Latest news with #HouseBill405
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah declares war on human trafficking with new legislation
An effort to strengthen human trafficking penalties in Utah this legislative session was met with strong support in the session's final week with the passage of House Bill 405. 'Human trafficking is a serious offense, and it involves coercing someone into forced labor or sexual acts, and in essence, it's modern-day slavery,' Rep. Candice B. Pierucci, R-Herriman, said during her bill's first House floor debate last month. 'Unfortunately, Utah lags severely behind other states in the prosecution of human trafficking.' Now passed by both the House and Senate, HB405, if signed by Gov. Spencer Cox, will increase penalties for certain human trafficking offenses in the state. Under current law, the human trafficking of a child is a first-degree felon but with a five-year minimum sentence; Pierucci's bill would make it 10. It would likewise change human trafficking for sexual exploitation from a second-degree felony to a first-degree felony, no matter the age of the victim. It also alters the enhancement for aggravated human trafficking and labor trafficking up to a first-degree level felony. 'This is a very serious issue,' she said. 'We've talked about some of the horrific impacts of having a porous border over the past four years, and this is an issue that our state and the country as a whole is trying to wrap its hands around.' During her presentation at the House Judiciary Committee meeting, Pierucci revealed that in 2020, over half of all sex trafficking survivors were undocumented in the United States. She noted that in one study, most victims reported being recruited for both sex and labor trafficking, with 75% holding an unknown immigration status. Another study showed that 60% of Latin American children who attempt to cross the border alone or with smugglers are captured by cartels and exploited in child pornography or drug trafficking. Though the bill passed on Wednesday, lawmakers from both parties expressed concern about the five-year increase in minimum sentencing. 'I've seen these mandatory minimums sometimes sweep up people who really don't deserve the mandatory minimum,' said Derrin R. Owens, R-Fountain Green. 'Our job as a legislature is to set policy to say, 'Yes, we do think these are very serious crimes worthy of very serious punishment,' but then we let a judge and a jury decide how that law should apply to the facts before them.' Current U.S. state minimum prison sentences for child sex trafficking and labor trafficking: Utah: Sex trafficking — 5 years. Labor trafficking — 1 year. Georgia: Sex trafficking — 25 years. Labor trafficking — 10 years. Oklahoma: Sex trafficking — 15 years. Labor trafficking — 5 years. Missouri: Sex trafficking — 10 years. Labor trafficking — 5 years. During the Senate flooring discussion on Wednesday, Sen. Todd D. Weiler, R-Woods Cross, stated that although he did not oppose the bill, he wanted to clarify that offenders are rarely released after serving minimum sentences. 'Despite low minimum sentences, the effects of being trafficked for the victims are lifelong,' the bill's floor sponsor, Sen. Heidi Balderree, R-Saratoga Springs, said in response. In response to the same concerns during the House floor debate, Pierucci said she would serve 25 years if she could. 'At the very least, we are moving the needle and enhancing this to a first-degree felony with no less than 10 years in prison,' she said. 'And the goal, the hope, (and) the message is one: Utah will stop lagging behind the rest of the country in how we charge these things. But also, the message should go out: do not try this in Utah. We take it seriously, and we will make sure you are locked up for a very long time.'
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama's What is a Woman Act, to ‘codify common sense,' primed for gov's signature
Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey is set to sign a new bill that she says answers a simple question: What is a woman? The bill from state Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Leeds, and Sen. April Weaver, R-Alabaster, would adjust state law to explicitly define "man," "woman," "boy," "girl," "father," "mother," "male," female" and "sex." It cleared the legislature in Montgomery on Wednesday. Ivey is expected to sign the bill later Thursday; remarking, "In Alabama, it does not take a biologist to answer the question: What is a woman?" Ketanji Brown Jackson Refuses To Define The Word 'Woman' During Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation hearing, the jurist told Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn she could not define the term "woman." "In this context – I'm not a biologist," Brown Jackson said. Read On The Fox News App "There are only two genders: Male and female," Ivey told Fox News Digital. "The What is a Woman bill by Rep. Susan Dubose and Sen. April Weaver is now heading to my desk. I look forward to signing it into law to codify common sense!" The law would require the government to collect vital statistics to identify a person's sex at birth and "delete obsolete or unnecessary definitions and make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing code language to current style." "For purposes of state law, a 'female' is an individual whose biological reproductive system is designed to produce ova, and a 'male' is an individual whose biological reproductive system is designed to fertilize the ova of a female," a draft of the bill published on a government site read. Womanhood Is Not A Game Of Semantics, Attorney Says Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter told Fox News Digital on Thursday the Yellowhammer State is one that "refuses to back down from commonsense conservative values." "We believe boys should play against boys and girls should play against girls. We believe that men have no business using the girls' restroom," said Ledbetter, R-Rainsville. Ledbetter said every human is made in the image of God and their gender is defined by Him. "I am proud that the House has passed Rep. Susan Dubose's 'What Is a Woman Act' and look forward to Governor Ivey signing it into law," he said. The bill does have its opponents, including the ACLU of Alabama. "We oppose House Bill 405. The 'What is a Woman' Act seeks to answer a question that is contextualized by far more than biological gender norms that this bill seeks to codify," a statement from the group read. "The bill establishes a stringent assertion of the definition of a man or woman that completely cuts transgender people out of the picture. This bill attempts to place antiquated gender assumptions as a rule of law." The group added that the legislation will make it more difficult for transgender people to "authentically" live life. Democrats, including state Reps. Barbara Drummond of Mobile and Napoleon Bracy of Pritchard, also objected to the bill only being slated for 10 minutes of floor debate. The Blackburn-Jackson incident and ensuing public debate also led conservative commentator Matt Walsh to produce a documentary on the matter called "What is a Woman?" When the issue first came up in the Jackson hearing, Blackburn said the jurist being unable to give a "straight answer" about "something as fundamental as what a woman is" underscores the dangers of progressive education. Blackburn suggested that biological male athletes should not be allowed to compete against article source: Alabama's What is a Woman Act, to 'codify common sense,' primed for gov's signature
Fox News
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Alabama's What is a Woman Act, to ‘codify common sense,' primed for gov's signature
Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey is set to sign a new bill that she says answers a simple question: What is a woman? The bill from state Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Leeds, and Sen. April Weaver, R-Alabaster, would adjust state law to explicitly define "man," "woman," "boy," "girl," "father," "mother," "male," female" and "sex." It cleared the legislature in Montgomery on Wednesday. Ivey is expected to sign the bill later Thursday; remarking, "In Alabama, it does not take a biologist to answer the question: What is a woman?" During Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation hearing, the jurist told Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn she could not define the term "woman." "In this context – I'm not a biologist," Brown Jackson said. "There are only two genders: Male and female," Ivey told Fox News Digital. "The What is a Woman bill by Rep. Susan Dubose and Sen. April Weaver is now heading to my desk. I look forward to signing it into law to codify common sense!" The law would require the government to collect vital statistics to identify a person's sex at birth and "delete obsolete or unnecessary definitions and make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing code language to current style." "For purposes of state law, a 'female' is an individual whose biological reproductive system is designed to produce ova, and a 'male' is an individual whose biological reproductive system is designed to fertilize the ova of a female," a draft of the bill published on a government site read. Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter told Fox News Digital on Thursday the Yellowhammer State is one that "refuses to back down from commonsense conservative values." "We believe boys should play against boys and girls should play against girls. We believe that men have no business using the girls' restroom," said Ledbetter, R-Rainsville. Ledbetter said every human is made in the image of God and their gender is defined by Him. "I am proud that the House has passed Rep. Susan Dubose's 'What Is a Woman Act' and look forward to Governor Ivey signing it into law," he said. The bill does have its opponents, including the ACLU of Alabama. "We oppose House Bill 405. The 'What is a Woman' Act seeks to answer a question that is contextualized by far more than biological gender norms that this bill seeks to codify," a statement from the group read. "The bill establishes a stringent assertion of the definition of a man or woman that completely cuts transgender people out of the picture. This bill attempts to place antiquated gender assumptions as a rule of law." The group added that the legislation will make it more difficult for transgender people to "authentically" live life. Democrats, including state Reps. Barbara Drummond of Mobile and Napoleon Bracy of Pritchard, also objected to the bill only being slated for 10 minutes of floor debate. The Blackburn-Jackson incident and ensuing public debate also led conservative commentator Matt Walsh to produce a documentary on the matter called "What is a Woman?" When the issue first came up in the Jackson hearing, Blackburn said the jurist being unable to give a "straight answer" about "something as fundamental as what a woman is" underscores the dangers of progressive education. Blackburn suggested that biological male athletes should not be allowed to compete against women.
