Write a commentAssembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R,C-Pulaski), the co-chairs of the Assembly Minority Conference Task Force on Human Trafficking, Assemblyman Brian Maher (R,C-Walden) and Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh (R,C-Ballston), and members of the Assembly Minority Conference today unveiled the task force's final report on human trafficking, which features a narrative account of the crisis and a robust set of recommendations, including new legislation.
The report is based on discussions and information provided by nearly 200 stakeholders over eight regional forums, special meetings and written testimony. The legislators were joined by Katrina Massey, who spoke on behalf of fellow survivors of human trafficking; Washington County District Attorney J. Anthony Jordan; and Chief Meredith McGovern of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
"Human trafficking and exploitation is a deeply uncomfortable subject, but one that must be discussed and addressed by the state. The Assembly Minority Task Force on Human Trafficking traveled to every region of the state to engage in those difficult conversations and identify ways we could help with new legislation," said Leader Barclay. "New York must improve support for nonprofits and other services, ensure laws hold criminals accountable while providing grace to victims and increase education and training in awareness and prevention. We will continue having these conversations and fighting for trafficking victims and survivors."
"The topic of human trafficking weighed heavily on my heart, and I felt New York wasn't doing enough. I brought my concern to Leader Barclay, who authorized the formation of the task force on human trafficking. My colleagues and I spent six months meeting with many experts and professionals in anti-trafficking work and with survivors. The result is a narrative shedding light on the darkness of trafficking and a set of recommendations and new legislation to compassionately work against the oppression of trafficking and help victims. The true size of the problem is overwhelming, but after meeting with the many people working to help survivors, it's clear there is a real commitment to solving this crisis," said Task Force Co-Chair Maher.
"When the subject of human trafficking comes up, most people assume it's not happening in their own communities. Through the discussions we've had with survivors, advocates, legislators and community members, we learned not only is it a pervasive issue but one we're falling far short of effectively addressing, especially given our state's open northern border policy, which has fueled the problem for far too long. Our current laws create significant gaps in the system, which traffickers are quick to exploit. One critical issue the task force has shed light on is the arbitrary deadline imposed on survivors' ability to seek justice. My bill, A.7003, aims to eliminate the statute of limitations for sex trafficking crimes, allowing survivors to seek justice at any time they choose to come forward. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to implement the initiatives detailed in the report and make a tangible difference," said Task Force Co-Chair Walsh.
Ms. Massey is a survivor of exploitation of the commercial sex industry while she was a teen in Atlanta and New York City. She is now a real estate broker and restaurateur who plays a large role in advocacy as a board member of Protect All Children from Trafficking at all levels of government. She also partners with numerous ventures to employ survivors.
"Human trafficking is happening here and now. The victims are largely our community members and it takes us, the community, to eradicate this issue. Prevention is key. Services for victims are essential. No child should feel trapped by the horrors and trauma of trafficking. We have a responsibility to protect all children from trafficking," said Massey.
The Task Force discovered that the state's current efforts leave significant room for improvement, especially with respect to the Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking (ITF), which is charged with coordinating state agency collaboration, providing public education, and collecting data. The law requires the ITF to issue an annual report on the efforts being made to address trafficking; the 2022 report was only published in late August of 2024. Further, its board has been operating with six vacancies, two of which are intended for non-governmental organizations working on human trafficking. ITF meetings are not open to the public, leaving stakeholders and the public in the dark on current effort being made to address trafficking.
More recently, the Office of the New York State Comptroller completed an audit of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance's (OTDA) Response to Human Trafficking Program between January 2019 and October 2023, during which there were 1,384 confirmed trafficking survivors. The audit found that OTDA is not collecting information on many confirmed survivors receiving services and that such information could be used to better assess and improve the Response to Human Trafficking Program. The audit also found that case management files had missing documentation, and the time for OTDA to determine a confirmed case of trafficking in about a quarter of cases took 15 days or more to make that determination, which is entirely too slow.
"Understanding what human trafficking is in 2025 and its impact on our local youth has never been more evident than with the recent rescue of more than 60 Capital Region children who were human trafficking victims. Many private organizations and individuals are investing resources to address this significant public safety and public health crisis. But, as this task force report illustrates, immediate government action is crucial," said District Attorney Jordan, who was part of the Capital Region task force forum.
"Law enforcement throughout the state is working diligently against human trafficking, but many of the criminal justice reforms enacted since 2019 impede our efforts and keep victims in danger. While well-meaning, many of these law changes do more to help perpetrators than help the victims of these crimes," said Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta. "New York lawmakers must make substantive changes to these laws so we can make significant headway in helping curb human trafficking."
The Assembly Minority Task Force on Human Trafficking outlined 63 proposals and recommendations to address areas of human services, public safety and education, including those to:
- Evaluate existing funding structures to identify barriers making victims' services reimbursement requests unsustainable for anti-trafficking and domestic violence nonprofits (bill number pending, Maher);
- Reclassify all criminal acts outlined in sex trafficking statute section 230.34 as class B violent felonies. Regardless of the non-violent or violent nature of the act, the resulting sex trafficking is itself violent (A.6946, Morinello);
- Eliminate the criminal statute of limitations for sex trafficking and sex trafficking a child, both class B violent felonies. Extend the criminal statute of limitations for sex trafficking felonies designated as non-violent (A.7003, Walsh);
- Make promoting prostitution in the fourth degree and patronizing a person in the third degree (victim under 17) bail-eligible offenses (A.6622, Giglio);
- Require the law to use language that does not legitimize prostitution, which is a form of sex trafficking (A.7008, Maher);
- Allow for an exception in sex trafficking cases to authorize law enforcement officers to provide hearsay testimony to the grand jury (A.7018, Tannousis);
- Require migrants to register with the state to assist in conducting background checks and maintaining community safety (A.2046, Slater);
- Ensure the ITF's vacancies are filled by the speaker of the Assembly and the temporary president of the Senate, ensure nonprofits are represented, subject the ITF to open meetings laws and include the Department of Education as a member agency; and
- Advance programs to educate state residents and professionals on how to identify and prevent human trafficking.
Editor's note: The report can be downloaded here:
