Prosecution of Human Trafficking:

House Bill 1048 (79R) by Chisum

Sponsor - Seliger

• House Bill 1048 authorized the seizure and forfeit of vehicles used in human trafficking operations.

Employer Sanctions:

House Bill 1196 (80R) by Kolkhorst

Sponsor - Janek

• House Bill 1196 requires businesses to attest on applications for public subsidies (ex: matching funds, tax refunds, tax rebates, or tax abatements) that they do not and will not employ unauthorized aliens, and establishes that a business must repay any subsidy it received if it is subsequently convicted of having employed illegal immigrants.
• If a business that receives a public subsidy is convicted of employing unauthorized aliens in violation of federal law, the business is required to repay the subsidy with interest. The bill applies only to public subsidies applied for and received on or after September 1, 2007.

Document Fraud:

House Bill 126 (80R) by Delisi

Sponsor - Seliger

• House Bill 126 allows stricter penalties to be imposed on those who perpetrate document fraud by classifying the offense of tampering with a governmental record as "organized crime."
• Document fraud has become a large criminal industry, which threatens the security of documents used by the State to establish residency and citizenship. In its June 2006 "Fact Sheet on Comprehensive Immigration Reform," the White House pointed out that "[t]oday there is an entire underground industry dedicated to producing fake IDs and fraudulent Social Security Numbers."