Nebraska lawmakers have approved a crackdown on human trafficking with a 48-to-nothing vote.

Senator Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln says her bill sought to toughen penalties against those trafficking humans for sex or work; penalties that currently could be as light as probation. . .

Pansing Brooks’ bill greatly increases the penalties on a wide range of human trafficking activities.

Attorney General Dough Peterson says several groups came together to raise awareness about human trafficking and to put together legislation to stop it. . .

The bill imposes harsh penalties for a wide variety of human trafficking crimes, from pandering to sex trafficking of a minor.