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ENGROSSED HOUSE
BILL NO. 1215 By: West (Kevin) and Maynard of
the House
and
Weaver of the Senate
An Act relating to human trafficking; creating the
Oklahoma Human Trafficking Law; amending 21 O.S.
2021, Section 748, as amended by Section 1, Chapter
20, O.S.L. 2022 (21 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 748),
which relates to penalties for human trafficking;
updating statutory citation; modifying scope of
certain defined terms; adding definition; modifying
penalties; requiring registration with the Sex
Offenders Registration Act; directing the Department
of Corrections to submit information to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation; providing for
noncodification; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Oklahoma Human
Trafficking Law".
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 21 O.S. 2021, Section 748, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 20, O.S.L. 2022 (21 O.S. Supp. 2024,
Section 748), is amended to read as follows:
Section 748. A. As used in Sections 748 and 748.2 of this
title:
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1. "Coercion" means compelling, forcing or intimidating a
person to act by:
a. threats of harm or, physical restraint, or acts of
violence committed against any person,
b. any act, threat, scheme, plan, or pattern intended to
cause a person to believe that performing, or failing
to perform, an act would result in serious physical,
financial, or emotional harm or distress to or
physical restraint against any person,
c. the abuse or threatened abuse of the law or legal
process,
d. knowingly destroying, concealing, removing,
confiscating or possessing any actual or purported
passport, labor or immigration document, or other
government identification document, including but not
limited to a driver license or birth certificate, of
another person,
e. facilitating or controlling a person's access to any
addictive or controlled substance other than for legal
medical purposes,
f. blackmail,
g. demanding or claiming money, goods, or any other thing
of value from or on behalf of a prostituted person
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where such demand or claim arises from or is directly
related to the act of prostitution,
h. determining, dictating or setting the times at which
another person will be available to engage in an act
of prostitution with a third party,
i. determining, dictating or setting the places at which
another person will be available for solicitation of,
or to engage in, an act of prostitution with a third
party, or
j. determining, dictating or setting the places at which
another person will reside for purposes of making such
person available to engage in an act of prostitution
with a third party, or
k. extortion, obtaining property or money from another
with consent, induced by a wrongful use of force or
fear;
2. "Commercial sex" means any form of commercial sexual
activity such as sexually explicit performances, prostitution,
participation in the production of pornography, performance in a
strip club, or exotic dancing or display;
3. "Debt bondage" means the status or condition of a debtor
arising from a pledge by the debtor of his or her personal services
or of those of a person under his or her control as a security for
debt if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not
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applied toward the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature
of those services are not respectively limited and defined;
4. "Human trafficking" means modern-day slavery that includes,
but is not limited to, extreme exploitation and the denial of
freedom or liberty of an individual for purposes of deriving benefit
from that individual's commercial sex act or labor;
5. "Human trafficking for labor" means:
a. recruiting, enticing, harboring, maintaining,
transporting, providing or obtaining, by any means,
another person through deception, force, fraud, threat
or coercion or for purposes of engaging the person in
labor, or
b. benefiting, financially or by receiving anything of
value, from participation in a venture that has
engaged in an act of trafficking for labor;
6. "Human trafficking for commercial sex" means:
a. pimping, recruiting, enticing, harboring, maintaining,
transporting, providing or obtaining, by any means,
another person through deception, force, fraud, threat
or coercion for purposes of engaging the person in a
commercial sex act,
b. pimping, recruiting, enticing, harboring, maintaining,
transporting, providing, purchasing or obtaining, by
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any means, a minor for purposes of engaging the minor
in a commercial sex act, or
c. benefiting, financially or by receiving anything of
value, from participating in a venture that has
engaged in an act of trafficking for commercial sex;
7. "Legal process" means the criminal law, the civil law, or
the regulatory system of the federal government, any state,
territory, district, commonwealth, or trust territory therein, and
any foreign government or subdivision thereof and includes legal
civil actions, criminal actions, and regulatory petitions or
applications;
8. "Minor" means an individual under eighteen (18) years of
age; and
9. "Pimping" means a person who procures a prostitute for a
customer and receives the earnings from the services provided by the
prostitute; and
10. "Victim" means a person against whom a violation of any
provision of this section has been committed.
B. It shall be unlawful to knowingly engage in human
trafficking.
C. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall,
upon conviction, be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in
the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term of not less
than five (5) years or for life and not exceeding twenty (20) years,
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or by a fine of not more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars
($100,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment. Any person
violating the provisions of this section where the victim of the
offense is under eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the
offense shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a felony punishable by
imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a
term of not less than fifteen (15) years or for life and not
exceeding ninety-nine (99) years, or by a fine of not more than Two
Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), or by both such fine
and imprisonment. The court shall also order the defendant to pay
restitution to the victim as provided in Section 991f of Title 22 of
the Oklahoma Statutes. If the person is convicted of human
trafficking, the person shall serve eighty-five percent (85%) of the
sentence before being eligible for parole consideration or any
earned credits. The terms of imprisonment specified in this
subsection shall not be subject to statutory provisions for
suspension, deferral or probation, or state correctional institution
earned credits accruing from and after November 1, 1989, except for
the achievement earned credits authorized by subsection H of Section
138 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes. To qualify for such
achievement earned credits, such inmates must also be in compliance
with the standards for Class level 2 behavior, as defined in
subsection D of Section 138 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
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D. 1. Any person convicted of human trafficking for commercial
sex shall be required to register as a sex offender pursuant to the
provisions of the Sex Offenders Registration Act.
2. The Department of Corrections shall forward the name and
conviction information of any person convicted of human trafficking
to the Human Trafficking-Uniform Crime Reporting Program of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
E. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution for a criminal,
youthful offender, or delinquent offense that, during the time of
the alleged commission of the offense, the defendant or alleged
youthful offender or delinquent was a victim of human trafficking.
E. F. The consent of a victim to the activity prohibited by
this section shall not constitute a defense.
F. G. Lack of knowledge of the age of the victim shall not
constitute a defense to the activity prohibited by this section with
respect to human trafficking of a minor.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
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Passed the House of Representatives the 12th day of March, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the _____ day of __________, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the Senate