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Texas has become the first state to punish those who pay for sex with a felony.
The Human Trafficking Prevention Taskforce's bill, House Bill 1540, creates a separate offense for buying sex and raises the punishment to the level of a state jail felony for those who are convicted of buying sex from an adult, a press release from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office stated.
"Texas is the first in the country to punish sex buyers with felonies, which is a substantial step toward curbing the demand for commercial sex," Paxton said in the press release. "Human trafficking is modern day slavery – targeting vulnerable men, women and children in our communities. I commend our legislature for passing laws that fight this inexcusable offense."
The bill was filed by state Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston), according to the bill's description.
It was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott and goes into effect starting Wednesday, Sept. 1, according to the bill's tracker.
The law expands first-degree felony human trafficking to include getting victims from shelters or from certain residential facilities and it requires the state to deny some alcoholic beverage licenses and permits, KPVI reported.
The law also changes language regarding nuisance lawsuits relating to prostitution and illegal massage operations, the KPVI article states.
KPVI reported that the law is just one of several that Thompson has introduced over the past decade to fight human trafficking.
Additionally, in 2010, she led the First Annual International Conference on Human Trafficking at the state Capitol to raise awareness about Texas being a major human trafficking hub, the KPVI article said.
KPVI also reported that Thompson filed bills clarifying the definitions of sex and labor trafficking in the state’s human trafficking statute, requiring convicted sex traffickers to be registered as a sex offender and increasing the penalty to a first-degree felony for compelling the prostitution of a child.