A bill which will help put a stop to the sexual exploitation of minors as it relates to criminal street gang activity received unanimous support in the senate this week.

Senate Bill 6256, sponsored by Sen. Steve Conway, D-South Tacoma, adds the promotion of commercial sex abuse of a minor to the list of gang-related offenses.

The bill was part of a larger package of eight pieces legislation to combat human trafficking, including legislation to keep minors from being exploited through online ads for escort services such as Backpage.com.

Human trafficking is the use of force, fraud, or coercion to recruit, harbor, transport, provide or obtain a person for labor, sex, organ transplants or services. It is the subjection of a person to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt, bondage or slavery.

Links and summaries of all eight bills are below:

SB 6251 makes it a crime to knowingly publish or disseminate an advertisement for a commercial sexual act in which a minor appears.

SB 6254 revises the crime of 1st degree promotion of prostitution to include cases where the person prostituted has a mental or developmental disability and is incapable of consent.

SB 6252 adds the crimes of commercial sexual abuse of a minor and promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor to the list of crimes that may constitute a pattern of criminal profiteering activity.

SB 6253 authorizes the seizure and forfeiture of property for convictions of commercial sexual abuse of a minor and promotion of prostitution in the first degree.

SB 6256 would add the crime of commercial sexual abuse of a minor to the list of criminal street gang-related offenses.

SB 6257 revises the crime of promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor to include cases where a person is profiting from a sexually explicit act by a minor. 

SB 6258 revises the crime of luring to include attempts to lure a child or person with developmental disabilities away from a bus terminal, airport terminal or other transportation terminal.

SB 6103 removes the practice of reflexology from the exemptions from licensure for massage or massage therapy and authorizes the state Secretary of Health to conduct inspections of massage business establishments.