1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to public safety; enhancing the penalty for patrons of sex trafficking 
1.3 	victims;amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 609.324, by adding a 
1.4 	subdivision.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 609.324, is amended by adding a subdivision 
1.7 	to read:
1.8 		Subd. 3a.Penalties for patrons; trafficking victims. (a) Whoever violates the provisions 
1.9 	of subdivision 2 or 3 with an individual who is a sex trafficking victim is guilty of a felony.
1.10 	(b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision 4, a person who is convicted of violating 
1.11 	this subdivision must, at a minimum, be sentenced as follows:
1.12 	(1) to pay a fine of at least $3,000; and
1.13 	(2) to serve 50 hours of community work service in addition to any period of incarceration 
1.14 	in a local jail or workhouse imposed as an intermediate sanction.
1.15 	(c) The court may waive the mandatory community work service under paragraph (b), 
1.16 	clause (2), if it makes specific, written findings that the community work service is not 
1.17 	feasible or appropriate under the circumstances of the case.
1.18 	(d) In a prosecution for a violation of this subdivision, certified copies of court records 
1.19 	establishing that a person was convicted of sex trafficking in violation of section 609.322, 
1.20 	subdivision 1a, in which an individual with whom the defendant allegedly violated 
1.21 	subdivision 2 or 3 was identified as a sex trafficking victim at the time of the alleged violation 
2.1 	are admissible as substantive evidence where necessary to prove a violation of paragraph 
2.2 	(a).

2.3 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2018, and applies to violations 
2.4 	committed on or after that date.