2010 MARYLAND LEGISLATIVE WRAP UP Increased Penalties for Human Trafficking & Hotline Posting Bills Signed into Law; House Judiciary Chair Fails to Pass Asset Forfeiture Prior to the End of Session.
5/20/2010 The Maryland General Assembly adjourned on 4/12/10 and sent two important bills to the Governor for his signature to help victims of human trafficking and to crack down on traffickers. The bill to seize the ill-gotten gains of convicted human traffickers, however, failed to move from the House Judiciary Committee.
Victims of sex and labor trafficking in Maryland include U.S. citizens, foreign nationals, minor and adults. Sex trafficking in Maryland takes place in pimp-controlled street prostitution, commercial-front massage parlors, and closed-network residential brothels, and increasingly victims are advertised on internet sites like Craigslist and then put in hotels or motels where customers use them. Victims of labor trafficking are typically found in domestic servitude and in agriculture, and even in traveling sales crews selling candy or magazine subscriptions. Victims of human trafficking face a horrific life in which they are threatened, beaten, raped, starved, locked up, or psychologically manipulated – all for one reason: financial profit for traffickers. Traffickers are active in Maryland – and without a strong law to raise the risk of doing business in Maryland, and provide assistance to victims, they will continue to brandish their abuse on victims right here. Thankfully, two bills were signed by Governor O'Malley to help end this brutal crime: PASSED: HB 283 & SB 261: will increase penalties for criminals who subject adults to human trafficking and penalize those who knowingly benefit from human trafficking. Additionally, this legislation will make it a crime to use a person's I.D. in the course of human trafficking, and will make it a crime to engage in conduct intending to cause someone to believe that if they did not take part in a sexually explicit performance, they would suffer physical restraint or serious physical harm. *The Increased Penalties bill passed unanimously.
PASSED: HB 1322 & SB 542: will provide for the posting of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline in any hotels or motels that have been the location for arrests leading to convictions of prostitution, human trafficking or solicitation of a minor for a period of one year. See how your legislators voted on the Human Trafficking Hotline bill! Look up your legislators here and then check the Senate Vote and House Vote. DIED: HB 514 & SB 463 would have created an asset forfeiture provision to mandate that all money and valuables of a person convicted of human trafficking, used in connection with, or gained from human trafficking be forfeited to the state. This provision is especially important because it would provide law enforcement with funds to further their investigations and grants for organizations working to help survivors of human trafficking.
WHAT YOU CAN DO Please take a moment to thank the Governor and the sponsors of this critical legislation for working to address human trafficking. 1. Contact Governor O'Malley by going to http://www.governor.maryland.gov/mail. Simply fill out the form and thank him for signing these bills into HB283/SB261 and HB1322/SB542 into law! 2. Then, please take a moment to thank the sponsors of this critical legislation!
The Human Trafficking Hotline bill was sponsors by Senator David Harrington and Delegate Tom Hucker.
The Increased Penalties bill was sponsored by Senators Jennie Forehand and Jamie Raskin and Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher.
The Asset Forfeiture bill was sponsored by Senators Jennie Forehand and Jamie Raskin and Delegates Tanya Shewell and Kathleen Dumais 3. The bill to create asset forfeiture failed to move from the House Judiciary Committee prior to the end of session, even though it had tremendous support. The next legislative session wont begin until January of 2011, but there is action you can take right now. Because this is an election year, legislators may be even more receptive to issues raised by their constituents - so please take just a moment to urge them to pass an asset forfeiture bill in the next session. Simply look up your legislators here and then call or email them and ask them to commit to supporting this bill in the next session. 4. Check out the Latest Press on Human Trafficking in Maryland
|
