BILL ANALYSIS
AB 16
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 16 (Swanson) - As Amended: April 14, 2009
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill adds human trafficking to the list of serious and
violent felonies for purposes of sentencing pursuant to the
three strikes law.
For three strikes law purposes, adding an offense to the list of
serious and violent felonies means that if the defendant has two
prior serious or violent felonies and is charged with a third
felony, regardless of whether it is serious or violent, the
defendant receives a 25-years-to-life sentence. If the defendant
has one prior serious or violent felony, a second serious or
violent felony doubles the sentence for the current offense.
FISCAL EFFECT
Unknown, significant annual GF costs, in excess of $1 million,
for longer state prison terms, to the extent additional
offenders ultimately receive longer terms under three strike
sentencing provisions.
For example, based on the 12 persons committed to state prison
in 2007 and 2008 for human trafficking, if this bill results in
one additional offender annually receiving a three-strike life
sentence, and two offenders annually receiving a second-strike
double-the-base-term sentence, annual costs would exceed $1.5
million in about 10 years. Costs would continue to increase
annually as more life sentences are added.
COMMENTS
AB 16
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1)Rationale . Proponents contend that the omission of human
trafficking from the serious and violent felony list is an
anomaly, and contrast this offense with existing serious
offenses, such as burglary and various forms of assault.
2)Human trafficking is defined in current law as depriving or
violating the personal liberty of another with the intent to
commit felony violations related to prostitution, pimping and
pandering, and using a minor to perform prohibited acts.
According to a February 2005 report produced by researchers at
UC Berkeley, human trafficking is a serious concern in
California. The report states, "The majority of those forced
to work as modern-day slaves come to California from abroad -
with or without valid travel documents. Others are United
States citizens who have fallen into the clutches of
traffickers. Whether foreigners or not, they are terrified of
their captors and face uncertain futures should they manage to
escape." (Freedom Denied: Forced Labor in California,
University of California, Berkeley Human Rights Center.)
The report identified 57 forced labor operations in almost a
dozen cities in California between 1998 and 2003, involving
more than 500 individuals from 18 countries. Thailand was the
home country of 136 forced labor victims, with 104 and 53
arriving from Mexico and Russia, respectively. American
citizens comprise 5.4% of the total. Victims labored in
several economic sectors including prostitution and sex
services (47.4%), domestic service (33.3%), mail order brides
(5.3 %), sweatshops (5.3%), and agriculture (1.8%).
3)Prior Legislation .
a) AB 426 (Galgiani), 2007-08, added human trafficking to
the list of serious felonies and solicitation of murder to
the list both serious and violent felonies for purposes of
sentencing pursuant to the three strikes law. AB 426 was
held in this committee.
b) AB 677 (Parra), 2005-06, added solicitation of murder to
the definition of a serious felony. AB 677 was held in this
committee.
AB 16
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c) AB 22 (Lieber), Statutes of 2006, established civil and
criminal penalties for trafficking in human beings, and
provided for forfeiture of assets derived from human
trafficking,
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081