AUSTIN -- The Texas House gave initial approval to a bill that would expand the power of the attorney general’s office to investigate and prosecute human trafficking cases in the state, but only after an amendment was tacked on that its author said would “gut the bill.”

As originally filed, Senate Bill 1257 by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, would allow the attorney general’s office to prosecute human trafficking cases that had occurred in multiple counties in the state and cases contained in one county that a local prosecutor had declined to pursue. Once involved in an investigation, the attorney general’s office could pursue other crimes that were part of the same case.

Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, who sponsored the legislation in the House, said the bill was intended to create a collaboration between local prosecutors and the state’s chief law enforcement agent “to ensure that cases involving these heinous crimes of human trafficking are actively being prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.”

But Rep. Joe Moody, a Democrat from El Paso who is a former prosecutor, said the legislation would usurp the powers of local district attorneys.

“I think helping is where we need to go, I’m not opposed to help and cooperation,” Moody said. “But your bill, let’s be clear, is not helping. It’s taking.”

After a fierce debate, Moody succeeded in adding an amendment that removed the provision allowing the attorney general to get involved in cases in just one county and would require the approval of local prosecutors in a case involving multiple counties before getting involved. Moody said the bill would “create a healthy collaboration” while Leach said it “gutted” his legislation.

The original proposal could have placed district attorneys in difficult positions if they declined to press charges and the attorney general then chose to pursue a case, Moody said. The first move of a defense attorney in that case, he said, would be to call the local prosecutor as a witness to grill them on why they declined to press charges.

Leach said his legislation was about helping the attorney general’s office offer more resources to combat human trafficking cases, not about a “turf war” between the state’s top lawyer and local prosecutors. He said there were more than 300,000 human trafficking victims in the state and the legislation was about helping them.

“Those victims of human trafficking don’t care who’s prosecuting,” Leach said. “They do not care if it’s the local district attorney or the attorney general. All those victims want is justice. And that’s what this bill is about.”

But Moody said the original version of the bill could set up a constitutional challenge because prosecution of crimes within a county were reserved for the local prosecutors under the state constitution.

“This would be a recipe for disaster if we passed this language,” Moody said. “Adopting my amendment avoids that result.”

The bill must still be approved by the House one more time. But if Moody’s amendment stays in the final version passed by the House, it will have to be sent back to the Senate where Huffman, the original author, had not agreed to the changes.

That would set up a race for both chambers to agree on some version of the bill before the session ends May 27. The House and the Senate must agree or the bill cannot be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature.