Senate File 545 - Reprinted
SENATE FILE 545
BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
(SUCCESSOR TO SF 340)
(As Amended and Passed by the Senate March 21, 2023)
A BILL FOR
1 An Act providing for a human trafficking task force and
2 providing information in an annual report to the general
3 assembly.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 80.45B Human trafficking task
2 force.
3 1. The commissioner shall establish, by January 30, 2024, a
4 task force that shall do all of the following:
5 a. Collaborate with the office to combat human trafficking.
6 b. Examine the extent of human trafficking of minors in the
7 state.
8 c. Identify current initiatives to eliminate human
9 trafficking of minors in the state.
10 d. Identify current services available in the state to minor
11 victims of human trafficking.
12 e. Research and recommend a model of rehabilitative services
13 for minor victims of human trafficking that includes input from
14 law enforcement, social services organizations, the judicial
15 system, and mental health professionals.
16 f. Identify barriers that prevent minor victims of human
17 trafficking from seeking legal assistance or medical attention.
18 g. Create a procedure to be followed by all law enforcement
19 officers statewide if a law enforcement officer encounters a
20 minor who may be a victim of human trafficking. For purposes
21 of this section, “law enforcement officer” means an officer
22 appointed by the director of the department of natural
23 resources, a member of a police force or other agency or
24 department of the state, county, city, or tribal government
25 regularly employed as such and who is responsible for the
26 prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the
27 criminal laws of this state and all individuals, as determined
28 by the Iowa law enforcement academy council, who by the nature
29 of their duties may be required to perform the duties of a
30 peace officer.
31 h. Create a pathway for the implementation of a safe harbor
32 law that prohibits the prosecution of minor victims of human
33 trafficking, and directs minor victims of human trafficking to
34 rehabilitative services.
35 i. Investigate and identify potential routes to eliminate
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1 human trafficking of minors in the state.
2 j. Report on findings and make recommendations in the report
3 submitted by the office to combat human trafficking to the
4 general assembly under subsection 5.
5 2. The task force shall consist of the following members:
6 a. The commissioner or the commissioner’s designee.
7 b. The coordinator of the office to combat human
8 trafficking.
9 c. The director of the law enforcement academy or the
10 director’s designee.
11 d. The attorney general or the attorney general’s designee.
12 e. The director of health and human services or the
13 director’s designee.
14 f. The director of juvenile court services or the director’s
15 designee.
16 g. Two judges, each from a different juvenile court in this
17 state.
18 h. The following members who shall be appointed by the
19 governor:
20 (1) The chief of police or head law enforcement official of
21 a city in this state with a population of two hundred thousand
22 or more as determined by the most recent population estimates
23 issued by the United States bureau of census.
24 (2) The chief of police or head law enforcement official of
25 a city in this state with a population of less than two hundred
26 thousand as determined by the most recent population estimates
27 issued by the United States bureau of census.
28 (3) A county sheriff.
29 (4) Two county attorneys who serve on child protection
30 assistance teams under section 915.35, subsection 4, paragraph
31 “a”.
32 (5) Three members of the multidisciplinary team created by
33 the department of health and human services for child abuse
34 investigations.
35 (6) Six members of the general public who are former human
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1 trafficking victims.
2 (7) A representative of a victim services agency selected by
3 the Iowa coalition against sexual assault.
4 (8) Two criminal defense attorneys with experience in human
5 trafficking cases.
6 3. a. The members of the task force appointed by the
7 governor shall serve six-year terms, except that of the
8 members first appointed, five shall serve an initial two-year
9 term, five shall serve an initial four-year term, and seven
10 shall serve an initial six-year term. Thereafter, all other
11 appointed members shall serve a six-year term.
12 b. The governor shall appoint a new member to fill a vacancy
13 that occurs before the end of the term of a member appointed by
14 the governor, and the newly appointed member shall serve for
15 the remaining period of the term.
16 c. A member of the task force may be appointed to serve more
17 than one term.
18 d. A member of the task force shall not continue to serve
19 on the task force beyond the date at which the member no longer
20 holds the office, employment, or status by which the member had
21 been eligible to serve on the task force.
22 e. A member of the task force appointed by the governor
23 may be removed from the task force for being absent from three
24 regularly scheduled meetings of the task force during any
25 six-month period.
26 f. Thirteen members of the task force shall constitute
27 a quorum and the task force shall have the power to act by
28 a majority of the members present at any meeting at which a
29 quorum is present.
30 4. The commissioner or the commissioner’s designee shall
31 serve as the chairperson of the task force.
32 5. The commissioner or the commissioner’s designee shall
33 provide the findings and recommendations of the task force
34 to the coordinator of the office to combat human trafficking
35 for inclusion in the annual report submitted by the office to
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1 the general assembly pursuant to section 80.45, subsection 3,
2 paragraph “h”.
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