AUSTIN – Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued this statement today following the passage of the conference committee report for Senate Bill 20 – the Stop Human Trafficking bill, by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston:

“Senate Bill 20 reaffirms our commitment to ending human trafficking in Texas and our determination to bring all human traffickers to justice. I congratulate Sen. Joan Huffman for her leadership on this issue and her vigilant commitment to ending this horrible crime in our great state.”

There are over 234,000 victims of human trafficking in Texas at any given time. Senate Bill 20 reforms the way we combat human trafficking and strengthens penalties for offenders.