Greetings from the NAHT. Maggie Tinsman is the chair of our legislative advocacy committee and has asked that we ask all of our allies and advocates to please read this request for action on House File 2464.
Last month House File 2464 was passed by the Iowa House of Representatives on a vote of 95-1. Senators then moved the bill through their judiciary committee while simultaneously noting the bill would not move forward to a full chamber vote in its current form due to concerns brought forward by the Department of Public Safety. The Network Against Human Trafficking offered the attached amendment language to address those concerns.
ACTION ALERT
Please Take Action:
- Contact your senator.
- Ask them to support this legislation when it comes to the floor
- Ask them to urge Senator Brad Zaun and Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver to move the bill to the Senate floor.
- Contact Senator Brad Zaun and Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver ask them to move the bill to the Senator floor.
The end of the legislative session is quickly approaching, so time is of the essence! Identify your Senator here.
Key Talking Points to Senators:
- HF 2464 will prohibit the criminalization of survivors under 18 for prostitution and other offenses, ensuring they cannot be arrested, detained, or prosecuted for such offenses.
- To prevent the harmful and re-traumatizing effects of arrest and prosecution for crimes committed while they were trafficked, Iowa must enact comprehensive non-criminalization laws.
- Rather than being arrested for certain crimes committed while a victim of human trafficking, this legislative will allow police officers to take children into temporary custody as a child in need of assistance and direct them to the Department of Human Services for victim assistance.
- Sex trafficked youth are commonly compelled to commit juvenile and criminal offenses during their victimization. Criminal and juvenile records present detrimental challenges to the restoration and healing process for survivors of sex trafficking and exploitation.
- Juvenile records may result in school expulsion, denial of professional licenses, and denial of access to public benefits. Criminal records hinder survivors from obtaining employment, securing safe housing, taking out loans, and seeking education.
- These collateral consequences result in further victimization, including psychological harm, that may hinder a survivor’s ability to rebuild their path into society.
- 31 states have already passed Safe Harbor laws including Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and North Dakota. Iowa must join this list!
- No group is registered in opposition to the bill.
The proposed amendment would make the following changes to HF 2464:
- Remove Section 1 to omit changes to the child abuse definition: this was added by the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) without our recommendation and from our perspective can be stricken.
- Strengthen language tying a criminal offense to a victim’s human trafficking: recommended by DPS.
- Implement a delayed effective date: Other states have used this approach.
- Require the Department of Human Services, the Department of Public Safety, and the Attorney General’s office to jointly develop best practices for a youth safe harbor policy to be implemented.
The NAHT thanks you for your continued support to implement positive legislation for the survivors of human trafficking. Let’s move this bill to the Senate floor!