During the past few months, legislators have introduced 10 additional bills regarding new ways to help prevent human trafficking.

“Today is a very important day in our statewide fight against human trafficking in Michigan,” Rep. Kurt Heise, R-Plymouth, said during the press conference. “This knows no partisan boundaries, this is what people sent us to Lansing to do.”

The bills come largely as a result of the” Michigan 2013 Report on Human Trafficking”:http://www.michigan.gov/documents/ag/2013_Human_Trafficking_Commission_Report_439218_7.pdf that was commissioned to find problem areas in the state. He said he hopes to see the bill through the Michigan Senate by this summer.

Heise said he doesn’t think there will be much opposition to the bills in the state senate aside from the issue of forfeiture, or the collection of money from pimps after being arrested for human trafficking.

“Forfeiture has always been an issue that has been batted around,” he said. “I think we are prepared for that.”

Rep. Klint Kesto, R-Commerce Township, sponsored the bill that would make forfeiture legal.

He said he believes it is important for property to be seized if that person is connected with sex trafficking.

“We have to hit them where it counts,” he said during the press conference.

Heise said the issue didn’t meet much resistance when the representatives were drafting the bills.

“I’ve not found anything that is out of the ordinary,” Heise said following the press conference. “The issue is so important on so many levels that there were no partisan disagreements that we encountered.”