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A BILL to amend and reenact §§
9.1-116.4
and
9.1-116.5
of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
9.1-116.5:1
, relating to human trafficking digital identification and reporting platforms; duties of Human Trafficking Response Coordinator; quarterly reports.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§
9.1-116.4
and
9.1-116.5
of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
9.1-116.5:1
as follows:
§
9.1-116.4
. Virginia Prevention of Sex Trafficking Fund; purpose; guidelines.
A. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Virginia Prevention of Sex Trafficking Fund (the Fund). The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All moneys accruing to the Fund shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used for the purpose of
(i)
promoting prevention and awareness of sex trafficking
and (ii) implementing and sustaining
any
digi
tal identification and reporting platform
utilize
d pursuant
to §
9.1-116.5
:1
. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by the Director of the Department.
B. The Fund shall be administered by the Department, and the Department shall adopt guidelines to make funds available to agencies of the state and local governments for the purpose of
(i)
promoting awareness of and preventative training and education related to sex trafficking
and (ii) providing funds to the administering organization
as defined in §
9.1-116.5:1
and
for technology development, maintenance and integration costs, training materials, workshops and online modules, salaries and operational expenses for statewide and field coordinators
as defined in
§
9.1-116.5:1
, and independent evaluations. The Department is authorized to seek federal grants, private donations, and partnerships to supplement state appropriations
.
§
9.1-116.5
. Human Trafficking Response Coordinator; duties; report.
A. There is established within the Department a Human Trafficking Response Coordinator (the Coordinator). The Coordinator shall:
1. Create a statewide plan for local and state agencies to identify and respond to victims of human trafficking;
2. Coordinate the development of standards and guidelines for treatment programs for victims of human trafficking;
3. Maintain a list of programs that provide treatment or specialized services to victims of human trafficking and make such list available to law-enforcement agencies, attorneys for the Commonwealth, crime victim and witness assistance programs, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Social Services, the Department of Education, and school divisions;
4. Oversee the development of a curriculum to be completed by persons convicted of solicitation of prostitution under §
18.2-346.01
;
and
5. Promote strategies for the education, training, and awareness of human trafficking and for the reduction of demand for commercial sex
;
6. Consult with the administering organization and relevant state agencies to certify one or more digital identification and reporting platforms
utilized
pursuant to §
9.1-116.5:1
;
7.
Enter into an agreement with any administering organization to provide statewide training on the use of the digital identification and reporting platform
s
, as defined in §
9.1-116.5:1
. Such training shall include trauma-informed response, legal obligations, privacy protocols, and integration with existing systems
; and
8.
D
evelop a public awareness campaign to inform residents, mandated reporters
as defined in §
9.1-116.5:1
, and professionals of the availability and purpose
of the digital identification
and
reporting platforms
utilized
pursuant to §
9.1-116.5:1
. The Coordinator shall direct all state agencies and local governments to display signage containing a QR code, as defined in §
23.1-802.1
, or web address for
such
platform
certified by him
in locations frequently accessed by the public, including schools, healthcare facilities, transit centers, hotels, and airports
.
B. The Coordinator may request and shall receive from every department, division, board, bureau, commission, authority, or other agency created by the Commonwealth, or to which the Commonwealth is a party or any political subdivision thereof, cooperation and assistance in the performance of its duties. The Coordinator may also consult and exchange information with local government agencies and interested stakeholders.
C. The Coordinator shall report annually on or before October 1 to the Governor and the General Assembly. The report shall include a summary of activities for the year and any recommendations to address human trafficking within the Commonwealth. The Department shall ensure that such report is available to the public.
§
9.1-116.5:1
. Human
t
rafficking
d
igital
i
dentification
and
r
eporting
p
latforms
.
A. As used in this section:
"Administering organization" means a nonprofit organization experienced in human
trafficking prevention and support
ing victims of human trafficking
that has developed or administers a digital identification and reporting platform.
"Coordinator" means the Human Trafficking Response Coordinator established pursuant to §
9.1-116.5
.
"Digital identification and reporting platform" means a secure, trauma-informed technology platform compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) that
is certified by the Coordinator pursuant to §
9.1-116.5
and
(i) provides multi-channel access for the public and professionals, including
through
mobile application, web portal, SMS,
and
voice and live chat; (ii) guides users through structured questions to identify indicators of trafficking and enables users to upload supporting evidence; (iii) allows reporters to remain anonymous and uses consent-based controls over personally identifiable information; (iv) utilizes a risk model or similar decision-support system to triage reports based on severity and credibility and to push notifications to authorized investigative agencies; (v) routes high-priority reports in real time to the appropriate law-enforcement agency, child-protection agency, or vetted service provider based on jurisdiction; (vi) provides secure dashboards for authorized agencies to view, manage, and respond to reports, with role-based access controls and audit logging; (vii) is interoperable with the National Human Trafficking Hotline, state child-welfare systems, law-enforcement case-management systems, and other relevant platforms through standardized application programming interfaces; and (viii) complies with all applicable federal and state privacy laws, including HIPAA and the Criminal Justice Information Services security policy.
"Field coordinator" means a staff position within
an
administering organization that serves under the statewide coordinator to assist with regional training, outreach, and implementation. A field coordinator is not a state employee and shall not be hired, compensated, or granted benefits through state employment systems.
"Mandated reporter" means any individual, including teachers, healthcare professionals, law-enforcement personnel, and social workers, required by law to report suspected abuse, exploitation, or trafficking of a
vulnerable adult, as defined in §
18.2-369
, or
a
minor.
"Statewide coordinator" means a staff position within
an
administering organization
that
is
employed by or under contract with
an
administering organization
,
designated by
such
organization
,
and approved by the Department to oversee implementation of
a
digital identification and reporting platform, coordinate training and outreach, and serve as a liaison among agencies and
such
administering organization. The statewide coordinator is not a position within state government and shall not be filled by or paid through state employment systems.
"Victim of human trafficking" means the same as that term is defined
in §
19.2-327.15
.
B.
1.
A digital identification
and
reporting platform shall
:
a
. I
ssue push notifications of high-priority reports to designated law
-
enforcement and child-protection officials
;
b
. P
rovide a secure dashboard for authorized personnel
to
view, triage, and
respond
to reports
of suspected human trafficking
.
Such
platform shall support real-time communication between investigators and
victims of human trafficking
or
mandated
reporters, subject to consent
;
c
. F
acilitate referrals to the National
Human
Trafficking
Hotline for crisis support, as appropriate
;
d
. Utilize
encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access controls, audit logging, and consent-based data sharing
;
e
. Allow mandated
reporters to remain anonymous or provide contact information;
and
f
. Log all user actions, which shall be subject to audit. However, data collected through the platform shall be retained for no more than five years and then automatically purged unless otherwise required by state or federal law.
2. A digital identification and reporting platform shall not:
a
. S
hare
personal data
with law
enforcement or
any
agenc
y
without
a
mandated
reporter's consent, except where
required
by law, including cases involving minors
;
or
b
.
P
ermit downloading, printing, or copying of data outside the
platform
.
C
.
Any agency or mandated reporter may use a digital
identification and reporting
platform as the primary mechanism for reporting suspected human trafficking while retaining the ability to utilize the National Human Trafficking Hotline or any other mandated reporting channels.
D
.
The administering organization shall employ or contract with a statewide coordinator
who
shall be responsible for (i) overseeing implementation of the
digital identification and reporting
platform across agencies and jurisdictions; (ii) coordinating training and outreach for mandated reporters, law
enforcement, and service providers; (iii) facilitating interoperability between
such
platform and state or local systems, including the National Human Trafficking Hotline; (iv) monitoring performance metrics and reporting outcomes to the Coordinator and the General Assembly; and (v) assisting in the designation and oversight of field coordinators.
An administering organization may use
funds
available
pursuant to §
9.1-116.4
to fulfill such responsibilities.
The administering organization may employ or contract with field coordinators to support implementation
of a digital
identification and reporting platform
in
a
specific region
, and such f
ield coordinators shall report to the statewide coordinator.
E
. The administering organization shall submit quarterly performance reports to the Coordinator and the General Assembly.
Such
quarterly
reports shall include (i) the number o
f
reports submitted
to the digital identification and reporting platform,
classifi
ed
by risk level; (ii) the number of reports
submitted to the digital identification and reporting platform
routed to law
enforcement
or any
other
agency
; (iii) the time from submission
of a report to the digital identification and reporting platform
to action by investigating agencies; (iv) the number of
victims of human trafficking
connected to services; (v)
any
training and outreach activities completed; and (vi)
all
operational issues, privacy incidents, or system enhancements
such organization has for the digital identification and reporting platform
, if any
.
F
. Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede or replace existing emergency services or the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Individuals in immediate danger shall continue to call 9-1-1, and the National
Human Trafficking
Hotline shall remain available for crisis assistance and referrals.
A
digital
identification and repor
ting
platform shall serve as a complementary tool for identification, triage, and reporting
of suspected human trafficking
.
2. That the provisions of this act are subject to the availability of funds appropriated for such purposes.