2015
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 15-1013
       
       BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) McCann and Nordberg, Arndt, Becker J.,
       Becker K., Brown, Buck, Buckner, Carver, Conti, Coram, Court,
       Danielson, DelGrosso, Dore, Duran, Esgar, Everett, Fields, Foote, Garnett,
       Ginal, Hamner, Humphrey, Joshi, Kagan, Keyser, Klingenschmitt,
       Kraft-Tharp, Landgraf, Lawrence, Lebsock, Lee, Lontine, Lundeen,
       Melton, Mitsch Bush, Moreno, Navarro, Neville P., Pabon, Pettersen,
       Primavera, Priola, Rankin, Ransom, Rosenthal, Roupe, Ryden, Saine,
       Salazar, Sias, Singer, Tate, Thurlow, Tyler, Van Winkle, Vigil, Willett,
       Williams, Wilson, Windholz, Winter, Young, Hullinghorst;
       also SENATOR(S) Kefalas and Cooke, Aguilar, Balmer, Baumgardner,
       Carroll, Crowder, Donovan, Grantham, Guzman, Heath, Hill, Hodge,
       Holbert, Jahn, Johnston, Jones, Kerr, Lambert, Lundberg, Marble,
       Martinez Humenik, Merrifield, Neville T., Newell, Roberts, Scheffel, Scott,
       Sonnenberg, Steadman, Todd, Ulibarri, Woods, Cadman.
       
          CONCERNING HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS
       ADVOCACY DAY. 
       
          WHEREAS, Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal
       industry in the world, and is second in total criminal income only to drug
       trafficking, with an estimated annual global income of $32 billion; and
       
          WHEREAS, According to the Trafficking in Persons Report, 2014, it
       is estimated that as many as 30 million men, women, and children around
       the world are victims of what is now often described with the umbrella
       term "human trafficking"; and
       
          WHEREAS, In the United States, between 100,000 and 300,000
       children are at risk for sexual exploitation, with an average age of entry
       into commercial sex of 12 to 14 years old; and
       
       
       
          WHEREAS, It is estimated that 76% of transactions for sex with
       underage girls start on the internet; and
       
          WHEREAS, Between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2014, the
       FBI Rocky Mountain Innocence Lost Task Force accomplished the
       following:
       
               Led 174 sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of
               children investigations;
       
               Arrested 67 people for pimping and trafficking-related offenses
               and 38 people for patronizing a prostituted child and sexually
               assaulting a child;
       
               Fielded 834 tips from the National Center for Missing and
               Exploited Children and from citizens, law enforcement agencies,
               prosecutors, department of human services personnel, victim
               advocates, nonprofits, and many others;
       
               Trained over 15,000 people about human trafficking and
               commercial sexual exploitation of children; and
       
               With the assistance of local law enforcement partners across the
               state, recovered 204 juveniles from commercially sexually
               exploitative situations.
       
          WHEREAS, Among the diverse populations affected by human
       trafficking, children are particularly at risk of involvement in sex and
       labor trafficking, especially those children who reside in the child welfare
       system; and
       
          WHEREAS, Traffickers prey upon children and youth with low
       self-esteem and minimal social support, traits that tend to be highly
       prevalent among young people who are homeless or those in foster care
       due to their history of abuse, neglect, and trauma; and
       
          WHEREAS, Minors forced into prostitution are more properly
       identified as victims and not criminals; and
       
       
       
       
       
          WHEREAS, One study shows as many as 50 to 85% of sexual
       trafficking victims are individuals who have previously lived or currently
       live in the child welfare system; and
       
          WHEREAS, As a result of the diverse systems that touch these
       children's lives, professionals in the child welfare, law enforcement,
       treatment, nonprofit, and faith-based communities must collaborate to
       develop a multi-disciplinary response to protect victims of child
       trafficking; and
       
          WHEREAS, In Colorado, human trafficking is found in many
       industries; and
       
          WHEREAS, No worker's labor should be compelled through the use
       of force, fraud, or coercion by someone trying to benefit from that labor;
       and
       
          WHEREAS, Federal and local law enforcement officials recovered six
       child victims, ages 14 to 17, of domestic sex trafficking and arrested two
       alleged traffickers during the 2015 National Western Stock Show in
       Denver; and
       
          WHEREAS, The state of Colorado will support and initiate statewide
       efforts to investigate and prosecute traffickers and to provide services to
       victims of human trafficking; now, therefore,
       
          Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Seventieth
       General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:
       
          (1)  That the General Assembly, in recognition of Human Trafficking
       Awareness Advocacy Day on February 19, 2015, will build upon the
       "4Ps" Prevention, Protection, Prosecution, and Partnerships as set
       forth by the United Nations, which are utilized by the United States
       federal government and serve as a framework for the Laboratory to
       Combat Human Trafficking's Colorado Project to Comprehensively
       Combat Human Trafficking; and
       
       
       
       
          (2)  That the General Assembly supports all efforts to prevent human
       trafficking in Colorado, including swift prosecution, education and
       prevention, and provision of services for victims. The General Assembly
       will support and pass legislation directed to address human trafficking in
       Colorado. The General Assembly supports the work of the Colorado
       Human Trafficking Council and anticipates the reports submitted by the
       Council.
       
          Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to
       Governor John Hickenlooper; Attorney General Cynthia Coffman;
       Stephanie Villafuerte, Chair of the Colorado Human Trafficking Council
       and Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center;
       and Betty Edwards, founder of the Human Trafficking Task Force of
       Southern Colorado.
       
       
       
       
       
       ___________________________  ____________________________
       Dickey Lee Hullinghorst               Bill L. Cadman
       SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE                    PRESIDENT OF
       OF REPRESENTATIVES                        THE SENATE
       
       
       
       
       
       
       ____________________________  ____________________________
       Marilyn Eddins                     Cindi L. Markwell
       CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE                SECRETARY OF
       OF REPRESENTATIVES                        THE SENATE