Sec. 20A.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Child" means a person younger than 18 years of age.
(1-a) "Coercion" as defined by Section 1.07 includes:
(A) destroying, concealing, confiscating, or withholding from a trafficked person, or threatening to destroy, conceal, confiscate, or withhold from a trafficked person, the person's actual or purported:
(i) government records; or
(ii) identifying information or documents;
(B) causing a trafficked person, without the person's consent, to become intoxicated, as defined by Section 49.01, to a degree that impairs the person's ability to appraise the nature of or resist engaging in any conduct, including performing or providing labor or services; or
(C) withholding alcohol or a controlled substance to a degree that impairs the ability of a trafficked person with a chemical dependency, as defined by Section 462.001, Health and Safety Code, to appraise the nature of or resist engaging in any conduct, including performing or providing labor or services.
(1-b) "Disabled individual" has the meaning assigned by Section 22.021(b).
(2) "Forced labor or services" means labor or services, other than labor or services that constitute sexual conduct, that are performed or provided by another person and obtained through an actor's use of force, fraud, or coercion.
(2-a) "Premises" has the meaning assigned by Section 481.134, Health and Safety Code.
(2-b) "School" means a public or private primary or secondary school.
(3) "Sexual conduct" has the meaning assigned by Section 43.25.
(4) "Traffic" means to transport, entice, recruit, harbor, provide, or otherwise obtain another person by any means.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 641, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 258 (S.B. 11), Sec. 16.01, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 849 (H.B. 1121), Sec. 4, eff. June 15, 2007.
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 24), Sec. 1.01, eff. September 1, 2011.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 807 (H.B. 1540), Sec. 21, eff. September 1, 2021.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 905 (H.B. 3521), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2021.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1049 (S.B. 1831), Sec. 5, eff. September 1, 2021.
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 93 (S.B. 1527), Sec. 2.01, eff. September 1, 2023.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
20
cases (
10 in the last 5 years), 2009–2025 · leading case:
Bobby Moreno v. State, 413 S.W.3d 119 (Tex. App. 2013).
Bobby Moreno v. State, 413 S.W.3d 119 (Tex. App. 2013).
· cites it 2× “Laws 392 (amended 2011) (current version at Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 20A.01(1) (West Supp.”
Ritz v. State, 533 S.W.3d 302 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017).
“Tex. Penal Code § 20A.01(4). . See id. §§ 21.”
Robert Francis Ritz v. State, 481 S.W.3d 383 (Tex. App. 2015).
“See Tex. Penal Code § 20A.01(4). The sentencing ranges for the individual offenses enumerated in section 20A.”
People v. Cardenas, 338 P.3d 430 (Colo. Ct. App. 2014).
“§ 39-13-8309 (2014); Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 20A.01 to .08 (West 2018); Utah Code Ann.”
Franklin Coy Kuhl, Jr. v. State, 497 S.W.3d 128 (Tex. App. 2016).
· cites it 2× “011 (Sexual Assault) Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 20A.02(a)(7)(C). A “[c]hild” is defined as “a person younger than 18 years of age.”
Richard Dale Griffin v. State (Tex. App. 2020).
· cites it 3× “See Tex. Penal Code §§ 20A.01(4), .02(a)(7). Although we recognize the concerns expressed by the dissent in Ritz II and in our prior opinion in Ritz regarding applying the trafficking statute to circumstances like those present here, we do not believe that application of the…”
Jane Doe AS v. Salesforce Inc (N.D. Tex. 2025).
· cites it 2× “” TEX. PENAL CODE § 20A.01(4). “Trafficking of persons” is defined by the Civil Code as conduct that constitutes a criminal offense under Chapter 20A of the Texas Penal Code.”
Kelly, Jennifer (Tex. App. 2015).
· cites it 2× “6 Tex. Pen. Code § 20A.01(4). .............”
Ritz, Robert Francis (Tex. App. 2015).
· cites it 2× “Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 20A.01(4). Constitutional Law The Judiciary Case or Controversy Constitutionality of Legislation HN3 As long as a statute is constitutional, an appellate court must enforce the statute as it was written, not as it might or even should have been written.”
Issac Williams v. State (Tex. App. 2019).
“” TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 20A.01(4). As permitted by the indictment in this case, a person commits the offense of continuous trafficking of persons, “if, during a period that is 30 or more days in duration, the person engages two or more times in conduct that constitutes an…”
Griffin, Richard Dale (Tex. Crim. App. 2021).
“10 So we should consider not only the “transport” definition of “traffic” but all of the definitions.”
— Tex. Penal Code § 20A.01(1) — 2 cases
Bobby Moreno v. State, 413 S.W.3d 119 (Tex. App. 2013).
“Laws 392 (amended 2011) (current version at Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 20A.01(1) (West Supp.”
Franklin Coy Kuhl, Jr. v. State, 497 S.W.3d 128 (Tex. App. 2016).
“011 (Sexual Assault) Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 20A.02(a)(7)(C). A “[c]hild” is defined as “a person younger than 18 years of age.”
— Tex. Penal Code § 20A.01(2) — 2 cases
— Tex. Penal Code § 20A.01(4) — 16 cases
Ritz v. State, 533 S.W.3d 302 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017).
“Tex. Penal Code § 20A.01(4). . See id. §§ 21.”
Bobby Moreno v. State, 413 S.W.3d 119 (Tex. App. 2013).
“Laws 392 (amended 2011) (current version at Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 20A.01(1) (West Supp.”
Robert Francis Ritz v. State, 481 S.W.3d 383 (Tex. App. 2015).
“See Tex. Penal Code § 20A.01(4). The sentencing ranges for the individual offenses enumerated in section 20A.”
Franklin Coy Kuhl, Jr. v. State, 497 S.W.3d 128 (Tex. App. 2016).
“011 (Sexual Assault) Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 20A.02(a)(7)(C). A “[c]hild” is defined as “a person younger than 18 years of age.”
Richard Dale Griffin v. State (Tex. App. 2020).
“See Tex. Penal Code §§ 20A.01(4), .02(a)(7). Although we recognize the concerns expressed by the dissent in Ritz II and in our prior opinion in Ritz regarding applying the trafficking statute to circumstances like those present here, we do not believe that application of the…”
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