STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3039 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 2, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. FAHY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to establishing a sex trafficking awareness and prevention program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new 2 section 224-b to read as follows: 3 § 224-b. Sex trafficking awareness and prevention program. (a) The 4 commissioner, in conjunction with the interagency task force on human 5 trafficking, the commissioner of the division of criminal justice 6 services and the commissioner of transportation, shall develop a sex 7 trafficking awareness and prevention program. The sex trafficking aware- 8 ness and prevention program shall be established for the purpose of 9 providing education and awareness for the prevention of sex trafficking 10 in this state. Within amounts appropriated, the program shall provide 11 education and awareness literature and educational materials to all 12 drivers with a commercial motor vehicle license as defined in section 13 five hundred one-a of this chapter. The materials shall include, but not 14 be limited to, warning signs of potential sex trafficking and entities 15 to whom a driver may report suspected activity that might constitute sex 16 trafficking. The commissioner may coordinate with the interagency task 17 force on human trafficking in providing relevant literature and materi- 18 als to such drivers. 19 (b) The commissioner may additionally coordinate with the interagency 20 task force on human trafficking: (i) to collect and organize data on the 21 nature and extent of trafficking in persons in the state; (ii) to iden- 22 tify available federal, state and local programs to provide services to 23 victims of trafficking; (iii) to consult with governmental and non-go- 24 vernmental organizations in developing recommendations to strengthen 25 state and local efforts to prevent trafficking; (iv) to measure and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04119-01-3A. 3039 2 1 evaluate the state's progress in preventing trafficking, and prosecuting 2 persons engaged in trafficking; and (v) to evaluate the effectiveness of 3 the sex trafficking awareness and prevention program. 4 (c) The commissioner shall report annually on the program's effective- 5 ness in its annual report. 6 (d) For purposes of this section, "interagency task force on human 7 trafficking" shall mean the interagency task force on human trafficking 8 established by section four hundred eighty-three-ee of the social 9 services law. 10 (e) To effectuate the purposes of this section, the commissioner may 11 request and shall receive from any department, division, board, bureau, 12 commission or other agency of the state or any state public authority 13 such assistance, information and data as will enable the sex trafficking 14 awareness and prevention program to properly carry out its powers and 15 duties. 16 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 17 have become a law; provided, however, subdivision (c) of section 224-b 18 of the vehicle and traffic law, as added by section one of this act, 19 shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have 20 become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 21 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 22 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 23 on or before such effective date.