Houston Daily

Governor Greg Abbott held a ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion to sign House Bill 2306 and Senate Bill 1212 into law. The new laws are intended to strengthen penalties for human traffickers, particularly those who target children and vulnerable Texans.

"I thank all the survivors of human trafficking for stepping up and telling their stories, sharing their insight, and talking about what needs to be done to help their lives," said Governor Abbott. "We want to ensure that we do all we can so that human traffickers never walk the streets of Texas again. These two bills help achieve that goal. Senate Bill 1212 increases the penalty for all human trafficking offenses to a first degree felony. The worst of the worst are human traffickers of children and people with disabilities. House Bill 2306 ensures that those traffickers will serve every single day of their prison sentence behind bars, no parole for the worst of the worst."

The event included First Lady Cecilia Abbott, several state senators and representatives, as well as anti-human trafficking advocates.

House Bill 2306 removes eligibility for parole in cases where a person is convicted of trafficking a child or disabled individual.

Senate Bill 1212 raises all human trafficking offenses to first-degree felonies and aims to improve prosecution efforts against defendants accused of these crimes.