HB609

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that sex trafficking is a pervasive problem that is part of the larger phenomenon of commercial sexual exploitation. A 2020 report by the Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research of Arizona State University and the Hawaii state commission on the status of women noted that sex trafficking victims have been found throughout Hawaii's urban and rural areas and include youth who attend school. The report also observed that the "lack of a general understanding of the scope and complexity of sex trafficking in Hawaii has allowed the victimization of Hawaii residents to continue". Similarly, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center observed that the widespread lack of awareness and understanding of human trafficking has resulted in low levels of survivor identification by the people who most often encounter them. Because trafficking occurs in legitimate business settings and residential neighborhoods in addition to underground markets, exploited or trafficked persons are often in plain view and interacting with unsuspecting community members.

The legislature also finds that the adverse impacts of sex trafficking are far-reaching and affect individuals, families, and communities. Further, traffickers may target school-aged children by having classmates or peers befriend the victim and lure the victim to parties and other activities. Traffickers also use social media platforms and websites to attract potential victims. However, victims are often reluctant to report their traffickers, who commonly employ tactics such as emotional manipulation and control, intimidation, threats, and deceit. In some cases, the trafficker may be a family member or romantic partner of the victim.

For these reasons, the legislature recognizes the urgent need for educational and outreach activities that will help to identify and prevent sex trafficking before it occurs.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to require:

(1) The posting of informational placards containing information on sex trafficking and resources available to sex trafficking victims in public buildings and at other specified locations;

(2) The department of education to provide training to teachers, school administrators, and other school personnel on the dynamics of sex trafficking and strategies for prevention and response; and

(3) The department of the attorney general to develop and implement a series of public education and outreach events on the dynamics of sex trafficking and the importance of community involvement in sex trafficking prevention and response efforts, and to appropriate moneys to the department for this purpose.

SECTION 2. Chapter 27, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part I to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§27- Sex trafficking prevention; posting of notice required. (a) Each of the locations specified below, upon the availability of the model placard described in subsection (c), shall have posted in a conspicuous place near the public entrance or in another conspicuous location in clear view of the public and employees, and in a place where similar notices are customarily posted, an informational placard that complies with the requirements of this section:

(1) All offices of state agencies under the executive, judicial, and legislative branches;

(2) All offices of county agencies;

(3) All school campuses under the jurisdiction of the department of education; and

(4) All offices and classrooms at each school campus in the university of Hawaii system.

(b) The informational placard required to be posted pursuant to subsection (a) shall be at least eight and one-half inches by eleven inches in size, written in a sixteen-point font or larger, and shall include:

(1) An explanation of sex trafficking and typical forms of sex trafficking;

(2) A statement that victims of sex trafficking are protected under federal and state law;

(3) Information on resources and support, including the National Human Trafficking Hotline; and

(4) Detailed information on the National Human Trafficking Hotline, including specific statements that the hotline:

(A) May be reached by calling a telephone number, to be printed on the placard, or by sending a text message to a number, to be printed on the placard, to access help and services;

(B) Is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year;

(D) Is operated by a nonprofit, non-governmental organization; and

(E) Will ensure that all communications with the hotline are anonymous and confidential.

(c) No later than January 1, 2026, the department of human services shall develop a model placard that complies with the requirements of this section and shall make the model placard available for download on the department's website."

SECTION 3. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part III to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A- Sex trafficking prevention and response training. (a) The department shall provide training for teachers, educational officers, and school-based behavioral health specialists on the dynamics of sex trafficking and strategies for prevention and response, including:

(1) Methods used by sex traffickers to lure children into sex trafficking;

(2) Ways to identify victims of sex trafficking;

(3) Effects of sex trafficking on victims' social, mental, and physical health;

(4) Impacts of sex trafficking on children of different racial and ethic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender identities;

(5) Strategies to assist in the prevention of child sex trafficking;

(6) Trauma-informed strategies for responding to victims of sex trafficking;

(7) Informational resources for victims of sex trafficking;

(8) Information on victim service providers that provide services to students who have been identified as victims of sex trafficking or who are at risk of victimization; and

(9) Information on the importance of obtaining enthusiastic consent, in the context of dating and intimate relationships, with respect to preventing sex trafficking and other forms of sexual violence.

(b) At the beginning of each school year, the department shall provide teachers, educational officers, and school-based behavioral health specialists with explanatory information on department-approved protocols for providing services to identified victims of sex trafficking.

(c) The department may coordinate and contract with any state or county department or agency, victim service provider, or any other expert in the field of sex trafficking prevention and response to carry out its duties under this section.

(d) As used in this section, "victim service provider" means any non-governmental organization that provides direct intervention, including social, medical, mental health, behavioral health, legal, case management, educational, emergency, or housing services to victims of sex trafficking."

SECTION 4. (a) The department of the attorney general shall develop and implement a series of public education and outreach events on the dynamics of sex trafficking and the importance of community involvement in sex trafficking prevention and response efforts. The events shall be held in the counties of Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, and the city and county of Honolulu, and may include town hall-style events and the staffing of informational booths or tables at existing community-based events. The department shall disseminate information on:

(1) Vulnerable populations and risk factors for sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, including community-level risk factors and society‑level risk factors;

(2) Specific locations in each county where confirmed sex trafficking has occurred;

(3) Laws that criminalize sex trafficking, including penalties faced by convicted sex traffickers;

(4) Methods used by sex traffickers to lure victims into sex trafficking;

(5) Ways to identify victims of sex trafficking;

(6) Effects of sex trafficking on a victim's social, mental, and physical health;

(7) Adverse impacts of sex trafficking on victims' families and on communities in which sex trafficking occurs;

(8) Actions that community members can take to support sex trafficking prevention and response efforts;

(9) Resources for victims of sex trafficking, including the availability of services for victims; and

(10) State and national hotlines for victims and witnesses of sex trafficking.

(b) The department of the attorney general may coordinate and contract with any state or county department of agency, victim service provider, or any other expert in the field of sex trafficking prevention and response to carry out its duties under this Act.

(c) As used in this Act, "victim service provider" means any non-governmental organization that provides direct intervention, including social, medical, mental health, behavioral health, legal, case management, educational, emergency, or housing services to victims of sex trafficking.

SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for developing and implementing the public education and outreach events required by section 4 of this Act.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of the attorney general for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	609
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII