127th General Assembly
(As Introduced)
Reps. Chandler, Foley, Fessler, Dodd, Lundy, Combs, Skindell, Strahorn, Brown, S. Williams, Yuko
BILL SUMMARY
· Prohibits a person from engaging in a pattern of trafficking in persons.
· Prohibits a person from conspiring to engage in trafficking in persons.
· Precludes evidence of a victim's sexual history, connection by blood or marriage to the defendant, consent to performing certain sex acts, or age from constituting a defense to a charge of trafficking in persons.
· Authorizes dissolution or reorganization of or revocation of a license or permit of an organization that engages in trafficking in persons.
· Requires that a person found guilty of trafficking in persons pay restitution to the victim, including the costs of medical and psychological treatment, housing and child care, legal services, and other costs.
· Requires forfeiture by an offender of proceeds derived from trafficking in persons.
· Creates as an affirmative defense to a criminal charge that the defendant was a victim of trafficking in persons and acted under coercion or duress.
· Exempts confidential communications between a victim of trafficking in persons and a trafficking-in-persons caseworker from required disclosures of information pertaining to deaths and creates a testimonial privilege for such confidential communications.
· Creates a civil cause of action based on trafficking in persons.
· Authorizes payment from the Reparations Fund of the costs of services for victims of trafficking in persons.
· Requires the Peace Officer Training Commission to recommend hours of training for dealing with trafficking in persons.
· Requires the Attorney General to provide training for peace officers in investigating and handling trafficking-in-persons cases, to include information on restitution to victims of trafficking in persons in the crime victims' rights pamphlet, to compile statistics on trafficking in persons, to promote public awareness of trafficking in persons, and to develop a victims' services plan for victims of trafficking in persons.
· Requires law enforcement agencies to identify and provide reasonable protection to victims of trafficking in persons.
· Requires the Supreme Court to develop special procedures for witnesses who are minors.
· Requires the Departments of Health and Mental Health to develop procedures for providing special physical and mental health care tailored to the needs of minors who are victims of trafficking in persons.
· Requires the Department of Job and Family Services to develop procedures for reuniting a minor victim of trafficking in persons with family members in the minor's country of origin or destination.
· Creates the Ohio Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Task Force.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Evidence in criminal proceedings for "trafficking in persons"
Penalties for "trafficking in persons"
Conspiracy to engage in trafficking in persons
Privilege for victim's confidential communications
Failure to report a crime exemption
Civil actions based on trafficking in persons
Reparations to victims of trafficking in persons
Peace Officer Training Commission
Departments of Health and Mental Health
Department of Job and Family Services
Ohio Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Task Force
CONTENT AND OPERATION
The bill prohibits a person from engaging in a pattern of trafficking in persons. Whoever violates this prohibition is guilty of the offense of "trafficking in persons." (R.C. 2905.32(A) and (B).)
The bill defines the term "trafficking in persons" for purposes of the offense of "trafficking in persons" and the bill's other criminal provisions to mean that a person knowingly does either of the following (R.C. 2905.32(I)):
(1) Engages in, attempts to engage in, conspires to engage in, or recruits, lures, entices, harbors, transports, provides, or obtains or attempts to recruit, lure, entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain another person to engage in kidnapping, abduction, compelling prostitution, promoting prostitution, pandering obscenity, pandering obscenity involving a minor, pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, or illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance or a substantially equivalent offense under former Ohio law, an existing or former municipal ordinance or law of another state or the United States, or an existing or former law of any other nation when either of the following apply (R.C. 2905.32(I)(1)):
(a) Adult victim. If the victim is an adult, the offender committed any of the above acts for the purpose of having the victim engage in a "commercial sex act," a sexually explicit performance, "labor," or services by doing one of the following (see "Definitions," below for terms in quotes):
(i) Causing or threatening to cause serious bodily harm to or physically restraining the victim or another person;
(ii) Knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing any actual or purported passport or other immigration document or any other actual or purported government identification document of another person;
(iii) Abusing or threatening abuse of the law or legal process;
(iv) Engaging in extortion, deception, fraud, or "debt bondage" (see "Definitions," below);
(v) Causing or threatening to cause "financial harm" to any person (see "Definitions," below);
(vi) Facilitating or controlling a person's access to any addictive controlled substance;
(vii) Causing any scheme, plan, or pattern to cause a person to believe that if the person does not perform a commercial sex act, sexually explicit performance, labor, or services that person will suffer serious physical harm or unlawful restraint.
(b) Minor victim. If the victim is a minor, the offender committed any of the above acts for the purpose of having the victim engage in a commercial sex act, a sexually explicit performance, labor, or services by any means.
(2) Benefiting financially or receiving anything of value from participation as an organizer, supervisor, financier, or manager in a scheme or course of conduct described under "Adult victim," above.[1]
The bill defines "pattern of trafficking in persons" for purposes of the offense of "trafficking in persons" and the bill's other criminal provisions to mean that both of the following apply (R.C. 2305.31(F)):
(1) A person has committed two or more instances of trafficking in persons, whether or not there has been a prior conviction or guilty plea, that are not so closely related to each other and connected in time and place that they constitute a single event.
(2) At least one of the incidents forming the pattern of trafficking in persons must occur on or after the effective date of the bill.
Evidence of any of the following does not constitute a defense to a charge of the offense of "trafficking in persons" (R.C. 2905.32(C)):
(1) The victim's sexual history or history of performing a commercial sex act;
(2) The victim's connection by blood or marriage to the defendant;
(3) Consent of or permission by the victim or any other person on the victim's behalf to performing a commercial sex act or a sexually explicit performance;
(4) The victim's age.
The offense of "trafficking in persons" is a felony of the first degree. In addition to the other penalties provided for a first degree felony, including imprisonment for three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, or ten years, a fine of up to $20,000, or both, the bill requires the court to order the offender or delinquent child who commits the offense to forfeit any proceeds that were derived from or acquired through the commission of the offense. R.C. Chapter 2981. (not in the bill) governs the forfeiture of the proceeds except that the proceeds must first be used to pay restitution to the victim and any punitive or exemplary damages awarded to that victim in a civil action based on the offense and filed under the bill (see "Civil actions based on trafficking in persons," below). In cases involving unlawful goods, services, or activities, "proceeds" means any property derived directly or indirectly from an offense and may include, but is not limited to, money or any other means of exchange. In such cases, "proceeds" is not limited to the net gain or profit realized from the offense. In cases involving lawful goods or services that are sold or provided in an unlawful manner, "proceeds" means the amount of money or other means of exchange acquired through the illegal transactions resulting in the forfeiture, less the direct costs lawfully incurred in providing the goods or services (the lawful costs deduction does not include any part of the overhead expenses of, or income taxes paid by, the entity providing the goods or services). (R.C. 2905.32(A), (B), and (D) and by reference to R.C. 2981.01.)
Organizational penalties. The bill makes an organization that knowingly aids a person in or participates in the commission of the offense of "trafficking in persons" criminally liable in accordance with the existing R.C. 2901.23, which governs organizational liability. In addition to any fine imposed on an organization under that section, the court may order the dissolution or reorganization of the organization, the suspension or revocation of any license, permit, or prior approval granted to the organization by any state agency, and the surrender of the organization's charter if the organization is organized under Ohio law or the revocation of the organization's certificate to conduct business in Ohio if the organization is not organized under Ohio law. (R.C. 2905.33.)
Restitution. Existing law authorizes a court, in sentencing a person for a felony, to order the offender to pay restitution to the victim or the victim's survivor. Restitution is based on the victim's economic loss. The bill requires that the court order a person convicted of the offense of "trafficking in persons" to pay restitution to the victim or the victim's survivor in an amount that includes all of the following (R.C. 2929.181(A) and (B)):
(1) The cost of medical and psychological treatment for the victim;
(2) The cost of physical and occupational therapy and rehabilitation for the victim;
(3) The cost of necessary transportation, temporary housing, and child care for the victim;
(4) Attorney's fees and other costs;
(5) The greater of (a) the gross income or value to the offender of all "commercial sex acts," "sexually explicit performances," "labor," or "services" of the victim that were performed as a result of the offense, and (b) the value of the victim's "labor" that was performed as a result of the offense as guaranteed under the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state labor laws (see "Definitions," below);
(6) The return of property of the victim, the cost of damage to property of the victim, or full value of the property if the property is destroyed;
(7) Compensation for emotional distress, pain, and suffering;
(8) Expenses incurred by an adult victim in relocating away from the offender, including, but not limited to, deposits for utilities and telephone service, deposits for rental housing, temporary lodging, food expenses, clothing, and personal items. The expenses must be verified by a law enforcement agency to be necessary for the victim's personal safety or by a mental health treatment provider to be necessary for the victim's emotional well-being.
The offender must pay restitution to the victim promptly upon conviction, with the proceeds from forfeited property applied first to the payment of restitution. The return of the victim to the victim's home country or other absence of the victim from the jurisdiction does not prevent the victim from receiving restitution. (R.C. 2929.181(C).)
Under the bill, a prosecution for the offense of "trafficking in persons" must be brought within 20 years after the offense is committed. However, if the victim is a minor, the limitation period does not begin to run until the victim reaches 18 years of age. (R.C. 2901.13(A)(3)(a) and (J).)
The bill defines the following terms for use with the offense of "trafficking in persons" and its other criminal provisions (R.C. 2905.31):
"Commercial sex act" means any sex act on account of which anything of value is directly or indirectly given, promised to, or received by any person.
"Debt bondage" means the status or condition of a debtor arising from a pledge by the debtor of the debtor's personal services or those of a person under the debtor's control as security for a debt if the value of those services is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt or if the length or nature of those services is not limited and defined.
"Financial harm" includes activity that would be a violation of R.C. 2905.22 (extortionate extension of credit, criminal usury) and employment contracts that violate R.C. Chapter 1335. (Statute of Frauds).
"Labor" means work of economic or financial value.
"Organization" has the same meaning as in R.C. 2901.23 (a corporation for profit or not for profit, partnership, limited partnership, joint venture, unincorporated association, estate, trust, or other commercial or legal entity, but not including an entity organized as or by a governmental agency for the execution of a governmental program).
"Services" means an ongoing relationship between persons in which a person performs activities at the behest of, under the supervision of, or for the benefit of another person.
"Sexually explicit performance" means a live, public, private, photographed, recorded, or videotaped act intended to sexually arouse, satisfy the sexual desires of, or appeal to the prurient interests of any person.
If a victim of human trafficking violates any provision of the Ohio Criminal Code (R.C. Title 29), it is an affirmative defense to a criminal charge of that violation that the victim was under duress or coercion at the time the victim violated that provision and the victim committed the violation because of the duress or coercion (R.C. 2905.34).
Existing law prohibits a person from joining with one or more others to plan or aid in planning the commission of any of a number of specified offenses and from agreeing with one or more others that one or more of them will engage in conduct that facilitates the commission of any of the specified offenses. The bill adds the offense of "trafficking in persons" to the list of specified offenses. (R.C. 2923.01(A).) Whoever violates this prohibition is guilty of "conspiracy." Conspiracy to commit the offense of "trafficking in persons" is a felony of the first degree under the bill. (R.C. 2923.01(J)(1).)
Existing law prohibits a person who knows that a felony has been or is being committed from knowingly failing to report that information to law enforcement authorities. Existing law also prohibits a person from failing to provide any facts within the person's knowledge that may have a bearing on the investigation of a death to any law enforcement officer who has reasonable cause to assert the authority to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death or, upon request, to a person to whom a required report of a person's death was made. Whoever violates these prohibitions is guilty of "failure to report a crime," a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. Under existing law, certain confidential communications are exempted from these disclosure requirements. The bill adds to the list of exemptions information that is privileged by reason of the relationship between a victim of the offense of "trafficking in persons" and a trafficking-in-persons caseworker. (R.C. 2921.22(A), (D), (G)(1), and (I).)
The bill provides that a trafficking-in-persons caseworker may not testify concerning a confidential communication received from a client in that relation or the caseworker's advice to a client unless any of the following applies (R.C. 2317.02(G)(1)):
(1) The communication or advice indicates clear and present danger to the client or other persons.
(2) The client or, if the client is deceased, the surviving spouse or the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased client, expressly consents to the testimony.
(3) The client voluntarily testifies, in which case the caseworker may be compelled to testify on the same subject.
(4) The court in camera determines that the information communicated by the client is not germane to the caseworker-client relationship.
(5) The testimony is sought in a civil action and concerns court-ordered treatment or services received by a patient as part of a case plan journalized under section 2151.412 of the Revised Code or the court-ordered treatment or services are necessary or relevant to dependency, neglect, or abuse or temporary or permanent custody proceedings under Chapter 2151. of the Revised Code.
This testimonial privilege applies under existing law to licensed school guidance counselors, to licensed professional clinical counselors, professional counselors, social workers, independent social workers, marriage and family therapists, and independent marriage and family therapists, and to registered social work assistants. The bill does not change the privilege with respect to these persons. (R.C. 2317.02(G).)
Nothing in the foregoing provision relieves a trafficking-in-persons caseworker from the requirement to report information concerning child abuse or neglect under R.C. 2151.421 (R.C. 2317.02(G)(2)).
The bill defines "trafficking-in-persons caseworker" as a person who has received specialized training in the counseling of victims of trafficking in persons and who meets one of the following criteria (R.C. 22317.02(G)(3)):
(1) The person has a master's degree in counseling or a related field or has one year of counseling experience, at least six months of which is in the counseling of victims of trafficking in persons.
(2) The person has at least 40 hours of training in counseling victims of trafficking in persons and is supervised by an individual who satisfies paragraph (1).
(3) The person is a psychotherapist.
The bill creates a civil cause of action against an offender in a person who suffers injury or loss to person or property as a result of an act committed in violation of the offense of trafficking in persons. It authorizes the person to recover full compensatory damages, punitive or exemplary damages, court costs, other reasonable expenses incurred in maintaining that action, and the reasonable attorney's fees incurred in maintaining the action. An action must be brought within ten years after the cause of action accrues. If the victim is a minor at the time of the violation, a cause of action accrues when the victim reaches the age of majority. (R.C. 2305.117 and 2307.54.)
Existing law provides for a reparations fund that is used to pay reparations to victims of crime and for various expenses related to crime prevention and criminal proceedings. The bill adds payment of the costs of services to victims of trafficking in persons pursuant to R.C. 2930.22 and 2930.23 (see "Duties of public officials; Attorney General; Victims' services plan," below) to the list of permissible uses of the funds in the reparations fund. To the extent that other sources of funding for victim services are unavailable, the costs of providing the services are to be paid out of funds from the reparations fund. (R.C. 2743.191(A)(1)(n) and 2930.22(F).)
Existing law requires the Peace Officer Training Commission to recommend rules to the Attorney General regarding various aspects of peace officer training. The recommendations must include specified numbers of hours in handling different types of situations, such as domestic violence and crisis intervention. The bill requires the Commission to recommend a specified amount of training in handling violations of the offense of trafficking in persons for peace officers appointed to probationary terms or other nonpermanent employment and to recommend rules with respect to categories or classifications of advanced in-service training programs that address the handling of trafficking in persons violations. (R.C. 109.73(A)(4), (5), and (6).)
Peace officer training. Under the bill, the Attorney General must provide training for peace officers in investigating and handling violations of the offense of trafficking in persons that includes all of the following (R.C. 109.745(A)):
(1) Identifying violations;
(2) Methods used in identifying victims who are citizens of the United States or a foreign country, including preliminary interviewing techniques and appropriate questioning methods;
(3) Methods for prosecuting violators;
(4) Methods of increasing effective collaboration with nongovernmental organizations and other social service organizations in the course of a criminal action;
(5) Methods for protecting the rights of victims, including the need to consider human rights and the special needs of women and children who are victims and to treat victims as victims rather than as criminals;
(6) Methods for promoting the safety of victims, including the training of peace officers to quickly recognize victims who are citizens of the United States or citizens of a foreign country.
The bill authorizes any organization, person, or other governmental agency with an interest and expertise in trafficking in persons to submit information or materials to the Attorney General regarding the development and presentation of the required training. The Attorney General must consider any information submitted in developing the training. (R.C. 109.745(B).)
Crime victim's rights pamphlet. Current law requires the Attorney General to prepare and have printed a pamphlet that lists the statutes relating to victim's rights and explains the statutes in the form of a victim's bill of rights. The pamphlet must include information about the possibility of receiving restitution from an offender or a delinquent child pursuant to R.C. 2152.20, 2929.18, and 2929.28 (not in the bill). The bill adds R.C. 2929.181 (see "Restitution," above under "Penalties for trafficking in persons," above) to this list. (R.C. 109.42(A)(13).)
Compilation of statistics. The bill requires the Attorney General, with assistance from the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCII), annually to publish statistical data on violations of the offense of trafficking in persons. Every agency of the state or a political subdivision that investigates violations of that offense must collect and submit to the BCII the following information as it pertains to those violations (R.C. 109.44):
(1) The number of investigations, arrests, prosecutions, and successful convictions of persons for trafficking in persons;
(2) The estimated number and demographic characteristics of offenders, as well as those persons who purchase or receive a commercial sex act, sexually explicit performance, labor, or services from victims;
(3) Statistics on the number of victims and on the nationality, age, method of recruitment, and country, state, or city of origin of the victims;
(4) Trafficking routes and trafficking patterns used by offenders;
(5) Methods of transportation used by offenders;
(6) Social and economic factors that contribute to and foster the demand for all forms of exploitation of persons that leads to trafficking in persons.
Public awareness. The bill requires the Attorney General to prepare public awareness programs that are designed to educate potential victims of trafficking in persons and their families of the risks of becoming a victim. The public awareness programs must include the following information (R.C. 109.746(A)):
(1) Information about the risks of becoming a victim of trafficking in persons, including information about common recruitment techniques, use of debt bondage and other coercive tactics, the risk of maltreatment, rape, exposure to HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and the psychological harm related to being a victim of trafficking in persons;
(2) Information about the risks of engaging in a commercial sex act and the possible consequences;
(3) Information about victim's rights as well as methods for reporting suspected recruitment activities regarding trafficking in persons;
(4) Information on telephone hotlines for victims of trafficking in persons and services available to victims.
The bill also requires the Attorney General to prepare and disseminate public awareness materials to educate the public on the extent of trafficking in persons within the United States and to discourage the demand that fosters the exploitation of persons and that leads to trafficking in persons. The materials may include information on the impact of trafficking in persons on individual victims who are either citizens of the United States or citizens of a foreign country, aggregate information on trafficking worldwide and domestically, and warnings of the potential for criminal consequences for participating in trafficking in persons. The materials may include pamphlets, brochures, posters, advertisements, and any other appropriate methods. (R.C. 109.746(B).)
Public awareness programs and materials prepared pursuant to the bill may include information on the impact of trafficking in persons on individual victims, but any information regarding the experiences of individual victims must be kept confidential. The bill mandates that the Attorney General periodically evaluate the public awareness programs and materials to ensure their effectiveness. (R.C. 109.746(C) and (D).)
The bill authorizes any organization, person, or other governmental agency with an interest and expertise in trafficking in persons to submit information or materials to the Attorney General regarding the preparation of public awareness programs and materials. The Attorney General, in developing the programs and materials, must consider any information submitted. (R.C. 109.746(E).)
Victims' services plan. The bill requires that within 180 days of its effective date, the Attorney General, in consultation with the directors of the Departments of Job and Family Services, Health, and Mental Health and the State Public Defender, or their designees, develop a plan for the provision of appropriate services for victims of trafficking in persons and dependent children accompanying the victims, including, but not limited to, the following (R.C. 2930.22(A)):
(1) Appropriate housing, considering the person's status as a victim of crime, and including safe conditions for sleeping, eating, and personal hygiene. The bill specifies that a victim's residence in a shelter or other facility must be voluntary, that a victim must be given the option to communicate with and receive visits from family, friends, an attorney, and victim's rights advocates, and that whenever possible a victim shall be housed somewhere other than in a prison or other detention facility for accused or convicted offenders. A child victim may not be housed in a prison or other detention facility for accused or convicted offenders under any circumstances. (R.C. 2930.22(B), (C), and (D).)
(2) Psychological counseling in a language the victim can comprehend;
(3) Medical assistance in a language the victim can comprehend;
(4) Employment, educational, and training opportunities for the victim;
(5) Legal assistance in a language the victim can comprehend.
In developing a victims' services plan and in delivering services under the plan, the Attorney General must take into consideration the age, gender, and special needs of a victim and the victim's dependent children. To the extent that other sources of funding are not available, the costs of providing these services are to be paid out of the Reparations Fund (see "Reparations to victims of trafficking in persons," above) (R.C. 2930.22(E) and 2743.191(A)(1)(n)).
The bill also requires that a victim who is a minor be provided with appropriate services, which may include an explanation of the victim's rights, privacy, housing, care, and age-appropriate support and rights (R.C. 2930.23(A)).
The bill requires law enforcement agencies to take all steps necessary to identify victims of trafficking in persons, including interviewing all persons charged with prostitution. A law enforcement agency that identifies a victim of trafficking in persons must provide reasonable protection to the victim to prevent recapture by the offender or the offender's associates, secure the victim and the victim's family from threats, reprisals, or intimidation by the offender or the offender's associates, and ensure that the victim has an opportunity to consult with a victim advocate or other appropriate person to develop a safety plan for the victim. (R.C. 2930.21.)
The bill directs the Supreme Court to develop special procedures to accommodate witnesses who are minors, including procedures for taking the testimony of a minor outside a court setting or by video and procedures to ensure that all testimony of a minor witness and all court proceedings otherwise involving a minor take place with the minor's parent, legal guardian, or foster parent present (R.C. 2930.23(B)).[2]
The bill requires that, in addition to cooperating with the Attorney General in the formulation of a victims' service plan (see "Duties of public officials; Attorney General; Victims' services plan," above), the Departments of Health and Mental Health develop procedures for providing special physical and mental health care tailored to the needs of minors who are victims of trafficking in persons (R.C. 2930.23(D)).
The bill requires that, in addition to cooperating with the Attorney General in the formulation of a victims' service plan (see "Duties of public officials; Attorney General; Victims' services plan," above), the Department of Job and Family Services develop procedures for reuniting a minor victim of trafficking in persons with family members in the minor's country of origin or destination country whenever it is possible and safe to do so (R.C. 2930.23(C)).
In an uncodified section of law (Section 3 of the bill), the bill creates the Ohio Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Task Force, consisting of 11 members to be appointed by the Governor, to develop and implement a plan to prevent trafficking in persons. The bill directs the Task Force to study all aspects of trafficking, including, but not limited to, sex trafficking and labor trafficking of U.S. citizens and citizens of foreign countries.
The Task Force is to include one representative from each of the Attorney General's office, the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, the Buckeye State Sheriffs Association, the Department of Public Safety (representing the State Highway Patrol), the Department of Health, the Department of Job and Family Services, and the Supreme Court. The Task Force will also include four persons with experience in the private sector or academic institutions with the issues involved in trafficking in persons, children's services, and runaway services.
The bill requires the Task Force to do all of the following:
(1) Develop a state plan for the prevention of trafficking in persons;
(2) Explore the establishment of state policies for time limits for the issuance of the law enforcement agency endorsement regulations, 8 C.F.R. 214.11(f)(1)(2006);[3]
(3) Recommend policies to enable the state to work with nongovernmental organizations to prevent trafficking in persons and provide assistance to U.S. citizens and citizens of foreign nations who are victims of trafficking in persons;
(4) Review the existing services and facilities that aid victims of trafficking in persons and recommend a system that would coordinate those services, including, but not limited to, health services, housing, education and job training, English as a second language courses, interpreting services, legal and immigration services, and victim compensation;
(5) Evaluate various approaches used by other state and local governments to increase public awareness of the offense of trafficking in persons;
(6) Recommend ways to protect a victim of trafficking in persons who is a witness to the offense, including evaluating the feasibility of witness relocation, new employment or work permits, protection of the victim's identity and location, and providing the victim with a new identity.
The bill directs the Task Force to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President of the Senate by June 30, 2008. Upon submission of the report, the Task Force will cease to exist.
HISTORY
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ACTION |
DATE |
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Introduced |
02-20-07 |
h0015-i-127.doc/kl
[1] The bill refers to
"a scheme or course of conduct described in division (H)(1) of this
section." It should refer to
division (I)(1).
[2] R.C. 2930.23(B). The bill does not explicitly limit the
procedures to cases involving trafficking in persons. However, other divisions of R.C. 2930.23 refer to trafficking in
persons victims, so a limitation to trafficking in persons cases may be
implicit in division (B) as well.
[3] The intent of this
requirement is not clear. The cited
federal regulation has to do with applications by certain aliens who are
victims of human trafficking for nonimmigrant status in the United States. It defines "law enforcement
agency" as any one of several federal agencies and says nothing about the
adoption of state regulations.