South Carolina Legislature MobileReference is to the bill as introduced.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all before and after the enacting words and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Chapter 3, Title 16 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 16-3-2010. (A)
As used in this article:
(1)
'Business' means a corporation, partnership,
proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, organization, or
self-employed individual.
(2)
'Charitable organization' means a 'charitable
organization' pursuant to section 33-56-20.
(3)
'Debt bondage' means the status or
condition of a debtor arising from a pledge by the debtor of his
personal services or those of a person under his 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 or if the principal amount of the debt does
not reasonably reflect the value of the items or services for
which the debt was incurred.
(4)
'Forced labor' means any type of labor or services
performed or provided by a person rendered through another
person's coercion of the person providing the labor or
services.
This definition does not include labor or
services performed or provided by a person in the custody of the
Department of Corrections or a local jail, detention center, or
correctional facility.
(5)
'Involuntary servitude' means a condition of servitude
induced through coercion.
(6)
'Person' means an individual, corporation, partnership,
charitable organization, or another legal entity.
(7)
'Sex trafficking' means the recruitment, harboring,
transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for one of
the following when it is induced by force, fraud, or coercion or
the person forced to perform the act is under the age of
eighteen years and anything of value is given, promised to, or
received, directly or indirectly, by another person:
(a)
criminal sexual conduct pursuant to section 16-3-651;
(b)
criminal sexual conduct in the first degree pursuant to
section 16-3-652;
(c)
criminal sexual conduct in the second degree pursuant to
section 16-3-653;
(d)
criminal sexual conduct in the third degree pursuant to
section 16-3-654;
(e)
criminal sexual conduct with a minor pursuant to section
16-3-655;
(f)
engaging a child for sexual performance pursuant to
section 16-3-810;
(g)
performance pursuant to section 16-3-800;
(h)
producing, directing or promoting sexual performance by a
child pursuant to section 16-3-820;
(i)
sexual battery pursuant to section 16-3-661;
(j)
sexual conduct pursuant to section 16-3-800; or
(k)
sexual performance pursuant to section 16-3-800.
(8)
'Services' means an act committed at the behest of, under
the supervision of, or for the benefit of another person.
(9)
'Trafficking in persons' means when a victim is subjected
to or a person attempts to subject a victim to sex trafficking;
forced labor or services; involuntary servitude; or debt bondage
by employing one of the following:
(a)
physically restraining or threatening to physically
restrain another person;
(b)
knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating,
or possessing an actual or purported passport or other
immigration document, or another actual or purported government
identification document, of the victim;
(c)
extortion or blackmail;
(d)
causing or threatening to cause financial harm to the
victim;
(e)
facilitating or controlling a victim's access to a
controlled substance; or
(f)
coercion.
Section 16-3-2020.
(A) A person who
recruits, entices, solicits, isolates, harbors, transports,
provides, or obtains, or so attempts, a victim, knowing that the
victim will be subjected to sex trafficking, forced labor or
services, involuntary servitude or debt bondage through any
means or who benefits, financially or by receiving anything of
value, from participation in a venture which has engaged in an
act described in this subsection, is guilty of trafficking in
persons.
(B) A person who
recruits, entices, solicits, isolates, harbors, transports,
provides, or obtains, or so attempts, a victim, for the purposes
sex trafficking, forced labor or services, involuntary servitude
or debt bondage through any means or who benefits, financially
or by receiving anything of value, from participation in a
venture which has engaged in an act described in subsection (A),
is guilty of trafficking in persons.
(C) For a first
offense, the person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction,
must be imprisoned not more than fifteen years.
(D) For a second
offense, the person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction,
must be imprisoned not more than thirty years.
(E) For a third or
subsequent offense, the person is guilty of a felony and upon
conviction, must be imprisoned not more than forty-five
years.
(F) If the victim of an
offense contained in this section is under the age of eighteen,
an additional term of fifteen years may be imposed in addition
and must be consecutive to the penalty prescribed for a
violation of this section.
(G) A person who aids,
abets, or conspires with another person to violate the criminal
provisions of this section must be punished in the same manner
as provided for the principal offender and is considered a
trafficker.
(H) A business owner
who uses his business in a way that participates in a violation
of this article, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not
more than ten years in addition to the penalties provided in
this section for each violation.
(I) A plea of guilty or
the legal equivalent entered pursuant to a provision of this
article by an offender entitles the victim of trafficking in
persons to all benefits, rights, and compensation granted
pursuant to Section 16-3-1110.
(J) In a prosecution of
a person who is a victim of trafficking in persons, it is an
affirmative defense that he was under duress or coerced into
committing the offenses for which he is subject to prosecution,
if the offenses were committed as a direct result of, or
incidental or related to, trafficking.
(K) Evidence of the
following facts or conditions do not constitute a defense in a
prosecution for a violation of this article, nor does the
evidence preclude a finding of a violation:
(1)
the victim's sexual history or history of commercial
sexual activity, the specific instances of the victim's sexual
conduct, opinion evidence of the victim's sexual conduct, and
reputation evidence of the victim's sexual conduct;
(2)
the victim's connection by blood or marriage to a
defendant in the case or to anyone involved in the victim's
trafficking;
(3)
the implied or express consent of a victim to acts which
violate the provisions of this section do not constitute a
defense to violations of this section;
(4)
age of consent to sex, legal age of marriage, or other
discretionary age; and
(5)
mistake as to the victim's age, even if the mistake is
reasonable.
(L) A person who
violates the provisions of this section may be prosecuted by the
State Grand Jury pursuant to section 14-7-1600 when a victim is
trafficked in more than one county or a trafficker commits the
offense of trafficking in persons in more than one county.
Section 16-3-2030.
(A) The principal owners
of a business, a business entity, including a corporation,
partnership, charitable organization, or another legal entity,
that knowingly aids or participates in an offense provided in
this article is criminally liable for the offense and will be
subject to a fine or loss of business license in the State, or
both.
(B) If the principal
owners of a business entity are convicted of violating a section
of this article, the court or Secretary of State, when
appropriate, may:
(1)
order its dissolution or reorganization;
(2)
order the suspension or revocation of any license, permit,
or prior approval granted to it by a state or local government
agency; or
(3)
order the surrender of its charter if it is organized
under state law or the revocation of its certificate to conduct
business in the State if it is not organized under state law.
Section 16-3-2040.
(A) An offender
convicted of a violation of this article must be ordered to pay
mandatory restitution to the victim as provided in this section.
(B) If the victim of
trafficking dies as a result of being trafficked, a surviving
spouse of the victim is eligible for restitution. If no
surviving spouse exists, restitution must be paid to the
victim's issue or their descendants per stirpes. If no
surviving spouse or issue or descendants exist, restitution must
be paid to the victim's estate. A person named in this
subsection may not receive funds from restitution if he
benefited or engaged in conduct described in this article.
(C) If a person is
unable to pay restitution at the time of sentencing, or at any
other time, the court may set restitution pursuant to section
16-3-1270.
(D) Restitution for
this section, pursuant to Section 16-3-1270, means payment for
all injuries, specific losses, and expenses sustained by a crime
victim resulting from an offender's criminal conduct pursuant to
section 16-3-1110 (12)(a).
(E) Notwithstanding
another provision of law, the applicable statute of limitations
for a victim of trafficking in persons is pursuant to section
16-3-1110 12(a).
(F) Restitution must be
paid to the victim promptly upon the conviction of the
defendant. The return of the victim to his home country or
other absence of the victim from the jurisdiction does not
prevent the victim from receiving restitution.
Section 16-3-2050.
(A) The Attorney General
shall establish an interagency task force to develop and
implement a State Plan for the Prevention of Trafficking in
Persons. The task force shall meet at least quarterly and
should include all aspects of trafficking in persons, including
sex trafficking and labor trafficking of both United States
citizens and foreign nationals, as defined in Section 16-3-2010.
The Attorney General also shall collect and publish relevant
data to this section on their website.
(B) The task force
shall consist of, at a minimum, representatives from:
(1)
the Office of the Attorney General, who must be Chair;
(2)
the South Carolina Labor, Licensing and Regulation;
(3)
the South Carolina Police Chiefs Association;
(4)
the South Carolina Sheriffs' Association;
(5)
the State Law Enforcement Division;
(6)
the Department of Health and Environmental Control
Board;
(7)
the United States Department of Labor;
(8)
the State Office of Victim Assistance;
(9)
the South Carolina Commission on Prosecution
Coordination;
(10)
the Department of Social Services;
(11)
a representative from the Governor's office
(12)
a representative from the Employment Security Commission;
and
(13)
two persons appointed by the Attorney General from
nongovernmental organizations, especially those specializing in
trafficking in persons, those representing diverse communities
disproportionately affected by trafficking, agencies devoted to
child services and runaway services, and academic researchers
dedicated to the subject of trafficking in persons.
(C) The Attorney
General shall invite representatives of the United States
Attorneys' offices and of federal law enforcement agencies'
offices within the State, including the Federal Bureau of
Investigations and the United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement office, to be members of the task force.
(D) The task force
shall carry out the following activities either directly or
through one or more of its constituent agencies:
(1)
develop the state plan within eighteen months of the
effective date of this act;
(2)
coordinate the implementation of the state plan; and
(3)
starting one year after the formation after the task
force, submit an annual report of its findings and
recommendations to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, and the President of the Senate on or before
December thirty-first of each calendar year.
(E) The task force
shall consider carrying out the following activities either
directly or through one or more of its constituent agencies:
(1)
coordinate the collection and sharing of trafficking data
among government agencies, which data collection must respect
the privacy of victims of trafficking in persons;
(2)
coordinate the sharing of information between agencies for
the purposes of detecting criminal groups engaged in trafficking
in persons;
(3)
explore the establishment of state policies for time
limits for the issuance of Law Enforcement Agency (LEA)
endorsements as described in C.F.R. Chapter 8, Section
214.11(f)(1);
(4)
establish policies to enable state government to work with
nongovernmental organizations and other elements of civil
society to prevent trafficking in persons and provide assistance
to United States citizens and foreign national victims;
(5)
review the existing services and facilities to meet
trafficking victims' needs and recommend a system to coordinate
services including, but not limited to, health services,
including mental health, housing, education and job training,
English as a second language classes, interpreting services,
legal and immigration services, and victim compensation;
(6)
evaluate various approaches used by state and local
governments to increase public awareness of the trafficking in
persons, including United States citizens and foreign national
victims of trafficking in persons;
(7)
mandatory training for law enforcement agencies,
prosecutors, and other relevant officials in addressing
trafficking in persons;
(8)
collect and periodically publish statistical data on
trafficking, that must be posted on the Attorney General's
website;
(9)
prepare public awareness programs designed to educate
potential victims of trafficking in persons and their families
on the risks of victimization. These public awareness programs
must include, but are not limited to:
(a)
information about the risks of becoming a victim,
including information about common recruitment techniques, use
of debt bondage, and other coercive tactics, risk of
maltreatment, rape, exposure to HIV or AIDS and other sexually
transmitted diseases, and psychological harm related to
victimization in trafficking cases;
(b)
information about the risks of engaging in commercial sex
and possible punishment;
(c)
information about victims' rights in the State;
(d)
methods for reporting suspected recruitment activities;
and
(e)
information on hotlines and available victims' services;
and
(10)
preparation and dissemination of awareness materials to
the general public to educate the public on the extent of
trafficking in persons, both United States citizens and foreign
nationals, within the United States and to discourage the demand
that fosters the exploitation of persons that leads to
trafficking in persons.
(a)
The general public awareness materials may include
information on the impact of trafficking on individual victims,
whether United States citizens or foreign nationals, aggregate
information on trafficking in persons worldwide and
domestically, and warnings of the criminal consequences of
engaging in trafficking in persons. These materials may include
pamphlets, brochures, posters, advertisements in mass media, and
other appropriate media. All materials must be designed to
communicate to the target population.
(b)
Materials described in this section may include
information on the impact of trafficking in persons on
individual victims. However, information on the experiences of
individual victims must preserve the privacy of the victim and
the victim's family.
(c)
All public awareness programs must be evaluated
periodically by the task force to ensure their effectiveness.
Section 16-3-2060.
(A) A person who is a
victim of trafficking in persons may bring a civil action in the
court of common pleas. The court may award actual damages,
compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, and
other appropriate relief. A prevailing plaintiff also must be
awarded attorney's fees and costs. Treble damages must be
awarded on proof of actual damages when the defendant's acts
were wilful and malicious.
(B) Pursuant to Section
16-3-1110, the applicable statute of limitations for a crime
victim who has a cause of action against an incarcerated
offender is tolled and does not expire until three years after
the offender's sentence is completed, including probation and
parole, or three years after release from commitment pursuant to
Chapter 48, Title 44, whichever is later. However, this
provision does not shorten any other tolling period of the
statute of limitations which may exist for the victim.
(C) The statute of
limitations for the filing of a civil suit does not begin to run
until a minor victim has reached the age of majority.
(D) If a victim
entitled to sue is under a disability at the time the cause of
action accrues, so that it is impossible or impractical for him
to bring an action, then the time of the disability is not part
of the time limited for the commencement of the action.
Disability includes, but is not limited to, insanity,
imprisonment, or other incapacity or incompetence.
(E) The running of the
statute of limitations may be suspended when a victim could not
have reasonably discovered the cause of action due to
circumstances resulting from the trafficking situation, such as
psychological trauma, cultural and linguistic isolation, and the
inability to access services.
(F) A defendant is
estopped to assert a defense of the statute of limitations when
the expiration of the statute is due to conduct by the defendant
inducing the victim to delay the filing of the action or placing
the victim under duress.
Section 16-3-2070.
(A) Victims of
trafficking in persons pursuant to this article are considered
victims for purposes of the Victims' Bill of Rights and are
entitled to all appropriate forms of compensation available
pursuant to the State Crime Victim's Compensation Fund in
accordance with the provisions of Article 13, Chapter 3, Title
16. Victims of trafficking in persons pursuant to this article
also are entitled to the rights provided in Article 15, Chapter
3, Title 16.
(B) In addition to the
provisions of subsection (A), in a prosecution for violations of
the criminal provisions of this article, the identity of the
victim and the victim's family must be kept confidential by
ensuring that names and identifying information of the victim
and victim's family are not released to the public, including by
the defendant.
(C) Pursuant to Section
16-3-1240, it is unlawful, except for purposes directly
connected with the administration of the victim's compensation
fund, for any person to solicit, disclose, receive, or make use
of or authorize, knowingly permit, participate in or acquiesce
in the use of any list, or names of, or information concerning
persons applying for or receiving awards without the written
consent of the applicant or recipient. The records, papers,
files, and communications of the board, its panel and the
director and his staff must be regarded as confidential
information and privileged and not subject to disclosure under
the Freedom of Information Act as contained in Chapter 3, Title
30.
Section 16-3-2080.
(A) For purposes of this
section:
(1)
'Domestic violence shelter' means a facility whose purpose
is to serve as a shelter to receive and house persons who are
victims of criminal domestic violence and that provides services
as a shelter.
(2)
'Trafficking shelter' means a confidential location which
provides emergency housing for victims of trafficking in
persons.
(3)
'Grounds' means the real property of the parcel of land
upon which a domestic violence or trafficking shelter or a
domestic violence or trafficking shelter's administrative
offices are located, whether fenced or unfenced.
(B) A person who
maliciously or with criminal negligence publishes, disseminates,
or otherwise discloses the location of a trafficking victim, a
trafficking shelter, a domestic violence shelter, or another
place designated as a trafficking shelter or domestic violence
shelter, without the authorization of that trafficking victim,
trafficking shelter, or domestic violence shelter, is guilty of
a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more
than three years.
(C) It is unlawful for
a person who has been charged with or convicted of a violation
of Section 16-3-2020 to enter or remain upon the grounds or
structure of a domestic violence or trafficking shelter in which
the victim resides or the domestic violence shelter's
administrative offices or the trafficking shelter's
administrative offices.
(D) The domestic
violence shelter and trafficking shelter must post signs at
conspicuous places on the grounds of the domestic violence
shelter, trafficking shelter, the domestic violence shelter's
administrative offices, and the trafficking shelter's
administrative offices which, at a minimum, must read
substantially as follows: 'NO TRESPASSING - VIOLATORS WILL BE
SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PENALTIES'.
(F) A person who
violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction, must be fined not more than three thousand dollars
or imprisoned for not more than three years, or both. If the
person is in possession of a dangerous weapon at the time of the
violation, the person is guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or
imprisoned for not more than five years, or both."
SECTION 2. Section 16-3-930 of the 1976 Code is repealed.
SECTION 3. The repeal or amendment by this act of any law, whether temporary or permanent or civil or criminal, does not affect pending actions, rights, duties, or liabilities founded thereon, or alter, discharge, release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under the repealed or amended law, unless the repealed or amended provision shall so expressly provide. After the effective date of this act, all laws repealed or amended by this act must be taken and treated as remaining in full force and effect for the purpose of sustaining any pending or vested right, civil action, special proceeding, criminal prosecution, or appeal existing as of the effective date of this act, and for the enforcement of rights, duties, penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities as they stood under the repealed or amended laws.
SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.
SECTION 5. This act takes effect one hundred eighty days after approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.