HB 214 Summary

• Expands definitions of coercion and trafficking to include blackmail, financial harm, and threats of serious physical injury, and adds new terms including "sexual conduct," "sexual performance," and "victim of trafficking."

• Increases penalties for trafficking and forced labor crimes to 5-20 years imprisonment and fines up to $250,000, with life sentences possible if the offense includes death, kidnapping, sexual abuse as a class B felony, or attempted murder.

• Establishes sexual trafficking of children under 18 as a felony punishable by 10 years to life imprisonment, with life imprisonment without parole eligibility for 25 years if force, abduction, or coercion is used; sexual trafficking of children under 12 carries mandatory life imprisonment without parole eligibility for 25 years.

• Requires courts to order restitution to trafficking victims regardless of whether the defendant receives imprisonment or probation, with minimum restitution covering the victim's lost labor value and rehabilitation costs.

• Creates affirmative defense for prostitution charges when defendant was coerced by unlawful physical force, establishes victim notification procedures for law enforcement, authorizes department of social services to coordinate victim services, and allows victims to bring civil actions within 10 years for actual damages and punitive damages.