The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference commended members of the Pennsylvania Senate for the passage of three bills on June 25, designed to fight human trafficking. The PCC supports these measures in its on-going efforts to tackle the problem.
“Human trafficking is a scourge that not only still exists, but thrives all around us,” said Eric Failing, the Executive Director of the PCC. “These bills combine to form a strong package of penalties, treatment and youth protection that we believe will help to stop human traffickers and their recruiters.”
The three bills that passed were signed by Governor Tom Wolf:
- HB 246 by Rep. Natalie Mihalek (R-Allegheny, Washington), which offers protections for victims of human trafficking in criminal proceedings against alleged perpetrators
- HB 843 by Rep. David Rowe (R-Snyder, Union), which requires that human trafficking offenses be considered in a parent’s bid for child custody
- HB 1147 by Rep. Valerie Gaydos (R-Allegheny), which requires sex-offender training for those convicted of human trafficking
“Human trafficking is a growing problem, but legislation like this will certainly help in many aspects of the problem,” Failing said. “It was encouraging to see near-unanimous support for these bills in both the House and Senate.”
The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference is based in Harrisburg and is the public affairs arm of Pennsylvania’s Catholic bishops. Learn more and sign up for their alerts at www.pacatholic.org.
(Al Gnoza is the Communications Director of Pennsylvania Catholic Conference.)
By Al Gnoza, Special to The Witness
