After hearing positive feedback from the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee, Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake, has opened a human trafficking bill file.

"This very easily is a modern-day form of slavery," Litvack said. "We're talking about the trafficking, mostly of women and children.... It's immoral if we're not responsive to it."

Susan Ritter, director of the Utah Health and Human Rights Project, told committee members that it's difficult to measure the depth of the problem because trafficking is so underground and victims are afraid. She did say, however, that there's no "typical case," since victims come from a variety of circumstances, can be immigrants or citizens and are generally forced into some sort of labor or the sex trade.

"The first step is to coordinate efforts to identify and serve victims," she said. "People have been made to feel so afraid."

Litvack said he's still in the process of deciding what the bill will look like, but he said it would likely be a comprehensive approach to complement federal law. He said there would likely be a state criminalization component, along with other pieces such as access to services for victims. He said he wants to complement the efforts of a new task force on human trafficking being formed.