House Judiciary’s changes to exploitation statutes move forward to third reading

The House took up House Bill 694, which Judiciary described as a package to clarify and consolidate existing 'exploitation' offenses in the criminal code.

Representative Oliver (member from Sheldon) explained that H.694 addresses three related statutes by including both a definition of a 'penetrative' act and a broader definition of 'conduct' that captures nonpenetrative exploitative behavior. The bill extends prohibitions to persons in positions of power over others — including Department of Corrections supervision situations, caretakers and professionals with responsibility for minors (noting a four-year age differential where a position of power exists), and law-enforcement detentions — to ensure consistent coverage across statutory sections.

Representative Oliver listed witnesses who testified to the Judiciary Committee, including department counsel and victim-protection advocates. The committee reported favorably (the transcript records a committee vote of 11–0) and the House approved the committee's recommended amendments by voice vote; third reading was ordered.

What happens next: H.694 has been amended as recommended and is set for third reading on a future floor calendar.

Quotation: “Your House Judiciary Committee believes it is important to reference both of these terms and their definitions in order to ensure that we capture the type of [redacted] activity we believe these statutes should cover,” Representative Oliver said (transcript contains redactions for certain terms).