Bill Summary: S.7212-A - Trafficking Victims Protection and Justice Act

• Creates three new felonies for "aggravated patronizing a minor for prostitution" in the first, second, and third degrees with enhanced penalties when offenders are 18+ years old and engage in sexual conduct with minors under 18, 15, or 11 years old respectively.

• Establishes "patronizing a person for prostitution in a school zone" as a class E felony when patronization occurs near schools during school hours.

• Raises the age threshold for various prostitution-related offenses from 14 to 15 or 16 to 18 years old and increases penalties for sex trafficking and compelling prostitution offenses.

• Classifies compelling prostitution and sex trafficking as class B violent felonies, making offenders subject to mandatory sex offender registration and stricter sentencing guidelines.

• Amends victim notification requirements in criminal procedure law to include victims of patronizing offenses and expands the definition of sex trafficking to include advancement of prostitution of persons under 18 years old.

• Changes terminology throughout from "prostitute" to "person for prostitution" or "person in prostitution" to reflect trauma-informed language.