Human Trafficking Omnibus.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 1007

Short Title: Human Trafficking Omnibus. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Alexander, Barnes, and Lazzara (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
May 4, 2026
*S1007-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT DIRECTING THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING C OMMISSION TO CONTRAC T 2
WITH A VENDOR TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A REPORTING AND RESPONSE 3
SYSTEM TO USE FOR ID ENTIFYING AND REPORT ING SUSPECTED HUMAN 4
TRAFFICKING; TO IMPO SE AN EXCISE TAX ON CERTAIN PRURIENT 5
MATERIALS; TO CORRECT THE EXCEPTIONS LISTED TO THE PROHIBITION ON 6
THE VIEWING OF PORNO GRAPHY ON GOVERNMENT NETWORKS AND 7
DEVICES; TO CLARIFY THAT THIRD-PARTY CONTRACTORS ARE RESPONSIBLE 8
FOR ENSURING THEIR E MPLOYEES RECEIVE CERTAIN HUMAN TRAFFICKING 9
AWARENESS TRAINING; AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO THE DEPARTMENT 10
OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO ALLOCATE TO THE CLEV ELAND COUNTY SHERIFF 'S 11
OFFICE FOR COSTS REL ATED TO ITS TASK FOR CE TO COMBAT HUMAN 12
TRAFFICKING, CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION. 13
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 14
15
HUMAN TRAFFICKING REPORTING AND RESPONSE SYSTEM 16
SECTION 1.(a) This section shall be known as "The Human Trafficking 17
Identification and Reporting Act." 18
SECTION 1.(b) The General Assembly finds all of the following: 19
(1) Human trafficking is a pervasive crime that often goes undetected. National 20
statistics indicate that hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked in the 21
United States each year, yet the vast majority are never identified. Existing 22
reporting systems, including the National Human Trafficking Hotline, are 23
critical but rely primarily on phone calls or text messages, which many 24
witnesses or victims are unable or unwilling to make. 25
(2) Frontline professiona ls — law enforcement officers, healthcare providers, 26
teachers and social workers — often lack a unified, secure, trauma -informed 27
system to document and triage suspected trafficking. Current approaches are 28
fragmented and underutilized, resulting in missed o pportunities to protect 29
victims and prosecute. 30
(3) Advances in technology now permit the development of secure, multilingual 31
platforms that allow anonymous reporting, AI -assisted triage, and real -time 32
routing of tips to appropriate authorities. Such platfo rms can empower both 33
the public and professionals to identify suspected trafficking and connect 34
survivors with support. 35
SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 7A-354(c) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read: 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 1007-First Edition
"(8) To develop and implement a human trafficking reporting and response system 1
in accordance with G.S. 7A-354.2." 2
SECTION 1.(d) Article 29 of Chapter 7A of the General Statutes is amended by 3
adding a new section to read: 4
"§ 7A-354.2. Reports of human trafficking. 5
(a) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section: 6
(1) Human trafficking. – Modern-day slavery that includes extreme exploitation 7
and the denial of freedom or liberty of an individual for purposes of deriving 8
benefit from that individual's commercial sex act or labor. This term includes 9
all of the offenses set forth in G.S. 14-43.11 through G.S. 14-43.14. 10
(2) Mandated reporte r. – Any individual who is required by law to report 11
suspected abuse, exploitation, or human trafficking of a minor or vulnerable 12
person, including a teacher , health care professional, law enforcement 13
personnel, and social worker. 14
(b) Development & Implementation. – The North Ca rolina Human Resources 15
Commission (Commission), in consultation with the Department of Information Technology, 16
shall contract with a vendor to develop and implement a human trafficking reporting and response 17
system. The system required under this subsection shall do all of the following: 18
(1) Provide multichannel access for the public and professionals, including 19
mobile applications, web portals, short messaging services, and voice or live 20
chats. 21
(2) Guide users through structured questions to identify indicators of human 22
trafficking and enables users to upload supporting evidence. 23
(3) Allow reporters to remain anonymous and exercises consent-based controls 24
over personally identifiable information. 25
(4) Utilize an artificial intelligence assisted risk model or similar decision support 26
system to triage reports based on severity and credibility and push 27
notifications to authorized investigative agencies. 28
(5) Route high priority reports in real time to the appropriate law enforcement 29
agency, child protection agency, or vetted service provider based on 30
jurisdiction. 31
(6) Provide secure dashboards for authorized agencies to view, manage, and 32
respond to reports with role-based access controls and audit logging. 33
(7) Is interoperable with the National Human Trafficking Hotline, State child 34
welfare systems, law enforcement case management systems, and other 35
relevant platforms through standardized application programming interfaces. 36
(8) Comply with all applicable federal and State privacy laws, including the 37
Health Information Portability and Accountability Act ( HIPAA) and the 38
Criminal Justice Information Services security policy. 39
(c) Utilization of System. – Mandated reporters may utilize the system developed under 40
subsection (b) of this section as the primary mechanism for reporting suspected human 41
trafficking. The platform shall facilitate referral to the National Human Trafficking Hotline for 42
crisis support as necessary. The provisions of this subsection do not preclude a mandated reporter 43
from utilizing the National Human Trafficking Hotline or other reporting channels. 44
(d) Notifications. – The system developed under subsection (b) of this section shall send 45
notifications of high priority reports to designated law enforcement and child protection officials 46
and shall provide a secure dashboard for authorized person nel to view, triage, and respond to 47
reports. The system shall support real-time communication between investigators and survivors 48
or reporters with consent. 49
(e) Data Privacy. – The system developed under subsection (b) of this section shall 50
employ encryption in transit and at rest , role -based access controls, audit logging, and 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 1007-First Edition Page 3
consent-based data sharing. Individuals reporting to the system may do so anonymously. Except 1
as otherwise required by law, p ersonal data of the individual prov iding a report to the system 2
shall not be shared with law enforcement or other agencies without the individual's consent. The 3
system shall not permit downloading, printing, or copying of data outside the system. All user 4
actions shall be logged and subject to audit. Except where State or federal law require otherwise, 5
data collected through the system shall be retained for no more than five years from the date the 6
data was collected. 7
(f) Funds. – Notwithstanding other provisions of law, the Commission is authorized to 8
spend any federal, State, local, or private funds available for this purpose to administer the 9
provisions of this section. 10
(g) Reporting. – The Commission shall submit a quarterly report to the Joint Legislative 11
Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety that includes all of the following information 12
for the quarter immediately preceding the report: 13
(1) The number of reports submitted to the system developed under subsection 14
(b) of this section and their classification by risk level. 15
(2) The number of reports routed to law enforcement and other agencies. 16
(3) The time from submission to the system to action by the investigating agency. 17
(4) The number of human trafficking survivors connected to services. 18
(5) Any outreach activities completed. 19
(6) Any operational issues, privacy incidents, or system enhancements. 20
(h) Biennial Evaluation. – No later than two years from the date the system developed 21
under subsection (b) of this section is operational, and every two years thereafter, the 22
Commission shall commission an independent evaluation of the system's impact on victim 23
identification, prosecution outcomes, and service delivery. The Commission shall make 24
evaluations completed under this subsection available to the public." 25
SECTION 1.(e) The North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission shall develop 26
and implement a public awareness campaign to inform the public and relevant professionals of 27
the availability of the reporting system required under G.S. 7A-354.2, as enacted by subsectio n 28
(d) of this section. 29
SECTION 1.(f) The first quarterly report under G.S. 7A-354.2(g), as enacted by 30
subsection (d) of this section, shall be submitted by no later than March 1, 2027. 31
SECTION 1.(g) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Administrative 32
Office of the Courts, North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission, the sum of (i) two hundred 33
thousand dollars ($200,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2026 -2027 fiscal year and (ii) one 34
hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2027-2028 fiscal year, to be 35
used for costs incurred by the Commission from implementing the provisions of G.S. 7A-354.2, 36
as enacted by subsection (d) of this section, and to provide grants to the vendor for costs incurred 37
by the vendor from implementing the provisions of G.S. 7A-354.2, as enacted by subsection (d) 38
of this section. 39
SECTION 1.(h) This section becomes effective July 1, 2026. 40
41
EXCISE TAX ON PRUIENT MATERIALS 42
SECTION 2.(a) Subchapter I of Chapter 105 of the General Statutes is amended by 43
adding a new Article to read: 44
"Article 2F. 45
"Harmful Materials Tax. 46
"§ 105-113.135. Definitions. 47
The definitions of G.S. 14-190.13 and the following definitions apply to this Article: 48
(1) Harmful materials vendor. – A retailer that offers for sale material that is 49
harmful to minors at a physical retail location in the State. 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 4 Senate Bill 1007-First Edition
(2) Harmful to minors. – That quality of any material or performance that depicts 1
sexually explicit nudity or sexual activity and that, taken as a whole, has the 2
following characteristics: 3
a. The average adult person applying contemporary community 4
standards would find that the material or performance has a 5
predominant tendency to appeal to a prurient interest of minors in sex; 6
and 7
b. The average adult person applying contem porary community 8
standards would find that the depiction of sexually explicit nudity or 9
sexual activity in the material or performance is patently offensive to 10
prevailing standards in the adult community concerning what is 11
suitable for minors; and 12
c. The material or performance lacks serious literary, artistic, political, 13
or scientific value for minors. 14
(3) Material. – Pictures, drawings, video recordings, films or other visual or 15
physical depictions or representations, including digital or 16
computer-generated visual depictions or representations created, adapted, or 17
modified by technological means, such as algorithms or artificial intelligence, 18
but not material consisting entirely of written words. 19
(4) Retailer. – As defined in G.S. 105-164.3. 20
(5) Secretary. – The Secretary of Revenue. 21
"§ 105-113.136. Tax on harmful materials vendors. 22
(a) Tax. – A tax at the rate of ten percent (10%) is imposed on each harmful materials 23
vendor. The tax applies to the gross receipts attributable to the sale of material harmful to minors 24
by the harmful materials vendor at a physical retail location in the State. 25
(b) Return. – Taxes levied by this Article are due when a return is required to be filed. A 26
return is required to be filed on a quarterly basis and is due no later than the twentieth day of the 27
month following the calendar quarter covered by the return. The return shall be filed on a form 28
prescribed by the Secretary. 29
(c) Records. – A person who is required to file a return under this Article must keep a 30
record of a ll documents used to determine information the person provides in a return. These 31
records shall be open at all times for inspection by the Secretary or an authorized representative 32
of the Secretary and shall be kept for the applicable period of statute of limitations as set forth 33
under Article 9 of this Chapter. 34
"§ 105-113.137. Registration requirement. 35
A harmful materials vendor must register with the Secretary on a form required by the 36
Secretary and include all information requested. 37
"§ 105-113.138. Use of tax proceeds. 38
The Secretary shall credit the net proceeds of the tax collected under this Article as follows: 39
(1) Fifty percent (50%) to the Administrative Office of the Courts to be allocated 40
to the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission establis hed under 41
G.S. 7A-354. 42
(2) The remainder to the Domestic Violence Center Fund established in 43
G.S. 50B-9." 44
SECTION 2.(b) This section becomes effective October 1, 2026. 45
46
TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS 47
SECTION 3.(a) G.S. 143-805(d) reads as rewritten: 48
"(d) Subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall not apply to an official or employee that 49
is engaged in any of the following activities in the course of that official's or employee's official 50
duties: 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 1007-First Edition Page 5
… 1
(8) Investigating matters involving offenders incarcerat ed with, or otherwise 2
under the supervision of, the Department of Adult Correction or matters 3
related to the misuse of devices owned by the Department of Adult 4
Correction." 5
SECTION 3.(b) G.S. 42A-39 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 6
"(c1) Third-Party Contractor Requirements. – A third-party contractor shall ensure that any 7
employee of the third-party contractor who performs housekeeping services at the vacation rental 8
or provides check-in and check -out services for the vacation rental receive human trafficking 9
awareness training as required by subsection (c) of this section." 10
SECTION 3.(c) G.S. 130A-511(b)(1) reads as rewritten: 11
"(1) In consultation with the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission, the 12
North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association, and the Department of 13
Health and Human Services, develop a training course, or identify existing 14
training courses, to inform and educate individuals about human trafficking. 15
Chapter 150B of the General Statutes does not apply to any training required 16
to be developed or identified under this subdivision." 17
SECTION 3.(d) Subsection (a) of this section is effective when it becomes law and 18
applies to investigations occurring before, on, or after that date. Subsection (b) of this section is 19
effective when it becomes law and applies to training required to be completed on or after that 20
date. Subsection (c) of this section is effective when it becomes law and applies to training 21
developed or identified before, on, or after that date. 22
23
APPROPRIATION 24
SECTION 4.(a) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 25
Public Safety the sum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) in nonrecurring funds for 26
the 2026 -2027 fiscal year and the sum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150 ,000) in 27
nonrecurring funds for the 2027 -2028 fiscal year to allocate to the Cleveland County Sheriff's 28
Office to be used to support the establishment of a counter trafficking task force by the Sheriff's 29
Office to combat the growing number of incidents inv olving human trafficking, child sexual 30
assault, and child sexual exploitation. 31
SECTION 4.(b) This section becomes effective July 1, 2026. 32
33
EFFECTIVE DATE 34
SECTION 5. Except as otherwise provided in this act, this act is effective when it 35
becomes law. 36