Section 1.  {Short Title.} 

This Act shall be known and may be cited as the “Human Trafficking Identification and Reporting Act.” 

Section 2.  {Legislative Findings.} 

(A) Finding 1. Human trafficking is a pervasive crime that often goes undetected. National statistics indicate that hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked in the United States each year, yet the vast majority are never identified. Existing reporting systems, including the National Human Trafficking Hotline, are critical but rely primarily on phone calls or text messages, which many witnesses or victims are unable or unwilling to make. 

(B) Finding 2. Frontline professionals—law enforcement officers, healthcare providers, teachers and social workers—often lack a unified, secure, trauma informed system to document and triage suspected trafficking. Current approaches are fragmented and underutilized, resulting in missed opportunities to protect victims and prosecute traffickers. 

(C) Finding 3. Advances in technology now permit the development of secure, multilingual platforms that allow anonymous reporting, AIassisted triage and realtime routing of tips to appropriate authorities. Such platforms can empower both the public and professionals to identify suspected trafficking and connect survivors with support. 

Section 3.  {Definitions.} 

A. “Human trafficking” means conduct that includes one or more of the following: 

1.  The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act, where the act is induced by force, fraud or coercion, or where the person induced to perform such act is under 18 years of age; or 
2.  The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery. 

B. “Digital identification and reporting platform” means a secure, traumainformed, HIPAAcompliant technology platform that: 

1.   Provides multichannel access for the public and professionals (including mobile application, web portal, SMS, voice and live chat); 
2.   Guides users through structured questions to identify indicators of trafficking and enables users to upload supporting evidence; 
3.   Allows reporters to remain anonymous and exercises consent based controls over personally identifiable information; 
4.   Utilizes an AI assisted risk model or similar decision support system to triage reports based on severity and credibility and to push notifications to authorized investigative agencies; 
5.   Routes high priority reports in real time to the appropriate law enforcement agency, child protection agency and/or vetted service provider based on jurisdiction; 
6.   Provides secure dashboards for authorized agencies to view, manage and respond to reports, with role based access controls and audit logging; 
7.   Is interoperable with the National Human Trafficking Hotline, state child welfare systems, law enforcement case management systems and other relevant platforms through standardized application programming interfaces (APIs); 
8.   Complies with all applicable federal and state privacy laws, including HIPAA and the Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) security policy. 

C. “Mandated reporter” means any individual who is required by state law to report suspected abuse, exploitation or trafficking of a minor or vulnerable person, including but not limited to teachers, healthcare professionals, law enforcement personnel and social workers. 

D. “Administering organization” means a nonprofit organization experienced in human trafficking prevention and victim support that has developed or administers a digital identification and reporting platform meeting the criteria of this Act. 

E. “Statewide coordinator” means a staff position within the administering organization. It shall be held by an individual employed by or under contract with that nonprofit, designated by the administering organization and approved by the Attorney General, to oversee implementation of the digital identification and reporting platform, coordinate training and outreach, and serve as a liaison among agencies and the administering organization. The statewide coordinator role is not a position within state government; it shall not be filled by or paid through state employment systems. 

F. “Field coordinator” means a staff position within the administering organization—an individual employed by or under contract with that nonprofit who serves under the statewide coordinator to assist with regional training, outreach and implementation as needed. Field coordinators are not employees of the state and shall not be hired, compensated or granted benefits through state employment systems. 

Section 4.  {Purpose.} 

(A) The purpose of this Act is to establish a statewide, trauma-informed digital identification and reporting system for suspected human trafficking that complements, rather than replaces, the National Human Trafficking Hotline and existing emergency response systems. The system shall empower the public and professionals to identify and report potential trafficking, ensure rapid routing of credible tips to appropriate authorities, protect reporter anonymity, and facilitate cooperation among agencies. 

Section 5.  {Adoption of Digital Identification and Reporting Platform.} 

(A) The state shall adopt or designate a digital identification and reporting platform that meets the criteria set forth in Section 3(B). 

(B) The Attorney General’s office, in consultation with the administering organization and relevant state agencies, shall certify one or more platforms that meet these criteria. A platform may be developed or administered by a nonprofit organization, provided that it meets the criteria in Section 3(B). 

(C) [Optional] Example certification. The “Simply Report” platform developed by Safe House Project is recognized as meeting the criteria described herein. 

(D) Agencies and mandated reporters may use the certified digital platform as their primary mechanism for reporting suspected human trafficking, while retaining the ability to utilize the National Human Trafficking Hotline or other mandated reporting channels. The certified platform shall facilitate referral to the National Hotline for crisis support as appropriate. 

(E) The digital platform shall push notifications of highpriority reports to designated lawenforcement and childprotection officials and shall provide a secure dashboard for authorized personnel to view, triage and respond to reports. The platform shall support realtime communication between investigators and survivors or reporters, subject to consent. 

Section 6.  {Training and Coordinators.} 

(A) The Attorney General shall enter into an agreement with the administering organization to provide statewide training on use of the digital identification and reporting platform. Training shall include traumainformed response, legal obligations, privacy protocols and integration with existing systems. 

(B) The administering organization, with funds provided under Section 8, shall hire or contract with a statewide coordinator to serve as a staff member of the administering organization. The statewide coordinator shall not be a state employee and shall be responsible for: 

1.   Overseeing implementation of the platform across agencies and jurisdictions; 
2.   Coordinating training and outreach for mandated reporters, law enforcement and service providers; 
3.   Facilitating interoperability between the platform and state or local systems, including the National Human Trafficking Hotline; 
4.   Monitoring performance metrics and reporting outcomes to the Attorney General and legislature; 
5.  Assisting in the designation and oversight of field coordinators, as needed, to provide local support. 

(C) The administering organization may hire or contract with field coordinators to support implementation in specific regions. Field coordinators shall report to the statewide coordinator and shall not be state employees. 

Section 7.  {Public Awareness and Access.} 

(A) The Attorney General, in collaboration with the administering organization, shall develop a public awareness campaign to inform residents, mandated reporters and professionals of the availability of the digital platform and its purpose. 

(B) State agencies and local governments shall display signage containing a QR code or web address for the certified platform in locations frequently accessed by the public, including schools, healthcare facilities, transit centers, hotels and airports. 

Section 8.  {Grant Program and Funding.} 

(A) The legislature shall appropriate funds to the Attorney General to support implementation of the digital identification and reporting platform and associated training and coordination. Funds shall be distributed as grants to the administering organization. 

(B) Grant funds may be used for: 

1.   Technology development, maintenance and integration costs; 
2.   Training materials, workshops and online modules for mandated reporters and investigators; 
3.   Salaries and operational expenses for statewide and field coordinators employed or contracted by the administering organization; 
4.   Public awareness campaigns, signage and outreach materials; 
5.   Independent evaluations and performance reporting. 

(C) The Attorney General may seek federal grants, private donations and partnerships to supplement state appropriations. 

Section 9.  {Data Privacy, Security and Consent.} 

(A) The digital platform shall employ encryption in transit and at rest, rolebased access controls, audit logging and consentbased data sharing. Reporters shall have the option to remain anonymous or to provide contact information. Personal data shall not be shared with law enforcement or other agencies without the reporter’s consent, except where mandated by law (e.g., cases involving minors). 

(B) The platform shall not permit downloading, printing or copying of data outside the system. All user actions shall be logged and subject to audit. 

(C) Data shall be retained for no more than five (5) years and then automatically purged, unless required otherwise by state or federal law. 

Section 10.  {Reporting and Evaluation.} 

(A) The administering organization shall submit quarterly performance reports to the Attorney General and the legislature. Reports shall include metrics such as: 

1.  Number of reports submitted and their classification by risk level; 
2.  Number of reports routed to law enforcement and other agencies; 
3.  Time from submission to action by investigating agencies; 
4.  Number of survivors connected to services; 
5.  Training and outreach activities completed; 
6.  Any operational issues, privacy incidents or system enhancements. 

(B) Within two (2) years of implementation and every two (2) years thereafter, the Attorney General shall commission an independent evaluation of the platform’s impact on victim identification, prosecution outcomes and service delivery. Evaluations shall be made publicly available. 

Section 11.  {Nonsupersession of Existing Reporting Channels.} 

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to supersede or replace existing emergency services or the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Individuals in immediate danger shall continue to call 911, and the National Hotline shall remain available for crisis assistance and referrals. The certified digital platform shall serve as a complementary tool for identification, triage and reporting. 

Section 12.  {Severability.} 

If any provision of this Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected. 

Section 13.  {Repealer.} 

All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict. 

Section 14.  {Effective Date.} 

This Act shall take effect on July 1, 20XX.