Part 5. Human Trafficking and Slavery

(1) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:
(a) Human trafficking constitutes a serious problem in Colorado and across the nation;
(b) Human trafficking is abhorrent to a civilized society and deserving of the most diligent response from the state;
(c) Human trafficking often involves minors who have been forced into involuntary servitude and commercial sexual activity;
(d) Human trafficking can take many forms but generally includes the use of physical abuse, threats of harm, or fear of other consequences to prevent victims from reporting the activity; and
(e) Human trafficking creates a cycle of violence, impacting victims, families, and communities.
(2) The general assembly further finds and declares that:
(a) Legislation is required to combat this despicable practice, to make it easier to prosecute and punish persons who engage in human trafficking, and to protect the victims; and
(b) The general assembly supports a comprehensive approach to combating human trafficking, which approach includes prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships.
(3) Now, therefore, the general assembly joins the federal government and other states around the nation in passing legislation in order to combat human trafficking and protect the victims.

As used in this part 5, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) “Adult” means a person eighteen years of age or older.
(2) “Coercing” means inducing a person to act or to refrain from acting, if the inducement is accomplished by any one or more of the following means:
(a) The use or threat of the use of force against, abduction of, causing of serious harm to, or physical restraint of a person;
(b) The use of a plan, pattern, or statement for the purpose of causing the person to believe that failure to perform the act or failure to refrain from performing the act will result in the use of force against, abduction of, causing of serious harm to, or physical restraint of that person or another person;
(c) Using or threatening to use the law or the legal process, whether administrative, civil, or criminal, in any manner or for any purpose for which the law was not designed;
(d) Threatening to notify law enforcement officials that a person is present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws;
(e) The destruction or taking, or a threat to destroy or take, a person’s identification document or other property;
(f) Controlling or threatening to control a person’s access to a controlled substance, as defined in section 18-18-102 (5);
(g) The use of debt bondage; or
(h) The exploitation of a person’s physical or mental impairment, where such impairment has a substantial adverse effect on the person’s cognitive or volitional functions.
(3) “Commercial sexual activity” means sexual activity for which anything of value is given to, promised to, or received by a person.
(4) “Debt bondage” means:
(a) Demanding commercial sexual activity as payment toward or satisfaction of a real or purported debt; or
(b) Demanding labor or services as payment toward or satisfaction of a real or purported debt and failing to apply the reasonable value of the labor or services toward the liquidation of the debt; or
(c) Demanding labor or services where the length of the labor or services is not limited and the nature of the labor or services is not defined.
(5) “Identification document” means a real or purported passport, driver’s license, immigration document, travel document, or other government-issued identification document, including a document issued by a foreign government.
(6) “Maintain” means to provide sustenance or care for a minor and includes but is not limited to providing shelter, food, clothing, drugs, medical care, or communication services.
(7) “Makes available” means to facilitate contact between a minor and another person.
(8) “Minor” means a person less than eighteen years of age.
(9) “Person” has the same meaning as set forth in section 2-4-401 (8), C.R.S.
(10) “Serious harm” means bodily injury or any other harm, whether physical or nonphysical, including psychological, financial, or reputational harm, which is sufficiently serious, under all the surrounding circumstances, to compel a reasonable person to perform or continue to perform labor or services or sexual activity to avoid incurring the harm.
(11) “Sexual activity” means:
(a) Sexual contact, as defined in section 18-3-401 (4);
(b) Sexual intrusion, as defined in section 18-3-401 (5);
(c) Sexual penetration, as defined in section 18-3-401 (6);
(d) Sexual exploitation of a child, pursuant to section 18-6-403 (3)(a) and (3)(d); or
(e) An obscene performance, as defined in section 18-7-101.
(11.5) “Travel services” includes, but is not limited to, the following services, offered either on a wholesale or retail basis:
(a) Transportation by air, sea, road, or rail;
(b) Related ground transportation;
(c) Hotel accommodations; or
(d) Package tours.
(12) “Victim” means a person who is alleged to have been, or who has been, subjected to human trafficking, as described in section 18-3-503 or section 18-3-504.

(1) A person who knowingly sells, recruits, harbors, transports, transfers, isolates, entices, provides, receives, or obtains by any means another person for the purpose of coercing the other person to perform labor or services commits human trafficking for involuntary servitude.
(2) Human trafficking for involuntary servitude is a class 3 felony; except that human trafficking of a minor for involuntary servitude is a class 2 felony.

(1)
(a) A person commits human trafficking for sexual servitude if the person knowingly sells, recruits, harbors, transports, transfers, isolates, entices, provides, receives, or obtains by any means another person for the purpose of coercing the person to engage in commercial sexual activity.
(b) Human trafficking for sexual servitude is a class 3 felony.
(2)
(a) A person commits human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude if the person:
(I) Knowingly sells, recruits, harbors, transports, transfers, isolates, entices, provides, receives, obtains by any means, maintains, or makes available a minor for the purpose of commercial sexual activity; or
(II) Knowingly advertises, offers to sell, or sells travel services that facilitate an activity prohibited pursuant to subsection (2)(a)(I) of this section.
(b) Human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude is a class 2 felony. The court shall sentence a person convicted of such a class 2 felony to the department of corrections for a term of at least the minimum of the presumptive range for a class 2 felony, as set forth in section 18-1.3-401.
(c) In any prosecution under this subsection (2), it is not a defense that:
(I) The minor consented to being sold, recruited, harbored, transported, transferred, isolated, enticed, provided, received, obtained, or maintained by the defendant for the purpose of engaging in commercial sexual activity;
(II) The minor consented to participating in commercial sexual activity;
(III) The defendant did not know the minor’s age or reasonably believed the minor to be eighteen years of age or older; or
(IV) The minor or another person represented the minor to be eighteen years of age or older.
(2.5) It is an affirmative defense to a charge pursuant to subsection (2) of this section if the person being charged can demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that, at the time of the offense, he or she was a victim of human trafficking for sexual servitude who was forced or coerced into engaging in the human trafficking of minors for sexual servitude pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.
(3) A person does not need to receive any of the proceeds of any commercial sexual activity to commit an offense described in this section.
(4) Conviction for an offense described in this section does not preclude conviction for an offense described in article 6 or 7 of this title based in whole or in part on the same or related conduct, and the court shall not require the prosecution to elect at trial between such offenses.

(1)
(a) There is created in the department of public safety the Colorado human trafficking council, referred to within this section as the “council”. The purpose of the council is to bring together leadership from community-based and statewide anti-trafficking efforts, to build and enhance collaboration among communities and counties within the state, to establish and improve comprehensive services for victims and survivors of human trafficking, to assist in the successful prosecution of human traffickers, and to help prevent human trafficking in Colorado.
(b) The membership of the council must reflect, to the extent possible, representation of urban and rural areas of the state and a balance of expertise, both governmental and nongovernmental, in issues relating to human trafficking. The council must include members with expertise in child welfare and human services to address the unique needs of child victims, including those child victims who are involved in the child welfare system. The membership of the council consists of the following persons, appointed as follows:
(I) Two representatives from the department of human services, each to be appointed by the executive director of the department of human services;
(II) A representative of the department of law, to be appointed by the attorney general;
(III) A representative of the state department of labor and employment, to be appointed by the executive director of the department of labor and employment;
(IV) A representative of the division of the Colorado state patrol that addresses human smuggling and human trafficking pursuant to section 24-33.5-211, C.R.S., to be appointed by the executive director of the department of public safety;
(V) A representative of a statewide association of police chiefs, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(VI) A representative of a statewide association of county sheriffs, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(VII) A representative of a statewide coalition for victims of sexual assault, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(VIII) A representative of a statewide organization that provides services to crime victims, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(IX) A representative of a statewide immigrant rights organization, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(X) A representative of a statewide organization of district attorneys, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(XI) A representative of a statewide organization of criminal defense attorneys, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(XII) At least three but not more than five persons, each representing a regional or city-wide human trafficking task force or coalition, each to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(XIII) A representative of a nonprofit organization that facilitates the treatment or housing of human trafficking victims, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(XIV) A representative of a college or university department that conducts research on human trafficking, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(XV) A representative of a statewide organization that provides legal advocacy to abused, neglected, and at-risk children, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(XVI) Two representatives of organizations that provide direct services to victims of human trafficking, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(XVII) One representative of a faith-based organization that assists victims of human trafficking, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(XVIII) Two persons, each of whom is a director of a county department of human or social services, one from an urban county and the other from a rural county, each appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(XIX) One person who provides child welfare services for a county department of human or social services, appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(XX) Four persons who are former victims of human trafficking, two who are former victims of human trafficking for involuntary servitude and two who are former victims of human trafficking for sexual servitude, each to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee;
(XXI) A representative of a child advocacy center;
(XXII) One person to be appointed by the commissioner of agriculture;
(XXIII) One person representing the judicial branch, to be appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court;
(XXIV) A representative of a statewide coalition for victims of domestic violence, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee; and
(XXV) One person who is a representative of an organization for victims of labor trafficking or an individual who has extensive professional experience in advocating for victims of labor trafficking, to be appointed by the governor or his or her designee.
(2) Each appointing authority described in subsection (1) of this section shall make his or her appointments to the council on or before August 1, 2014. The term of a council member serving as of May 20, 2019, or any council member appointed after May 20, 2019, will expire on December 31 of the year the term is set to expire. The succeeding appointee’s term will commence on the January 1 following the expiration of the preceding term. The members of the council shall elect presiding officers for the council, including a chair and vice-chair, from among the council members appointed pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, which presiding officers shall serve terms of two years. Council members may reelect a presiding officer.
(3)
(a) Except as provided by subsection (3)(b) of this section, each council member must serve at the pleasure of his or her appointing authority for a term of four years. The appointing authority may reappoint the council member for an additional term or terms. Council members must serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for actual travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(b) Each council member appointed pursuant to subsections (1)(b)(I) to (1)(b)(IV), (1)(b)(XXII), and (1)(b)(XXIII) of this section after May 20, 2019, must serve at the pleasure of his or her appointing authority for a term of three years. The appointing authority may reappoint the council member for an additional term or terms. Council members must serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for actual travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(4) The council shall hold its first meeting on or before November 1, 2014, at a time and place to be designated by the executive director of the department of public safety, or by his or her designee. The council shall meet at least four times each year and shall carry out the following duties:
(a) On or before January 1, 2016, make recommendations to the judiciary committees of the house of representatives and senate, or any successor committees, concerning:
(I) Repealed.
(II) Whether the general assembly should establish a grant program for organizations that provide services to victims of human trafficking, including consideration of how such a grant program may be funded; and
(III) Whether the general assembly should enact legislation concerning:
(A) The prosecution of or granting of immunity to a child victim of commercial sexual exploitation for offenses related to that exploitation;
(B) The creation of other legal protections, including statutory defenses for child victims of commercial sexual exploitation for offenses related to that exploitation and the creation of any necessary changes to title 19, C.R.S., to implement those legal protections or defenses; or
(C) Standards, guidelines, or mandates regarding the appropriate assessment, placement, and treatment of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation through title 19, C.R.S., including but not limited to the use of locked placement;
(a.5) The recommendations submitted pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (4) must include a full explanation of each recommendation with a discussion of the benefits of each recommendation, any problems that might be encountered, and how those problems, if any, might be mitigated.
(b) On or before January 1, 2017, and on or before January 17 of each year thereafter, submit a report to the judiciary committees of the house of representatives and senate, or any successor committees, summarizing the activities of the council during the preceding year;
(c) Consider and make, as it deems necessary, recommendations to the judiciary committees of the house of representatives and senate, or to any successor committees, concerning any statutory changes that the council deems necessary to facilitate the prosecution and punishment of persons who engage in, and to protect the victims of, human trafficking;
(d) Develop an implementation plan for a public awareness campaign to educate the public about human trafficking and place victims services contact information in places where victims of human trafficking are likely to see it;
(e) Develop training standards and curricula for organizations that provide assistance to victims of human trafficking, for persons who work in or who frequent places where human trafficking victims are likely to appear, and for law enforcement agencies;
(f) Identify best practices for the prevention of all forms of human trafficking, including but not limited to child sex trafficking and involuntary servitude trafficking;
(g) Collect data relating to the prevalence of, and the efforts of law enforcement to combat, human trafficking in Colorado. The council shall annually report the data to the judiciary committees of the house of representatives and senate, or to any successor committees.
(h) Research and pursue funding opportunities for the council;
(i) On or after January 1, 2019, perform a post-enactment review of section 18-7-201.3 and report its findings to the judiciary committees of the senate and house of representatives, or any successor committees.
(5) The department of public safety is authorized to accept and expend gifts, grants, and donations for the purpose of assisting the council in fulfilling its duties pursuant to this section.
(6) This section is repealed, effective September 1, 2024. Before repeal, the department of regulatory agencies shall review the council pursuant to section 2-3-1203.