Bill > S1554

This bill establishes the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking within the Department of Legal Affairs to examine treatment needs and best practices for human trafficking victims, with its membership including the Attorney General (as chairperson), State Surgeon General (as vice chairperson), Secretaries of Children and Families and Health Care Administration, the executive director of the Department of Law Enforcement, and appointed members from the Senate and House of Representatives, along with four members appointed by the Attorney General with relevant professional experience. The council is tasked with discussing issues facing victims, holding an annual policy summit, and creating an inventory of human trafficking programs and services to identify needs and trends, and must submit an annual report with recommendations to the Legislature. Additionally, the bill authorizes the Department of Legal Affairs to establish a direct-support organization, a non-profit corporation, to provide assistance, funding, and promotional support for the council, which will be governed by a board of directors appointed by the Attorney General, Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, and will operate under a contract with the department that includes provisions for budget approval, annual audits, and the reversion of assets to the department if the organization ceases to exist or is no longer approved. The bill also prohibits department employees and employees or volunteers of the direct-support organization from being business associates of individuals or organizations involved in property transactions with the direct-support organization, and allows the department to terminate its contract with the direct-support organization if it no longer meets the bill's objectives, with the act taking effect on July 1, 2014.