[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1536 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.1536
One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and seventeen
An Act
To designate a human trafficking prevention coordinator and to expand
the scope of activities authorized under the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration's outreach and education program to include human
trafficking prevention activities, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Combating Human Trafficking in
Commercial Vehicles Act''.
SEC. 2. HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION COORDINATOR.
The Secretary of Transportation shall designate an official within
the Department of Transportation who shall--
(1) coordinate human trafficking prevention efforts across
modal administrations in the Department of Transportation and with
other departments and agencies of the Federal Government; and
(2) in coordinating such efforts, take into account the unique
challenges of combating human trafficking within different
transportation modes.
SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF OUTREACH AND EDUCATION PROGRAM.
Section 31110(c)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following: ``The program authorized under this
subsection may support, in addition to funds otherwise available for
such purposes, the recognition, prevention, and reporting of human
trafficking, while deferring to existing resources, as practicable.''.
SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM.
Section 31313(a)(3) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (F); and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following:
``(E) support, in addition to funds otherwise available for
such purposes, the recognition, prevention, and reporting of
human trafficking; or''.
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY
COMMITTEE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish an advisory
committee on human trafficking.
(b) Membership.--
(1) Composition.--The Committee shall be composed of not more
than 15 external stakeholder members whose diverse experience and
background enable them to provide balanced points of view with
regard to carrying out the duties of the Committee.
(2) Selection.--The Secretary shall appoint the external
stakeholder members to the Committee, including representatives
from--
(A) trafficking advocacy organizations;
(B) law enforcement; and
(C) trucking, bus, rail, aviation, maritime, and port
sectors, including industry and labor.
(3) Periods of appointment.--Members shall be appointed for the
life of the Committee.
(4) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Committee shall be filled in
the manner in which the original appointment was made and shall not
affect the powers or duties of the Committee.
(5) Compensation.--Committee members shall serve without
compensation.
(c) Authority.--Not later than 9 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall establish and appoint all members of
the Committee.
(d) Duties.--
(1) Recommendations for the department of transportation.--Not
later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Committee shall make recommendations to the Secretary on actions
the Department can take to help combat human trafficking, including
the development and implementation of--
(A) successful strategies for identifying and reporting
instances of human trafficking; and
(B) recommendations for administrative or legislative
changes necessary to use programs, properties, or other
resources owned, operated, or funded by the Department to
combat human trafficking.
(2) Best practices and recommendations.--
(A) In general.--The Committee shall develop recommended
best practices for States and State and local transportation
stakeholders to follow in combating human trafficking.
(B) Development.--The best practices shall be based on
multidisciplinary research and promising, evidence-based models
and programs.
(C) Content.--The best practices shall be user-friendly,
incorporate the most up-to-date technology, and include the
following:
(i) Sample training materials.
(ii) Strategies to identify victims.
(iii) Sample protocols and recommendations, including--
(I) strategies to collect, document, and share data
across systems and agencies;
(II) strategies to help agencies better understand
the types of trafficking involved, the scope of the
problem, and the degree of victim interaction with
multiple systems; and
(III) strategies to identify effective pathways for
State agencies to utilize their position in educating
critical stakeholder groups and assisting victims.
(D) Informing states of best practices.--The Secretary
shall ensure that State Governors and State departments of
transportation are notified of the best practices and
recommendations.
(e) Reports.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall--
(1) submit a report on the actions of the Committee described
in subsection (d) to--
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of
the House of Representatives; and
(2) make the report under paragraph (1) publicly available both
physically and online.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Committee.--The term ``Committee'' means the Department of
Transportation Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking established
under subsection (a).
(2) Human trafficking.--The term ``human trafficking'' means an
act or practice described in paragraph (9) or paragraph (10) of
section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22
U.S.C. 7102).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Transportation.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.