Human traffickers operating in South Carolina or transporting sex slaves through the state will face stronger penalties under a bill that received final approval from the Senate on Tuesday.

Under the trafficking bill authored by Rep. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort, a person convicted of forced labor by threatened or actual physical or financial injury would be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. The bill will return to the House to receive approval for some amended language.

There are no current state laws against human trafficking beyond individual charges for abduction or rape, Ceips said.

"There's been an education process," Ceips said of the trafficking bill. "Everybody thinks it is a third-world problem."

The federal Justice Department estimated in 2004 that 14,500 to 17,500 victims are trafficked annually over the country's borders and pushed into the sex trade and illegal labor. But the numbers likely don't illustrate the problem because the nature of the crime leaves many cases unreported, Ceips said.

Pending and recently prosecuted cases have come from states throughout the Southeast. Florida, Washington and Kansas are some of the states that have strengthened trafficking laws.

Another Ceips-sponsored bill was carried over for final consideration. The bill would create a Hunting Island State Park license plate, with revenue going to the nonprofit Friends of Hunting Island for improvements to the park.