Relating to the prosecution of the offenses of trafficking of persons, continuous trafficking of persons, and compelling prostitution.
LowStandard timeline
Low Cost
Effective:2025-06-20
Enforcing Agencies
Texas District Attorneys • Texas Attorney General • Local Law Enforcement
01
Compliance Analysis
Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation
Implementation Timeline
Effective Date:June 20, 2025 (Effective immediately due to supermajority vote).
Compliance Deadline:Immediate. Businesses must adjust internal reporting protocols now, as the legal standard for criminal offenses committed on premises has already changed.
Agency Rulemaking:None. This is a statutory Penal Code amendment enforced by District Attorneys; no regulatory agency will issue clarifying rules.
Immediate Action Plan
Issue Alert: Send a compliance bulletin to all location managers stating the law is active immediately (ignoring the standard Sept 1 date).
Update SOPs: Revise "Suspicious Activity Reporting" policies to reflect that the victim's consent or the completion of the act are no longer valid reasons to withhold a report.
Review Insurance: Audit General Liability and D&O policies for "Sexual Misconduct and Molestation" (SMM) exclusions; ensure coverage applies to criminal acts by third parties.
Audit Security: Verify that contracted security services are aware of the lowered evidentiary threshold for trafficking offenses.
Operational Changes Required
Contracts
Security Vendors: Update agreements with third-party security firms. Mandate that their personnel are trained on the new, broader definition of trafficking indicators (specifically that a "willing" victim or an interrupted act is still a reportable offense).
Indemnification: Review and strengthen indemnification clauses in vendor contracts to protect the business from liability if a vendor’s employee is implicated in a trafficking offense under this stricter statute.
Hiring/Training
Frontline Staff Training: Update training modules for front desk, housekeeping, and drivers immediately. Remove any training language suggesting that a victim's apparent "willingness" or "consent" negates the need to report suspicious activity.
Managerial Protocols: Instruct managers that the "completed act" standard is obsolete. If trafficking activity is suspected (solicitation, transport, harboring), it must be reported regardless of whether a sexual act occurred.
Reporting & Record-Keeping
Incident Logs: Maintain rigorous, time-stamped logs of all reports made to law enforcement. In the absence of a "completed act" requirement for prosecution, your internal logs are the primary defense against civil claims of Negligent Security.
No Government Filings: No new reports need to be filed with the state.
Fees & Costs
Insurance Premiums: Anticipate potential scrutiny on General Liability renewals. Insurers may view the lower conviction threshold as an increased risk for civil suits.
Legal Defense: No direct fee changes, but potential defense costs for premises liability suits may rise due to easier criminal predicate establishment.
Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations
Definition of "Disabled Individual": The statute relies on a broad Penal Code definition. It is unclear how lay-employees (hotel clerks, drivers) are expected to identify a "disabled individual" regarding mental capacity.
*Guidance:* Instruct staff to treat *any* situation involving a vulnerable adult under the apparent control of another as a high-risk trafficking scenario, regardless of perceived disability.
"Caused to Engage" vs. Attempt: The removal of the "completed act" defense blurs the line between trafficking and attempted trafficking.
*Guidance:* Do not wait for a "smoking gun." If the setup for the crime is present, the crime is considered actionable under the new law.
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The bill author has informed the committee that Turley v. The State of Texas exposed a lack of clarity with respect to trafficking offenses, presenting legal challenges that must be addressed. In 2018, Andrew Turley was convicted of such an offense and of compelling prostitution for drugging his four-year-old daughter with a sleep aid and selling sexual contact with her. The incident involved a sting operation in which the sexual encounter was stopped and the arrest of Turley was made before completion of the sexual act to protect the child. On appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeals interpreted the offense statutes differently, those convictions were reformed to attempted commission of the offenses, and the case was remanded to the trial court. Specifically, the court interpreted the statute to mean that there had to be evidence that the sexual act occurred under the definition of compelling prostitution and found that the evidence in the case was insufficient to support the applicable conviction. Further, because the child was medicated, the defense claimed that she lacked the mental capacity to knowingly consent to the act and, therefore, did not submit to prostitution. H.B. 2761 seeks to provide greater clarity to trafficking offenses for purposes of allowing their prosecution by establishing that it is not a defense to prosecution that a trafficked child or disabled individual lacks the culpable mental state to engage in the act or did not complete the act of prostitution.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
H.B. 2761 amends the Penal Code to establish that it is not a defense to prosecution for trafficking or continuous trafficking of a child or disabled individual involving trafficking, receiving a benefit from participating in a venture involving that trafficking, or engaging in sexual conduct with such a trafficked child or disabled individual in which the actor is alleged to have caused the trafficked child or disabled individual to engage in or become the victim of prostitution, that the trafficked child or disabled individual lacks the culpable mental state to engage in the act of prostitution or did not complete the act of prostitution.
H.B. 2761 applies only to an offense committed on or after the bill's effective date. An offense committed before that date is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For these purposes, an offense was committed before the bill's effective date if any element of the offense was committed before that date.
Honorable John T. Smithee, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2761 by Johnson (Relating to the prosecution of the offenses of trafficking of persons and continuous trafficking of persons.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would provide a finding that the trafficked child or disabled individual lacked the culpable mental state to engage in the act of prostitution or did not complete the act of prostitution is not a defense to the commission of the offense.
It is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant
Local Government Impact
It is assumed that any fiscal impact to units of local government associated with enforcement, prosecution, supervision, or confinement would not be significant.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council
LBB Staff:
JMc, MGol, AMr
Related Legislation
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HB2761 became effective immediately on June 20, 2025, removing critical legal defenses in human trafficking and compelled prostitution cases involving minors and disabled individuals. This Penal Code amendment lowers the prosecutorial bar by rendering the victim's mental state or the non-completion of the sexual act irrelevant, significantly increasing premises liability risks for the hospitality, transportation, and healthcare sectors. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Effective immediately due to supermajority vote).
Q
Who authored HB2761?
HB2761 was authored by Texas Representative Ann Johnson during the Regular Session.
Q
When was HB2761 signed into law?
HB2761 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.
Q
Which agencies enforce HB2761?
HB2761 is enforced by Texas District Attorneys, Texas Attorney General and Local Law Enforcement.
Q
How urgent is compliance with HB2761?
The compliance urgency for HB2761 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.
Q
What is the cost impact of HB2761?
The cost impact of HB2761 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
Q
What topics does HB2761 address?
HB2761 addresses topics including crimes, crimes--against persons, crimes--against persons--general, crimes--against persons--sexual and disabilities, persons with.
Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025
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