Georgia’s New Sex Trafficking Law Step In Right Direction, Advocacy Group Says

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In less than two months, on July 1, a human trafficking law that toughens the penalty for sex traffickers and seeks to improve outcomes for victims will officially become law in Georgia. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed HB 200 into law earlier this month. Advocates are praising the measure for many of its key provisions, including that it treats those in sexual servitude as victims; not criminals, allows victims to provide “an affirmative defense” when coming forward and for penalties that allow the state to seize any real or personal property used or purchased by a convicted trafficker. The fact that law enforcement agencies will also receive training on ways to identify and interact with human trafficking victims is also being touted as important progress. Here’s what Renee Kempton, the Atlanta Ambassador for the national non-profit Stop Child Trafficking Now (SCTN) had to say about the measure.

Gov. Deal Signs Human Trafficking Bill Into Law

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The human trafficking bill that toughens the penalty for sex traffickers and seeks to improve outcomes for victims has been officially signed into Georgia law.  

A small crowd of supporters gathered around Governor Nathan Deal Tuesday afternoon as he signed HB 200 at My Sister’s House in the Atlanta Mission. The legislation was introduced this year by Rep. Ed Lindsey (R-Atlanta) and passed within the same legislative session, which wrapped up last month.  

The governor and his wife, First Lady Sandra Deal, shared encouraging words to the families of trafficking survivors during the signing event. Both commended child advocates for remaining vigilant in their work to eradicate child sex trafficking.

Sex Trafficking Bill Clears Senate With Unanimous Vote

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The Georgia Senate’s unanimous vote in support of the human trafficking bill that toughens the penalty for sex traffickers and seeks to improve outcomes for victims is an historic victory, state child advocates say. “To have legislation written and passed in the same session is amazing and seems historic,” gushes Street GRACE Executive Director Cheryl DeLuca Johnson. “This is huge! The leadership of [lead sponsor] Rep. Ed Lindsey (R-Atlanta) and [supporter] Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Gwinnett) was invaluable to this process.”

Julianna McConnell agrees. “I’ve been a lobbyist for 20 years and this is probably one of the most fulfilling moments of my career,” says McConnell, Street GRACE advocacy chairperson.

Crossover Day Is Here: The Latest On Juvenile Justice, Child Focused Legislation

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Today is Crossover Day — the critical mid-point in the legislative session, when Senate bills move over to the House and House bills transition to the Senate. Any House bills that have not passed their chamber of origin will not progress in 2011. Because this is the first year of the  two-year legislative cycle, any bills that fail to cross over may still be considered in 2012. Here’s an update on some of the legislation pertaining to young people in Georgia and juvenile justice issues that JJIE.org has been following. Senate Bills

SB 31 would expand attorney-client privilege to cover parents' participation in private conversations with defense attorneys representing their children in delinquent or criminal cases. The bill introduced in January by Sen. Jason Carter (D-Decatur) gives the child – not the parent – exclusive rights to waive the privilege. This measure passed the Senate on February 23 and now awaits consideration by the House Civil Judiciary Committee. Introduced last month by Sen. Joshua McKoon (R-Columbus), SB 80 would require any person, including a juvenile arrested for a felony offense, to give a DNA sample.  It would be analyzed and kept in a database by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Human Trafficking Bill Clears House Sub-Committee

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A human trafficking bill that toughens the penalty for sex traffickers and improves outcomes for victims has cleared another hurdle. The Ramsey Subcommittee of the House Non-Civil Judiciary Committee pushed HB 200 forward for further consideration Thursday, after a lively hearing on the measure the day before. The bill’s sponsor House Whip Edward Lindsey (R-Atlanta) opened the brief meeting – a follow up to yesterday’s considerably longer one – by highlighting some slight wording changes sub-committee members had suggested. “I think we took a good bill and made it even better,” Rep. Lindsey told sub-committee members, of the measure that includes charging those who traffic children under the age of 16 with aggravated felony. With little discussion, the subcommittee unanimously approved the motion raised by House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams (D-DeKalb) to push it through for consideration by the full committee.