Protect Victims: Sign Texas SB 1278

Last week, the Texas Senate passed Texas SB 1278, a bill that provides protections and an affirmative defense for victims of human trafficking. The bill is similar to other legislation CPAC has supported in Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma and at the federal level in Congress, offering criminal record relief to human trafficking victims who are coerced into committing crimes by their trafficker. Many trafficking victims, while under the influence of their trafficker, are forced into horrible acts they would not otherwise commit. They are then left with a criminal record, jail time, and without the means to return to normal life after the justice system fails them. As a result, traffickers take advantage of these policies to ensure their victims are stuck in a cycle of crime while often coping with trauma, all of which, inhibit their ability to leave the influence of their trafficker and pursue a free and better life.

Texas SB 1278 seeks to protect trafficking victims by amending the Penal Code with the introduction of Section 8.09 which allows human trafficking victims to give evidence that their actions were a result of exploitation. The Bill will also add greater nuance by accounting for impeding factors such as coercion, duress, or threats to themselves or loved ones. Victims will have the opportunity to be alleviated of legal penalties when they would otherwise have been convicted. This amendment to the Penal Code protects victims and highlights their exploitation, turning focus on their perpetrators.

The bill is quickly moving through the Texas legislature and is now just one step away from becoming law and changing the lives of trafficking victims for the better.

CPAC urges Texas Governor Greg Abbott to get this key legislation across the finish line and sign Texas SB 1278 into law so that the rule of law may be upheld and victims protected – so law enforcement can focus their resource and tools on the criminal traffickers who deserve a life behind bars.