HF138

Purpose

To enhance public safety by improving how Minnesota tracks and shares information about trafficking. The bill requires formal data collection on trafficking and makes that information available to the public to inform policy, enforcement, and prevention efforts.

Main Provisions

• The commissioner must gather and compile annually statistical data on the extent and nature of trafficking in Minnesota.
• The commissioner must publish the collected data every two years.
• The publication must be public and include, to the extent possible, the information that would be collected under subdivision 1, as well as any other information the commissioner finds relevant to trafficking in Minnesota.
• These requirements modify Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 299A.785 subdivision 2 (Publication).

Changes to Existing Law

• Introduces an annual data-collection obligation for trafficking data by the commissioner.
• Establishes a biennial publication schedule for releasing the trafficking data to the public.
• Expands what must be included in the publication to cover information from subdivision 1 and any additional relevant information the commissioner identifies.

Impact and Public Access

• Increases transparency about how widespread trafficking is and what forms it takes in Minnesota.
• Provides publicly available data to support policy decisions, resource allocation, and prevention and enforcement strategies.
• Clarifies the role of the commissioner in collecting and disseminating trafficking statistics.

Terminology and Concepts from the Bill (Key terms to note)

• trafficking
• extent and nature of trafficking
• statistical data
• commissioner
• publication
• every two years
• annually (data gathering)
• public availability / available to the public
• subdivision 1
• Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 299A.785 subdivision 2
• Minnesota

Relevant Terms - trafficking - extent and nature - statistical data - commissioner - publication - every two years - annually - public - subdivision 1 - Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 299A.785 subdiv. 2 - Minnesota