SF 2784

1st Engrossment - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 04/08/2016 08:47am

A bill for an act
relating to safe harbor for sexually exploited youth; expanding eligibility
for safe harbor services to youth age 24 and younger; appropriating money;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, sections 145.4716, subdivision 2, by adding
a subdivision; 609.3241.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 145.4716, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Duties of director.

The director of child sex trafficking prevention is
responsible for the following:

(1) developing and providing comprehensive training on sexual exploitation of
youth for social service professionals, medical professionals, public health workers, and
criminal justice professionals;

(2) collecting, organizing, maintaining, and disseminating information on sexual
exploitation and services across the state, including maintaining a list of resources on the
Department of Health Web site;

(3) monitoring and applying for federal funding for antitrafficking efforts that may
benefit victims in the state;

(4) managing grant programs established under sections 145.4716 to 145.4718 new text begin ,
and 609.3241, paragraph (c), clause (3) new text end ;

(5) managing the request for proposals for grants for comprehensive services,
including trauma-informed, culturally specific services;

(6) identifying best practices in serving sexually exploited youth, as defined in
section 260C.007, subdivision 31;

(7) providing oversight of and technical support to regional navigators pursuant to
section 145.4717;

(8) conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the statewide program for safe harbor
of sexually exploited youth; and

(9) developing a policy consistent with the requirements of chapter 13 for sharing
data related to sexually exploited youth, as defined in section 260C.007, subdivision 31,
among regional navigators and community-based advocates.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 145.4716, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Youth eligible for services. new text end

new text begin Youth 24 years of age or younger shall be
eligible for all services, support, and programs provided under this section and section
145.4717, and all shelter, housing beds, and services provided by the commissioner of
human services to sexually exploited youth and youth at risk of sexual exploitation.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 609.3241, is amended to read:

609.3241 PENALTY ASSESSMENT AUTHORIZED.

(a) When a court sentences an adult convicted of violating section 609.322 or
609.324, while acting other than as a prostitute, the court shall impose an assessment of
not less than $500 and not more than $750 for a violation of section 609.324, subdivision
2, or a misdemeanor violation of section 609.324, subdivision 3; otherwise the court shall
impose an assessment of not less than $750 and not more than $1,000. The assessment
shall be distributed as provided in paragraph (c) and is in addition to the surcharge
required by section 357.021, subdivision 6.

(b) The court may not waive payment of the minimum assessment required by
this section. If the defendant qualifies for the services of a public defender or the court
finds on the record that the convicted person is indigent or that immediate payment of
the assessment would create undue hardship for the convicted person or that person's
immediate family, the court may reduce the amount of the minimum assessment to not
less than $100. The court also may authorize payment of the assessment in installments.

(c) The assessment collected under paragraph (a) must be distributed as follows:

(1) 40 percent of the assessment shall be forwarded to the political subdivision that
employs the arresting officer for use in enforcement, training, and education activities
related to combating sexual exploitation of youth, or if the arresting officer is an employee
of the state, this portion shall be forwarded to the commissioner of public safety for those
purposes identified in clause (3);

(2) 20 percent of the assessment shall be forwarded to the prosecuting agency that
handled the case for use in training and education activities relating to combating sexual
exploitation activities of youth; and

(3) 40 percent of the assessment must be forwarded to the commissioner of deleted text begin public
safety deleted text end new text begin health new text end to be deposited in the safe harbor for youth account in the special revenue
fund and are appropriated to the commissioner for distribution to crime victims services
organizations that provide services to sexually exploited youth, as defined in section
260C.007, subdivision 31.

(d) A safe harbor for youth account is established as a special account in the state
treasury.

Sec. 4. new text begin APPROPRIATIONS; SEXUALLY EXPLOITED YOUTH.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Commissioner of human services. new text end

new text begin (a) $2,000,000 in fiscal year
2017 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of human services for
emergency shelter and transitional and long-term housing beds for sexually exploited
youth and youth at risk of sexual exploitation.
new text end

new text begin (b) $500,000 in fiscal year 2017 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of human services for statewide youth outreach workers connecting
sexually exploited youth and youth at risk of sexual exploitation with shelter and services.
new text end

new text begin (c) Youth age 24 years or younger are eligible for shelter, housing beds, and services
under this subdivision.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Commissioner of health. new text end

new text begin (a) $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2017 is appropriated
from the general fund to the commissioner of health for trauma-informed, culturally
specific services for exploited youth.
new text end

new text begin (b) $800,000 in fiscal year 2017 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of health for:
new text end

new text begin (1) statewide training of frontline personnel who encounter sexually exploited youth
through their work;
new text end

new text begin (2) protocol implementation, which includes providing technical assistance in setting
up best practice-based systems for effectively identifying, interacting with, and referring
sexually exploited youth to appropriate resources; and
new text end

new text begin (3) program evaluation.
new text end

new text begin (c) Youth age 24 years or younger are eligible for services under this subdivision.
new text end