By Bob Katzen

By Bob Katzen

Senate 12-28, rejected an amendment that would mandate human trafficking training for all hotel, motel, lodging house or bed and breakfast establishment employees in the Bay State, from the front desk to housekeeping and food service, in order to equip them to recognize and respond to trafficking situations. The measure also requires these establishments to post in plain view, in the lobby and in any public restroom in their establishment, a written notice developed by the attorney general, which must include the national human trafficking hotline telephone number.

Amendment sponsor Sen. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford) said the passage of the amendment will send a message to survivors that we support them. He noted that almost no one trafficking people is in jail in Massachusetts and said that when people call him and ask him why, he doesn’t have an answer. Training front-line people in hotels to recognize trafficking and posting a hotline number might give a victim a chance. He said he has worked with hundreds of survivors and advocates on this and they always stress why is there so much inaction on Beacon Hill.

Sen. Mike Rodrigues (D-Westport), who voted against the amendment, said the goals are laudable, but this is a situation where you really don’t create a mandate that every hotel employee, no matter their job, is required to be trained to recognize human trafficking without extensive discussions with the labor unions that represent the employees. He noted this mandate could arguably involve tens of thousands of individuals.

(A “Yes” vote is for the amendment. A “No” vote is against it.)

Sen. Patricia Jehlen No