BILL REQ. #:  S-4458.1 

Read first time 01/19/2006.   Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research & Development.

     AN ACT Relating to prohibiting sellers of travel from promoting travel for sex tourism; adding a new section to chapter 9A.88 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 19.138 RCW; creating a new section; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the sex industry has rapidly expanded over the past several decades. It involves sexual exploitation of persons, predominantly women and girls, including activities relating to prostitution, pornography, sex tourism, and other commercial sexual services. Prostitution and related activities contribute to the trafficking in persons, as does sex tourism. Therefore, discouraging sex tourism is key to reducing the demand for sex trafficking.
     While prostitution is illegal in developing nations that are the primary destination of sex tourism, sex tourism is a major component of the local economy. The laws target female workers rather than the male customers, and economic opportunities for females are limited. Developed nations create the demand for sex tourism, yet often fail to criminalize the practice, or the existing laws fail to specifically target the sellers of travel who organize, facilitate, and promote sex tourism.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 9A.88 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A person commits the offense of promoting travel for prostitution if the person knowingly sells or offers to sell travel services that include or facilitate travel for the purpose of engaging in what would be prostitution, if occurring in the state.
     (2) For purposes of this section, "travel services" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 19.138.021.
     (3) Promoting travel for prostitution is a class C felony.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 19.138 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) No seller of travel shall engage in any of the following:
     (a) Promoting travel for prostitution;
     (b) Selling, advertising, or otherwise offering to sell travel services or facilitate travel:
     (i) For the purposes of engaging in a commercial sex act;
     (ii) That consists of tourism packages or activities using and offering sexual acts as an enticement for tourism; or
     (iii) That provides, purports to provide access to, or facilitates the ability of sex escorts or sexual services.
     (2) For the purposes of this section:
     (a) "Commercial sex act" means any sexual contact, as defined in chapter 9A.44 RCW, for which anything of value is given to or received by any person.
     (b) "Sexual act" means any sexual contact as defined in chapter 9A.44 RCW.