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Committee advances bill allowing AG to lead some human trafficking prosecutions
Summary
The committee unanimously recommended House Bill 518 to the floor after law-enforcement and victim-advocate testimony urging statewide coordination for multi-jurisdictional human trafficking cases; the Attorney Generals office said it is neutral on the bill as written because of resource and jurisdictional concerns.
Chairman Scogg introduced House Bill 518 as a tool to allow, at the Attorney General's discretion and on request, the state to take the lead on human trafficking prosecutions that cross counties. "This allows law enforcement to bring their investigations of human trafficking directly to the Attorney General's office to say, would you please investigate this or look at this," the sponsor said, framing the bill as a way to centralize complex, multi-jurisdictional investigations.
Multiple law-enforcement witnesses described trafficking as organized and transient and urged a statewide prosecutorial option. Lieutenant Jason Kimball of the Nampa Police Department said the bill is a "force multiplier," enabling local agencies to access the AG's specialized resources. "We need every tool available to protect the vulnerable people in our community and hold traffickers accountable," Kimball said.
Several victim-service providers and local prosecutors also testified. Jeanne Strohmeyer of the Nampa Family Justice Center urged a victim-centered approach, citing provisions for ongoing training for victim advocates. Randy Neal, Bonneville County prosecuting attorney, described the administrative burdens in multi-county investigations and said the state-level option could expedite prosecutions.
A representative of the Attorney General's office, Jeff Nye, said the office is neutral on the bill but warned it would likely need additional resources and broader jurisdictional authority to exercise the role effectively. "This bill as written would give our office only jurisdiction over the crime of human trafficking," Nye said, noting that trafficking prosecutions often include multiple related felonies and that the fiscal note currently supplies no new staff.
Representative Scott moved to send H518 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation. The committee recorded a unanimous roll-call vote (15 yes, 0 no). The bill will go to the full House for further consideration.
