PENNSYLVANIA — Senators Maria Collett (D-12), Cris Dush (R-25), and Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-28) have celebrated the final passage of their landmark legislation aimed at strengthening support services and justice for child victims of human trafficking in Pennsylvania.
The current state law requires any minor exploited for commercial sex to identify their third-party perpetrator to be recognized as a victim of human trafficking. This bipartisan package of legislation, once signed by the Governor, would alter that requirement.
“Even though this landmark bipartisan legislation is finally on the way to the Governor’s desk for signature, we all need to recognize that abolishing Human Trafficking is not a ‘one and done’ thing,” Dush emphasized. “We will continue our work by getting SB45 across the finish line to ensure that third party control is not a requirement in any section of our law.”
Senate Bill 44, authored by Sen. Dush, amends Titles 18 and 23 of the Pennsylvania criminal code to ensure third-party control is never a consideration for access to victim services. The bill passed the PA Senate on Wednesday night and is now headed to the Governor’s Office for signature.
Senate Bill 45, sponsored by Sen. Collett, seeks to eliminate the third-party control requirement to access victim services under the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline Notification Act (Act 197 of 2012). The bill awaits a final vote in the Pennsylvania House.
This package of bills also expands the authority already granted to undercover officers posing as minors in Title 18, allowing them to act as a third party selling a minor into sexual exploitation.
In 2021 alone, the National Human Trafficking Hotline identified 315 human trafficking victims, including 42 minors, in Pennsylvania. The state had the eighth-highest number of signals sent to the hotline in the nation that year.
“The legislature continues to make strides and passing this bipartisan legislation builds on the foundation we – as Republicans and Democrats – have built to fight human trafficking in every corner of the state,” Phillips-Hill said. “With this bill, we ensure that criminals are prosecuted and victims are able to get the critical support they need.”
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