Committee hears bill seeking stricter mandatory minimums for human trafficking offenses

The House Judiciary Committee opened testimony on House Bill 1361, which the clerk read as "a bill for an act to create and enact a new section to chapter 12.141 of the North Dakota Century Code relating to mandatory minimum sentences for human trafficking offenders and to provide a penalty."

Representative Johnston (District 24) told the committee he introduced the bill because he views human trafficking as an ‘‘epidemic’’ and said the bill’s mandatory minimums would send a deterrent message. Johnston described proposed minimums as follows: for a class B trafficking offense the minimum would be three years less than the maximum for that felony; for a class A offense the minimum would be five years less than the current maximum (20 years); and for a class ‘‘double A’’ offense the bill would set a…