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An Act
ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 1886 By: May, Stark, and Wolfley of
the House
and
Gillespie of the Senate
An Act relating to human trafficking; creating the
Oklahoma Human Trafficking Justice for Victims and
Advocacy Act of 2025; 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
human trafficking offenses and related penalties;
increasing penalties for certain unlawful act;
providing additional restitution for psychological
evaluations and counseling services; creating a
statewide Human Trafficking Awareness and Education
Program; requiring the Director of the Human
Trafficking Response Unit to develop, promote, and
coordinate a public awareness program; providing
specifics of the program; granting production and
determination of program materials and curriculum to
the Director of the Unit; providing for the
promulgation of rules; amending 21 O.S. 2021, Section
748.2, as amended by Section 2, Chapter 20, O.S.L.
2022 (21 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 748.2), which
relates to rights of human trafficking victims;
adding provisions to the list of rights for human
trafficking victims; providing for noncodification;
providing for codification; and providing an
effective date.
SUBJECT: Human trafficking
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:
ENR. H. B. NO. 1886 Page 2
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Oklahoma Human
Trafficking Justice for Victims and Advocacy Act of 2025".
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:
1. "Coercion" means compelling, forcing or intimidating a
person to act by:
a. threats of harm or physical restraint against any
person,
b. any act, 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
where such demand or claim arises from or is directly
related to the act of prostitution,
ENR. H. B. NO. 1886 Page 3
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;
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
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:
ENR. H. B. NO. 1886 Page 4
a. 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. recruiting, enticing, harboring, maintaining,
transporting, providing, purchasing or obtaining, by
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. "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. 1. 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, or by a fine of
not more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), or by both
such fine and imprisonment.
2. 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) ten (10) years
or, for life, or for life without parole, or by a fine of not more
ENR. H. B. NO. 1886 Page 5
than Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), or by both
such fine and imprisonment.
3. 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. In addition, the court shall require the
defendant to pay for a psychological evaluation to determine the
extent of counseling necessary for the human trafficking victim and
any necessary psychological counseling deemed necessary to
rehabilitate the victim. Such evaluations and counseling may be
performed by psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed professional
counselors, or social workers.
4. 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.
D. 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. The consent of a victim to the activity prohibited by this
section shall not constitute a defense.
F. 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. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 748.1 of Title 21, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. There is hereby created a statewide "Human Trafficking
Awareness and Education Program". The Director of the Human
Trafficking Response Unit within the Office of the Attorney General
ENR. H. B. NO. 1886 Page 6
shall develop, promote, and coordinate a public awareness program to
be utilized by law enforcement agencies, communities, and local
schools and school districts throughout the State of Oklahoma.
B. The Human Trafficking Awareness and Education Program shall
include:
1. Objective criteria, guidelines, and a comprehensive
integrated curriculum for human trafficking programs;
2. Establish and review annually model policies for human
trafficking issues;
3. Develop and implement guidelines, strategies, and criteria
which encourage all schools to be trained in human trafficking
awareness and prevention, and recognizing tactics used by
traffickers to recruit victims through social media, gaming
platforms, and any other digital spaces; and
4. Develop and implement guidelines, strategies, and criteria
to require all law enforcement agencies within this state to be
trained in human trafficking awareness and prevention, and
recognizing tactics used by traffickers to recruit victims through
social media, gaming platforms, and any other digital spaces.
C. Final determination of the materials created and produced by
the Human Trafficking Response Unit to be used and the means of
implementation of the curriculum shall be made by the Director of
the Human Trafficking Response Unit.
D. The Human Trafficking Response Unit shall promulgate rules
to implement the provisions of the Human Trafficking Awareness and
Education Program.
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 21 O.S. 2021, Section 748.2, as
amended by Section 2, Chapter 20, O.S.L. 2022 (21 O.S. Supp. 2024,
Section 748.2), is amended to read as follows:
Section 748.2. A. Human trafficking victims shall:
1. Be housed in an appropriate shelter as soon as practicable;
2. Not be detained in facilities inappropriate to their status
as crime victims;
ENR. H. B. NO. 1886 Page 7
3. Not be jailed, fined, or otherwise penalized due to having
been trafficked;
4. Receive prompt medical care, mental health care, including
counseling services and rehabilitation services, food, resources for
safe housing, and other assistance, as necessary;
5. Have access to legal assistance, information about their
rights, and translation services, as necessary; and
6. Be provided protection if the safety of the victim is at
risk or if there is a danger of additional harm by recapture of the
victim by a trafficker, including:
a. taking measures to protect trafficked persons and
their family members from intimidation and threats of
reprisals, and
b. ensuring that the names and identifying information of
trafficked persons and their family members are not
disclosed to the public;
7. Be treated with fairness and respect for the safety,
dignity, and privacy of the victim and treated as a true crime
victim rather than a defendant in a criminal case;
8. Be informed of financial assistance and other social
services as a result of being a human trafficking victim; and
9. Be informed in writing of all constitutional and statutory
rights, as provided for in the provisions of the Oklahoma Victim's
Rights Act.
B. Any person aggrieved by a violation of subsection B of
Section 748 of this title may bring a civil action against the
person or persons who committed the violation to recover actual and
punitive damages and reasonable attorney fees and costs. The civil
action brought under this section may be instituted in the district
court in this state in the county in which the prospective defendant
resides or has committed any act which subjects him or her to
liability under this section. A criminal case or prosecution is not
a necessary precedent to the civil action. The statute of
limitations for the cause of action shall not commence until the
latter of the victim's emancipation from the defendant, the victim's
twenty-first birthday, or the plaintiff discovers or reasonably
ENR. H. B. NO. 1886 Page 8
should have discovered that he or she was a victim of human
trafficking and that the defendant caused, was responsible for or
profited from the human trafficking.
C. Upon availability of funds, the Attorney General is
authorized to establish an emergency hotline number for victims of
human trafficking to call in order to request assistance or rescue.
The Attorney General is authorized to enter into agreements with the
county departments of health to require posting of the rights
contained in this section along with the hotline number for
publication in locations as directed by the State Department of
Health.
D. Any peace officer who comes in contact with a human
trafficking victim shall inform the victim of the human trafficking
emergency hotline number and give notice to the victim of certain
rights. The notice shall consist of handing the victim a written
statement of the rights provided for in subsection A of this
section.
E. 1. Any peace officer or employee of a district court,
juvenile bureau or Office of Juvenile Affairs who has reasonable
suspicion that a minor may be a victim of human trafficking and is
in need of immediate protection shall assume protective custody over
the minor and immediately notify the Department of Human Services.
The minor shall be transferred to the emergency custody of the
Department pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-4-201 of Title
10A of the Oklahoma Statutes. While in custody of the Department,
the minor shall be provided with any necessary emergency social
services which include, but shall not be limited to, medical
examination or treatment, or a mental health assessment.
Law enforcement and the Department of Human Services shall
conduct a joint investigation into the claim.
The minor shall remain in the custody of the Department of Human
Services until the investigation has been completed, but for no
longer than two (2) judicial days, for the show-cause hearing. The
Department may release the minor to the custody of a parent or legal
guardian if it determines the minor will not be subject to further
exploitation. If no such determination is made, the minor shall be
subject to the deprived child provisions of the Oklahoma Children's
Code and made eligible for appropriate child welfare services.
ENR. H. B. NO. 1886 Page 9
2. The minor shall not be subject to juvenile delinquency
proceedings or child-in-need-of-supervision proceedings for
prostitution offenses or misdemeanor or nonviolent felony offenses
committed as a result of being a victim of human trafficking.
SECTION 5. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
ENR. H. B. NO. 1886 Page 10
Passed the House of Representatives the 21st day of May, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the 30th day of April, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________