Giving Hawaii a Second Chance to Abolish Modern-Day Slavery

Last week Representative John Mizuno and Senator Suzanne Chun Oakland resurrected a labor trafficking bill that was thought to have had no chance of passing. In the Human Services Committee, Chaired by Senator Chun Oakland, legislators voted to amend House Bill 1003 to include provisions criminalizing labor trafficking and giving victims the right to restitution. With new life breathed into the bill, all eyes now turn to the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee, which has until Thursday, March 31, 2011, to hear the bill and decide its fate.

Many organizations in Hawaii have worked tirelessly to help bring the labor trafficking bill this far, including the Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery, also known as PASS, based in Honolulu. As one of the lead advocates in Hawaii, PASS has worked collaboratively with Polaris Project, Equality Now, and several other organizations to get comprehensive anti-human trafficking legislation passed.