House panel OKs bill enlisting AG in human trafficking fight

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky’s attorney general would be empowered to join the fight against human trafficking if a bill approved by a state House committee becomes law.

New Attorney General Andy Beshear told the House Judiciary Committee that he’s ready to put his office to work in assisting investigations and prosecutions of human trafficking cases in Kentucky.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Sannie Overly, was advanced by the committee on Wednesday.

Beshear says Kentucky has some of the nation’s strongest laws against human trafficking, but he says only about 10 percent of child trafficking cases reported to the state have resulted in criminal investigations.

Beshear says the AG’s office would help provide more specially trained prosecutors with the goal of sending more human traffickers to prison.

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The legislation is House Bill 229.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.