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House passes changes to human-trafficking law, adds pathway for victims to vacate convictions
Summary
Lawmakers unanimously approved a substitute bill expanding trafficking elements, allowing courts to subpoena certain digital data and giving trafficking victims a pathway to challenge prior convictions under the Post Conviction Remedies Act. Sponsor said the bill targets coercion and dependent relationships used by traffickers.
The Utah House passed a substituted version of House Bill 274 on March 1 that expands the state’s human-trafficking statutes and creates a route for some trafficking victims to challenge prior convictions.
"Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery that involves either the use of force, fraud, or coercion to exploit a person," Representative Romero said in presenting the bill, outlining changes that clarify subcategories of force, fraud and coercion and add a subcategory that addresses exploitation of dependency relationships. He also said the bill allows law-enforcement officials to seek judicial subpoenas for third-party digital data in specified trafficking investigations.
Representative Christiansen asked whether the bill’s vacatur provisions would allow a person previously convicted of trafficking to vacate a conviction. Romero responded that the measure is intended to provide relief to trafficking victims who were prosecuted for conduct that resulted from force, fraud or coercion and who can show they were victims rather than perpetrators.
The House opened and closed the vote; the fourth substitute of HB274 passed 73–0 and will be sent to the Senate for further consideration. The sponsor said the bill was developed in consultation with the attorney general’s office.
