SB1709 Summary

• Establishes the Antihuman Trafficking Grant Fund administered by the Arizona Department of Homeland Security to distribute monies to programs reducing human trafficking in the state.

• Eligible programs must reduce transnational organized crime, provide training and analytical services to law enforcement, detect and track trafficking networks, augment prosecutorial practices, and foster interagency collaboration.

• Appropriates $10,000,000 from the state general fund in fiscal year 2022-2023 to the grant fund, with $2,000,000 allocated to the Department of Public Safety Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center and $8,000,000 in grants to municipal and county law enforcement agencies (up to $500,000 per agency).

• Programs shall use private contractors to provide technology and analytical tools designed to reduce staff hours needed to detect trafficking leads by 50 percent and identify entire trafficking networks without relying solely on victim testimony.

• The appropriation is exempt from lapsing provisions, allowing unspent funds to carry forward.