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Committee backs sending to floor a bill allowing AG to accept human-trafficking referrals
Summary
House Bill 518 would allow the Attorney General to accept investigations and prosecute human-trafficking cases at the request of local law enforcement; the Judiciary & Rules Committee voted to send the bill to the floor with a due-pass recommendation after supportive testimony from prosecutors and police.
Representative Bruce Skogg (District 10) presented House Bill 518, saying it would grant the Attorney General authority to accept law-enforcement referrals and prosecute human-trafficking cases that span counties or states. "It grants the Attorney General the ability to accept investigations and prosecute human trafficking cases if asked by law enforcement," Skogg said, noting many trafficking cases are complex and interjurisdictional.
Multiple witnesses urged support. Robert Gillis (Idaho Tough on Crime) described the benefits of specialized prosecutors and referenced Los Angeles County's dedicated unit as a model. Lt. Jason Kimball of the Nampa Police Department told the committee local detectives frequently hit jurisdictional walls in multi-county trafficking investigations and said an AG-led centralized option would preserve momentum in complex probes. The committee voted by voice to send HB 518 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation.
