IF YOU ARE A RESIDENT OF TEXAS, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND STATE SENATOR AND URGE THEM TO SUPPORT HUMAN TRAFFICKING BILLS S.B. 1212 AND H.B. 3231

Urgent action needed: Support for Human Trafficking legislation

 

By Corky Schalchlin

 

Texas Narcotic Officers Association

May 8, 2025

 

 

 

We are reaching out today to urge your support for two critical bills that would significantly strengthen Texas’s response to human trafficking—Senate Bill 1212 and House Bill 3231.

As narcotics officers and law enforcement professionals, many of us have witnessed firsthand the connection between human trafficking, organized crime, and the drug trade. Unfortunately, under current Texas law, human trafficking is still classified as a second-degree felony in most cases—unless committed in certain locations or resulting in death. This allows predators to exploit legal loopholes, secure plea deals, and often avoid meaningful punishment.

As one law enforcement leader put it:

“These criminal networks and cartels are trafficking women and children while laundering drug money across Texas. They are sophisticated, strategic, and they know our penal code better than some of our legislators.”

S.B. 1212 and H.B. 3231 are urgently needed to:

• Reclassify human trafficking as a first-degree felony statewide
• Eliminate location-based loopholes
• Provide stronger sentencing tools to law enforcement and prosecutors
• Ensure the rape and sale of children are never treated as second-tier crimes

 These bills have the strong support of law enforcement associations across the state, including:

• The Sheriff’s Association of Texas
• The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT)
• The Texas Police Chiefs Association
• The Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA)
• The Harris County Deputies Organization, FOP Lodge #39

Please contact your State Senator and Representative and urge them to co-author these bills. Most urgently, we ask that you contact Chairman John Smithee and the House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee to move this legislation out of committee without delay.

This is about protecting Texans, holding traffickers accountable, and delivering justice for survivors. Every day this bill sits in committee is another day predators continue to operate without fear of serious consequences.