Sb 33: Civil Cause of Action Against Human Traffickers

• Jurisdiction: Georgia,United States
• Citation: Vol. 38 No. 1
• Publication year: 2022
• topic: Business of Law,Civil Rights,Contracts,Family Law,Labor Law,Criminal Law

SB 33: Civil Cause of Action Against Human Traffickers

Abigail Coker
acoker4@student.gsu.edu

Anaid Reyes-Kipp
areyeskipp1@student.gsu.edu

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torts

General Provisions: Amend Chapter 1 of Title 51 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to General Provisions regarding Torts, so as to Provide a Cause of Action Against Perpetrators for Victims of Human Trafficking; Provide for Definitions; Provide a Cause of Action Against Perpetrators of Human Trafficking by the Attorney General on Behalf of the State; Provide for Related Matters; Repeal Conflicting Laws; and for Other Purposes.

Code Sections: O.C.G.A. § 51-1-56 (new)

Bill Number: SB 33

Act Number: 28

Georgia Laws: 2021 Ga. Laws Act 28

Summary: The Act creates a new civil cause of action against human traffickers. It allows both victims and the Attorney General to sue traffickers and those benefitting financially from human trafficking for damages and reasonable attorney's fees. The plaintiffs can file their lawsuit within ten years after the cause of action arose or, if the victim was a minor at the time of the violation, within ten years after the victim turned eighteen-years-old.

Effective Date: July 21, 2021

History

Atlanta is a significant hub for human trafficking.¹ Building on a robust anti-trafficking movement in Georgia, First Lady Marty Kemp

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felt she had to use her platform to address the issue.² Since 2019, she has cochaired the Georgians for Refuge, Action, Compassion, and Education (GRACE) Commission, a panel of public and private leaders committed to combatting human trafficking in the state.³ The GRACE Commission regularly consults with an expert panel and survivors of human trafficking to identify gaps in the law surrounding human trafficking and has dedicated itself to filling those gaps.⁴ Since Marty Kemp's husband, Governor Brian Kemp (R), assumed office in 2019, he has advocated for and signed five bills related to human trafficking in addition to signing Senate Bill (SB) 33 and SB 34 into law in 2021.⁵

In assessing gaps in the law, the GRACE Commission identified that Georgia lacked a civil cause of action against perpetrators of human trafficking. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) has provided civil remedies at the federal level since 2003 by "allow[ing] trafficking victims to sue their traffickers for money damages in federal court."⁶ Since then, at least forty states and the District of Columbia have followed suit and allowed for state civil lawsuits.⁷ With the passing of SB 33, Georgia now joins those states in providing trafficking victims the option to pursue civil suits.⁸

SB 33 grew out of the GRACE Commission's work and mirrors the TVPA's civil cause of action provision.⁹ Senator Clint Dixon (R-45th)

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sponsored SB 33 in the Senate on behalf of First Lady Kemp and the GRACE Commission.¹⁰ Senator Dixon touted the bill's importance, saying that it is essential legislation that provides an additional layer of protection for trafficking victims.¹¹ By allowing victims to file suits against third parties, SB 33 aims to deter businesses, like hotels and trucking companies, from knowingly or inadvertently being involved in trafficking rings.¹²

SB 33 mirrors the TVPA's provision so that an identical statute can apply in state courts for actors who would not be subject to federal jurisdiction.¹³ SB 33 allows victims or state officials to seek money damages from traffickers and other third parties who have benefitted financially from participating in a trafficking scheme.¹⁴ Allowing trafficking survivors to sue in civil court "is an important measure because often the criminal justice process does not provide any remedy to victims and survivors."¹⁵

Bill Tracking of SB 33

Consideration and Passage by the Senate

Senator Clint Dixon (R-45th) sponsored SB 33 in the Senate with Senator Bo Hatchett (R-50th), Senator Jeff Mullis (R-53rd), Senator Butch Miller (R-49th), Senator Lester Jackson (D-2nd), and others cosponsoring.¹⁶ The bill was placed in the hopper on January 27, 2021, and the Senate first read it on January 28, 2021.¹⁷ The Senate referred

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the bill to the Senate Judiciary Committee the same day.¹⁸ The Senate Committee favorably reported the bill on February 9, 2021.¹⁹

The Senate then read the bill for the second time on February 10, 2021.²⁰ The next day, on February 11, 2021, the Senate read the bill for the third time.²¹ No amendments were introduced, and on February 11, 2021, the Senate passed and adopted the bill unanimously by a vote of 50 to 0.²²

Consideration and Passage by the House

Representative Josh Bonner (R-72nd) sponsored SB 33 in the House, and the House read the bill for the first time on February 16, 2021.²³ The House read the bill for a second time on February 17, 2021.²⁴ The House Judiciary Committee reported favorably on the bill without opposition on March 18, 2021.²⁵

The House read the bill for the third time on March 23, 2021, and the bill passed unanimously by a vote of 164 to 0 that same day.²⁶ The Senate sent the bill to Governor Kemp (R) on April 7, 2021, and he signed it into law as Act 28 on April 27, 2021.²⁷ The Act's effective date is July 1, 2021.²⁸

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The Act

The Act amends Title 51 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to provide a new Code section that creates a civil cause of action for victims of human trafficking and allows for the Attorney General to obtain relief on behalf of the state against perpetrators of human trafficking.²⁹

Paragraph (a)

Paragraph (a) of the Act provides definitions for the terms "criminal action" and "perpetrator" as used in subsequent paragraphs (b), (c), and (e).³⁰ "Criminal action" refers to any investigation or prosecution of an offense that is pending final adjudication in a trial court.³¹ "Perpetrator" is defined broadly to include any person or entity that knowingly benefits, financially or otherwise, from participating in a scheme that such person or entity knew, or should have known, involved a violation of Code section 16-5-46.³² Notably, this definition expands the list of entities that can be held liable for human trafficking beyond those potentially criminally liable under Code section 16-5-46.³³

Paragraph (b)

Paragraph (b) reflects the main purpose of the Act: it provides that anyone who is a victim of labor or sexual servitude—the criminal human trafficking violations outlined in Code section 16-5-46—shall also have a civil cause of action against perpetrators of human trafficking and may recover damages and reasonable attorney's fees.³⁴

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Paragraph (c)

Paragraph (c) clarifies the procedure that applies when a trafficking victim files a civil action under this Code section, and the same victim is part of a trafficking occurrence that gives rise to a criminal action currently pending adjudication.³⁵ In that case, the trafficking victim's civil suit "shall be stayed during [the] pendency of the criminal action."³⁶

Paragraph (d)

Paragraph (d) defines the statute of limitations for this Code section. It provides that a trafficking victim may file a civil cause of action under paragraph (b) within ten years after (1) the cause of action arose or (2) the victim reaches eighteen years of age if the victim was a minor at the time of the alleged violation.³⁷

Paragraph (e)

Finally, paragraph (e) rounds out the Act by giving the Attorney General a limited civil cause of action against perpetrators of human trafficking.³⁸ Whenever the Attorney General "has reasonable cause to believe that an interest of the citizens of this state has been or is threatened or adversely affected by a perpetrator," she may bring a civil action on behalf of the state to obtain appropriate relief.³⁹ The "appropriate relief that the Act's drafters imagined includes injunctive relief; for example, the drafters intended for this relief provision to allow the Attorney General to shut down a hotel if the hotel qualifies as a perpetrator under paragraph (a) by benefitting financially from human trafficking.⁴⁰

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Analysis

Likely Effects

While the Act's impact on human trafficking in Georgia remains to be seen, trends at the federal level illuminate likely effects. Congress created a civil cause of action in the TVPA "on the belief 'that the additional enforcement activity resulting from private civil actions [would be] worthwhile.'"⁴¹ At the federal level, civil trafficking lawsuits have filled gaps in the criminal system, particularly for forced labor cases, because federal prosecutors often focus on...