Office of Sen.

Mike Johnston
Colorado General Assembly | 200 E. Colfax Avenue | Denver, CO 80203 | 303.866.4864

FACT SHEET MEMORANDUM

HB 12-1151 Human Trafficking and Prostitution Rep. McCann & Sen. King Staff Name: Geoffrey Vernon What the Bill Does: Currently, while Colorado already criminalized trafficking in adults, trafficking in children, or coercion of involuntary servitude,1 no Colorado legislation currently helps victims of these crimes leave their abusers. HB 12-1151 (A) repeals the interagency task force on trafficking in persons, (B) imposes civil liability and allows for injunctive relief in cases of human trafficking and involuntary servitude, (C) designates as a class-one nuisance property used to commit certain human trafficking related offenses, (D) imposes notice requirements on certain business operators, and (E) gives courts discretion to expunge or seal criminal records for certain trafficking and involuntary servitude related offenses. HB 12-1151 repeals the interagency task force on trafficking in persons.2 The task force was assigned to research and investigate human trafficking and report its findings and recommendations to the judiciary committees of the House of Representatives and Senate by January 15, 2007. This Bill, if passed, imposes civil liability and allows for injunctive relief in cases of trafficking in adults, trafficking in children, or coercion of involuntary servitude. HB 12-1151 designates as a class-one nuisance property used for trafficking in adults, trafficking in children, or coercion of involuntary servitude.3 HB 12-1151 imposes notice requirements on escort services and massage parlors. Escort services must provide each of its employees (1) a statement that human trafficking and coercion are prohibited in Colorado4 and (2) the name, telephone number, and web address of an organization that provides assistance to victims of human trafficking and involuntary servitude. Failure to do so results in a misdemeanor.5 HB 12-1151 also imposes notice requirements on massage parlors and requires them to provide the name and contact information of a state or local organization that provides assistance to victims of human trafficking. HB 12-1151 gives courts discretion to expunge or seal criminal records for certain trafficking and involuntary servitude related offenses. This Bill, if passed, gives courts discretion to expunge juvenile delinquent records for certain offenses if those courts find that, by a preponderance of evidence, the petitioner had at the time of those offenses been sold, exchanged, bartered, or leased by another

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C.R.S. 18-3-501-03. C.R.S. 18-1.8-101. 3 C.R.S. 18-3-501-03. 4 C.R.S. 18-3-501-03. 5 C.R.S. 12-25.5-113.

DRAFT 3/6/2012 10:00 AM

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person6 or coerced by another person7 to perform those offenses. Courts can expunge records for the following offenses under this Bill: prostitution, soliciting for prostitution, keeping a place of prostitution, public indecency, soliciting for child prostitution, or any corresponding municipal code or ordinance.8 This Bill, if passed, gives courts discretion to seal records for certain offenses if those courts find that, by a preponderance of evidence, the petitioner had at the time of those offenses been sold, exchanged, bartered, or leased by another person9 or coerced by another person10 to perform those offenses. Courts can seal records for the following offenses under this Bill: prostitution, soliciting for prostitution, keeping a place of prostitution, or public indecency. 11 Records of convictions may be sealed in this manner only if the records of every conviction of a defendant relating to a case may be sealed in this manner. Once conviction records are sealed in this manner, any court, law enforcement agency, prosecuting attorney, or party or agency required by law to conduct a criminal history record check may still view those records. Further, criminal justice agencies, law enforcement agencies, and prosecuting attorneys may use the convictions contained in those sealed records in the investigation or prosecution of any case. Moreover, employers, state and local government agencies, officials, landlords, and employees cannot, with few exceptions, require an applicant to disclose information contained in sealed conviction records. The Department of Education may require a licensed educator or applicant for an educators license who files a petition to seal a criminal record to notify the Department of Education of the pending petition to seal. Upon application of any member of the public, courts may unseal those records if they determine that circumstances have come into existence since the sealing that causes the public interest in disclosure to outweigh the defendants interest in privacy. If a defendant is convicted of a new offense after records have been sealed in the manner prescribed by HB 12-1151, courts must order those sealed records to be unsealed. Colorado Context: In 2006, Colorado passed a law that established the Class 2 felony of trafficking in adults (persons 16 years of age or older) and the Class 3 felony of trafficking in children (persons under the age of 16).12 No known statistics that address human trafficking in Colorado exist.13 National Context: In 2005, the Department of Justice reported there have been an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 sex slaves in the U.S. since 2001. 1,600 juveniles were arrested for prostitution and commercialized vice in 2006; 74% were female and 14% were under 14 years old.14 Illinois has passed similar legislation.15

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C.R.S. 18-3-501 or 502. C.R.S. 18-3-503. 8 C.R.S. 18-7-201, 202, and 204; and C.R.S. 18-7-402. 9 C.R.S. 18-3-501 or 502. 10 C.R.S. 18-3-503. 11 C.R.S. 18-7-201, 202, and 204. 12 Report Card on State Action to Combat International Trafficking, http://www.centerwomenpolicy.org/documents/ReportCardonStateActiontoCombatInternationalTrafficking.pdf. 13 Polaris Project, Human Trafficking, http://www.polarisproject.org/resources/resources-by-topic/human-trafficking. 14 Sex Trafficking in the United States, http://www.crisisaid.org/ICAPDF/Trafficking/traffickstats.pdf. 15 Illinois General Assembly, Full Text of Public Act 097-0267, http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=097-0267.

DRAFT 3/6/2012 10:00 AM

For a complete list of fact sheets, visit www.mikejohnston.org/in-the-legislature.

Bill Provisions: Repeals the interagency task force on trafficking in persons. Imposes civil liability and allows for injunctive relief in cases of human trafficking and involuntary servitude. Designates as a class-one nuisance property used to commit certain human trafficking related offenses. Imposes notice requirements on certain business operators. Gives courts discretion to expunge or seal criminal records for certain trafficking and involuntary servitude related offenses. Fiscal Impact: The Colorado Legislative Council estimates there will be a minimal increase as a fiscal impact.16

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Jessika Shipley, Fiscal Note: HB 12-1151 (Feb. 10, 2012).

DRAFT 3/6/2012 10:00 AM

For a complete list of fact sheets, visit www.mikejohnston.org/in-the-legislature.