Trafficking.
A person commits Trafficking in the second degree when he or she:
The offense is Trafficking in the first degree if the foregoing acts involve kidnapping, sexual motivation, illegal harvesting or sale of human organs, or results in a death.
If the victim of any trafficking offense is a minor, it is not necessary to demonstrate force, fraud, or coercion, and consent to any sexual act is not a defense. Trafficking in the first or second degree is a class A felony, except first degree is a level XIV offense and second degree is a level XII offense.
Any person who is convicted, given a deferred sentence or prosecution, or has entered into a diversion agreement as a result of violating a trafficking crime must be assessed a $10,000 fine. Fees collected must be remitted to the treasurer of the city, town, or county where the offense occurred for deposit in that municipality's general fund. Revenue from fees must be used for local efforts to reduce commercial sale of sex, including that at least 50 percent must be spent on prevention, including education programs for offenders, and rehabilitation services.
Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Statewide Coordinating Committee.
The Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Statewide Coordinating Committee (Committee) was established in 2013 to address the issue of children who are commercially sexually exploited, to examine the practices of local and regional entities involved in addressing sexually exploited children, and to make recommendations on statewide laws and practices. The Committee expired on June 30, 2023. Prior to expiration, the Committee met annually as convened by the Office of the Attorney General and reported its findings and recommendations annually to the Legislature.
Crime of Trafficking.
The crimes of Trafficking in the first and second degrees are modified and new definitions are established for coercion, kidnapping, maintain, and sexual motivation.
A person commits the offense of Trafficking in the first degree when the person recruits, entices, harbors, transports, isolates, solicits, provides, obtains, buys, purchases, maintains, or receives by any means another person and: (1) knows, or recklessly disregards the fact, that force, fraud, or coercion will be used to cause the person to engage in forced labor, involuntary servitude, a sexually explicit act, or a commercial sex act; or (2) such person knowingly, or in reckless disregard, causes a person under 18 years of age to engage in a sexually explicit act or commercial sex act, or benefits financially or by receiving anything of value from participation in a venture that has engaged in the foregoing acts, provided that it is not a defense that such person did not know, or recklessly disregarded, that the person was under 18 years of age or believed the other person was older; and the foregoing acts or venture involve:
A person commits the offense of Trafficking in the second degree when the person recruits, entices, harbors, transports, isolates, solicits, provides, obtains, buys, purchases, maintains, or receives by any means another person and:
If the victim of these offenses is a minor, then force, fraud, or coercion are not necessary elements of the offense and consent to the sexually explicit act or commercial sex act does not constitute a defense.
Fees assessed for violating trafficking crimes must be collected by the clerk of the court and distributed as follows:
Audit Requirement.
The State Auditor must conduct a performance audit of the collection and use of mandatory fees assessed for trafficking violations. The audit must determine whether jurisdictions are:
If fees are not being assessed and used as required, the auditor must make recommendations for corrective action. The State Auditor may conduct an audit at a sample of jurisdictions as needed, and must complete these audits and publish a report with its findings no later than December 31, 2025.
Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Statewide Coordinating Committee.
Subject to the availability of funds appropriated, the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Statewide Coordinating Committee (Committee) is established. The Committee is established to facilitate a statewide coordinated response to the commercial sexual exploitation of children, youth, and young adults 24 years old and younger by relying on the voices of those with lived experience, qualitative and quantitative data, and the collective expertise of youth-serving professionals and youth policy experts, and with the goal of increasing support, protections, and resource identification in areas of prevention and intervention.
The Committee is convened by the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) and must meet at least annually. The Department of Commerce (Commerce) will assist the AGO with the Committee agenda planning and administrative and clerical support.
The Committee membership includes: members of the Legislature, a representative of the Governor's Office, state agency leaders, subject matter experts in intervention and prevention, a survivor of human trafficking, and representatives from law enforcement, the courts, service providers, the office of crime victims advocacy, regional task forces on commercially sexually exploited children, and advocacy organizations.
The duties of the Committee include, but are not limited to: overseeing and reviewing the implementation of the Washington State Model Protocol for Commercially Sexually Exploited Children; receiving reports and data from local and regional entities regarding the incidence of commercially sexually exploited children in their areas; reviewing recommendations from local and regional entities regarding policy changes that would improve the effectiveness of local response practices; making recommendations regarding data collection, policy changes, and strategic local investments to address the commercial sexual exploitation of children; reviewing prior legislation to understand enforcement and implementation barriers; and compiling data on the number of juveniles believed to be victims of sexual exploitation and taken into custody as provided by law.
The Committee expires on June 30, 2030, and must annually report its findings to the appropriate committees of the Legislature and to any other known statewide committees addressing trafficking or the commercial sex trade.
The substitute bill does the following:
(In support) There are sadly reports of increased numbers of trafficking post pandemic: around 500-700 youth in our state are trafficked annually. This bill is before you because the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office (KCPAO) reached out expressing that they are having a hard time prosecuting trafficking crimes. The existing statute criminalizing trafficking is cumbersome, long, and hard to utilize, causing judges and law enforcement to struggle using it. Less than 10 individuals in Oregon and Washington have been prosecuted in the last decade. The KCPAO points to the definition of "coercion" and other language that, if added or modified, would help them more successfully document how a person is exploited and pushed into trafficking. Expanding the definition of "coercion" reflects what is being seen in case and investigations. This bill gives prosecutors what they need to go after traffickers. The second part of this bill gives the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Committee (Committee) a restart. The Committee really ties to our local efforts and is a good way to know what is going on in all the regions of our state. The third part of the bill has to do with fines and fees assessed for violating trafficking crimes. There is confusion about what is going on with the fees collected and whether they are being collected. It would be helpful to have the audit expanded to include other criminal statutes dealing with these issues. This money needs to go to victims and law enforcement.
(Opposed) None.
(Other) The State Auditor's office is "other" only because of the audit requirement that might create an unfunded mandate and costs for local governments. When audits are done the local governments are billed. A better way is to use a performance audit, which would likely result in no fiscal note.
(In support) Representative Tina Orwall, prime sponsor; Barbara Mack; Jean Hill, Washington State Catholic Conference; and Benjamin Gauen.
No new changes were recommended.
(In support) None.
(Opposed) None.
(Other) There is support for reauthorizing the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Statewide Coordinating Committee (CSEC). The previous authorization of the CSEC was well supported. The CSEC provides opportunities for statewide coordination on issues of the sexual exploitation of children and is crucial to ensure anti-trafficking and anti-exploitation laws and policies in Washington are effectively implemented. Without the CSEC, there is no central response to the exploitation of children. When authorization and funding for the CSEC expired in June of 2023, the CSEC continued to meet despite the lack of funding in a good faith effort to keep that coordination going. It is critical to keep funding for the CSEC.
Rachel Sottile, Center for Children and Youth Justice.