings and recommendations to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate on or before December 31 of each calendar year.