Posted at: 02/16/2013 3:28 PM
By: The Associated Press
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A proposal to strengthen state human trafficking laws has passed its first hurdle.
House members passed Friday a bill aimed at increasing the penalty for human trafficking.
The House version sponsored by Rep. Tim Lewis of Rio Rancho makes the crime a first degree felon if the victim is under the age of 16.
The bill now goes to the New Mexico Senate. Lewis, a Republican, says he hoped that senators would move quickly on the proposal.
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