Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
PART A
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Sec. A-1. 17-A MRSA c. 10 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 10
INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING OFFENSES
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
1. "Commercial sexual activity" means a sexual act, sexual contact or sexual touching as defined in section 251; sexually explicit conduct as defined in section 281; or sexual exploitation of a minor as described in section 282, for which anything of value is given to, promised to or received by a person, or prostitution or promotion of prostitution as defined in section 851.
2. "Debt bondage" means the status or condition of a debtor arising from a pledge by the debtor of the debtor's personal services or those of a person under the debtor's control as security for debt if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied toward the payment of the debt or the length and nature of the services are not limited and defined.
3. "Force, fraud or coercion" means: A. Causing or threatening to cause bodily injury to a person;
B. Restraining or threatening to restrain a person as defined in section 301, subsection 2;
C. Abusing or threatening to abuse the law or legal process;
D. Destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating or possessing any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or other actual or purported government identification document of another person, without the legal right to do so;
E. Using extortion, as described in section 355, subsection 2;
F. Causing or threatening to cause financial harm, including, but not limited to, through credit extortion, an intentional or knowing violation of the Maine Consumer Credit Code or an unfair employment agreement as described in Title 26, section 629;
G. Causing or threatening to cause serious harm to a person; or
H. Using any scheme, plan or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that if the person does not perform certain labor or services that person or another person will suffer serious harm or restraint.
4. "Forced labor or services" means labor or services that are performed or provided by another person and are obtained or maintained through an actor by the use of force, fraud or coercion. "Forced labor or services" includes, but is not limited to, debt bondage.
5. "Human trafficking offense" means an offense under sections 222 to 224.
6. "Labor" means work of economic or financial value.
7. "Services" means an ongoing relationship between a person and the actor in which the person performs activities under the supervision of or for the benefit of the actor or a 3rd party. "Services" includes commercial sexual activity.
8. "Victim" means a person subjected to involuntary servitude or human trafficking as described in sections 222 to 224.
1. A person is guilty of causing involuntary servitude if the person: A. Intentionally or knowingly subjects another person to forced labor or services; or
B. Intentionally or knowingly benefits financially from or receives anything of value from any person's conduct described in paragraph A.
2. Causing involuntary servitude is a Class B crime.
1. A person is guilty of human trafficking if the person: A. Intentionally or knowingly recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains by any means another person, intending or knowing that that person will be subjected to forced labor or services;
B. Intentionally or knowingly recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains by any means a person, intending or knowing that that person will be subjected to commercial sexual activity through force, fraud or coercion; or
C. Intentionally or knowingly benefits financially or receives anything of value from any person's conduct described in paragraph A or B or section 224.
2. Human trafficking is a Class B crime.
1. A person is guilty of aggravated human trafficking if the person: A. Commits human trafficking and the person subjected to the human trafficking dies in the course or as a result of the human trafficking; or
B. Commits human trafficking and the person subjected to the human trafficking is in fact a minor.
2. Aggravated human trafficking is a Class A crime.
The following are not defenses to a prosecution under sections 222 to 224:
1. That the victim is or was related by blood or marriage to the defendant or to anyone else involved in the involuntary servitude or human trafficking;
2. That the victim or another person on behalf of the victim consented to commercial sexual activity;
3. The age of consent to sex or legal age for marriage; or
4. Any mistake as to the age of the victim.
PART B
Sec. B-1. 5 MRSA c. 337-C is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 337-C
CIVIL REMEDIES FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING
1. Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. A. "Trafficked person" means a victim of a human trafficking offense under Title 17-A, chapter 10.
B. "Criminal proceeding" includes the investigation and prosecution of criminal charges. A criminal proceeding remains pending until final adjudication in the trial court.
2. Civil action for damages, relief. A trafficked person may bring a civil action for actual damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, any combination of those or any other appropriate relief. A prevailing plaintiff is entitled to an award of attorney's fees and costs.
3. Statute of limitations. An action brought pursuant to this section must be commenced within 10 years of the date on which the trafficked person was freed from the trafficking situation. A. If a person entitled to bring an action under this section is under disability when the cause of action accrues so that it is impossible or impracticable for the person to bring an action, the time during which the person is under disability tolls the running of the time limit for the commencement of the action. For the purposes of this paragraph, a person is under disability if the person is a minor or is mentally ill, imprisoned, outside the United States or otherwise incapacitated or incompetent.
B. The statute of limitations is tolled for an incompetent or minor plaintiff even if a guardian ad litem has been appointed.
C.
A defendant is estopped from asserting a defense of the statute of limitations if the trafficked person did not file before the expiration of the statute of limitations due to:
(1) Conduct by the defendant inducing the plaintiff to delay the filing of the action or preventing the plaintiff from filing the action; or
(2) Threats made by the defendant that caused duress to the plaintiff.
D. The statute of limitations is tolled during the pendency of any criminal proceedings against the trafficked person.
4. Cause of action on trafficked person's behalf. A legal guardian, family member, representative of the trafficked person or court appointee may represent the trafficked person or the trafficked person's estate if deceased.
PART C
Sec. C-1. 15 MRSA §5821, sub-§8, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 302, §3, is repealed.
Sec. C-2. 15 MRSA §5821, sub-§9 is enacted to read:
9. Assets in human trafficking offenses. All assets, including money instruments, personal property and real property, used or intended for use in or traceable to a human trafficking offense under Title 17-A, chapter 10.
Sec. C-3. 15 MRSA §5821, as amended by PL 2003, c. 688, Pt. B, §2, is further amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read:
A forfeiture under this section of property encumbered by a perfected bona fide security interest is subject to the interest of the secured party if the party neither had knowledge of nor consented to the act or omission upon which the right of forfeiture is based.
PART D
Sec. D-1. 17-A MRSA §1322, sub-§3, ¶F, as repealed and replaced by PL 1993, c. 305, §1, is amended to read:
F. "Work loss" means loss of income from work the injured person would have performed if the injured person had not been injured and expenses reasonably incurred by the injured person in obtaining services in lieu of those the injured person would have performed for income, reduced by any income for substitute work actually performed by the injured person or by income the injured person would have earned in available appropriate substitute work the injured person was capable of performing but unreasonably failed to undertake. For a victim of a human trafficking offense under chapter 10, "work loss" includes pay or benefits unfairly or illegally withheld from the victim by the offender or any unfair labor agreement under Title 26, section 629, as defined by rules adopted by the Department of Labor.
Sec. D-2. Rulemaking. By October 1, 2008, the Department of Labor shall adopt rules to define "work loss" under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 17-A, section 1322, subsection 3, paragraph F for victims of human trafficking offenses under Title 17-A, chapter 10 who are eligible for restitution. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. D-3. Effective date. This Part takes effect 90 days after the adjournment of the Second Regular Session of the 123rd Legislature.
PART E
Sec. E-1. 5 MRSA §3360, sub-§3, ¶G, as amended by PL 2005, c. 22, §2, is further amended to read:
G. Leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving personal injury or death, in violation of Title 29-A, section 2252; or
Sec. E-2. 5 MRSA §3360, sub-§3, ¶H, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 22, §3, is amended to read:
H. Sexual exploitation of a minor as described in Title 17-A, chapter 12 . ; or
Sec. E-3. 5 MRSA §3360, sub-§3, ¶I is enacted to read:
I. Causing a human trafficking offense as described in Title 17-A, chapter 10.
PART F
Sec. F-1. Attorney General's working group on human trafficking; report. The Attorney General shall convene a working group on human trafficking consisting of representatives of the following: the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, the Department of Public Safety, the Maine Institute for Public Safety Innovation, law enforcement, immigrant legal services, interested parties, other state agencies and service providers, including, but not limited to, health care, domestic violence and sexual assault victim advocates and other social service providers. The working group shall:
1. Develop training for law enforcement and community organizations;
2. Develop outreach and public awareness campaigns;
3. Work on options and initiatives for data collection;
4. Determine the need for victim and witness laws, victims' services and obtaining special visa status for victims who are undocumented immigrants, the coordination of services and the coordination of state and federal victim services programs for benefits, programs and licenses;
5. Monitor the actions of international matchmaking organizations to determine if state intervention or regulation is necessary; and
6. Determine whether a special tolling statute based on cultural and linguistic isolation would be appropriate for pursuing civil remedies under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 337-C.
The working group shall report to the Second Regular Session of the 124th Legislature by January 15, 2010.
Sec. F-2. Effective date. This Part takes effect 90 days after the adjournment of the Second Regular Session of the 123rd Legislature.
PART G
Sec. G-1. Effective date. Except as otherwise indicated, this Act takes effect January 1, 2009.’
This amendment replaces the bill. Like the bill, it is based on the work of the Human Trafficking Task Force and establishes the crimes of causing involuntary servitude, human trafficking and aggravated human trafficking. It also provides that certain circumstances cannot be used as defenses to prosecutions.
This amendment creates a new chapter that provides for civil remedies for human trafficking. It allows a trafficked person to bring a civil action for actual damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, any combination of those remedies and any other appropriate relief. A prevailing plaintiff is entitled to attorney's fees and costs. The statute of limitations for bringing the action is 10 years from the trafficking act, although the time limitation does not run while the trafficked person is under the age of 18, mentally ill, imprisoned, outside the United States or otherwise incapacitated or incompetent when the cause of action accrues. This is similar to the tolling statute of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 14, section 853. The amendment also provides that the defendant cannot assert the defense of expiration of the statute of limitations if the running of the time is due to conduct by the defendant's inducing the plaintiff to delay the filing of the action or preventing the plaintiff from filing the action, or because of threats made by the defendant.
This amendment provides for the civil forfeiture of property used in involuntary servitude and human trafficking offenses. It also corrects a formatting error in the current law.
Like the bill, this amendment gives the human trafficking victim the right to collect damages and compensation through criminal restitution law and the Victims' Compensation Fund. It requires rulemaking by the Department of Labor for the purposes of victim restitution.
This amendment directs the Attorney General to convene a broad working group to address human trafficking issues. Monitoring international matchmaking organizations is added to the list of tasks, as is whether a special statute of limitations tolling provision is appropriate because of victims' cultural and linguistic isolation. The working group will report to the Legislature by January 15, 2010.
This amendment provides an effective date of January 1, 2009, except that the provisions establishing the Attorney General's working group on human trafficking and the definition of "work loss" and rulemaking in the Department of Labor regarding work loss take effect 90 days after adjournment of the Second Regular Session of the 123rd Legislature.