BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 677| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: SB 677 Author: Yee (D) Amended: 12/17/09 Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 1/12/10 AYES: Leno, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg, Wright, Cogdill SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 SUBJECT : Human trafficking SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill provides that, upon a person being convicted of human trafficking, if real property was used to facilitate the offense, that property could be found to be a public nuisance and the remedies applicable under the nuisance or "Red Light Abatement" statutes, as specified, shall apply. Those remedies include closing the property for one year and a civil fine of up to $25,000. ANALYSIS : Existing law defines human trafficking as the deprivation or violation of the personal liberty of another person with the intent to commit certain specified sex offenses with the person or to obtain forced labor or services, as specified. This bill provides that upon a person being convicted of CONTINUED SB 677 Page 2 human trafficking, if real property is used to facilitate the offense, the procedures for declaring the property to be a nuisance, as described above, shall apply. Background: The Problem of Human Trafficking AB 22 (Lieber), Chapter 240, Statutes of 2005, and SB 180 (Kuehl), Chapter 239, Statutes of 2005, established a 19-member task force to examine the issue of human trafficking in California. The task force's report described the phenomenon of human trafficking as follows: "Traffickers lure victims into the United States with deceptive promises of good jobs and better lives, and then force them to work under brutal and inhuman conditions, and deprive them of their freedom. Victims of human trafficking may be involved in agricultural labor, construction labor, hotel and motel cleaning services, illegal transporters, organized theft rings, pornography, prostitution, restaurant services, domestic services, servile marriage (mail-order brides) and sweatshops. Once in this country, many suffer extreme physical and mental abuse, including rape, sexual exploitation, torture, beatings, starvation, death threats and threats to family members." This bill contains the same provisions as SB 557 (Yee), 2009-10 Session, when it was heard in the Senate Public Safety Committee in April 2009. That bill was subsequently amended in the Assembly to narrow it to apply only to trafficking offenses dealing with "illegal gambling, lewdness, assignation, or prostitution," and was then vetoed by the Governor. The veto message stated: "This measure would allow nuisance abatement provisions to be instituted against real property used to facilitate the crime of human trafficking. While I support using nuisance abatement proceedings to deter human trafficking, this measure would not apply to all instances of human trafficking. Instead, this measure is limited to situations in which real property is used for illegal gambling or prostitution. Since these situations are already covered under existing law, this measure is unnecessary." SB 677 Page 3 According to the Senate Public Safety Committee analysis, "SB 677 restores the provisions of SB 557 which were deleted in the Assembly, which appears to address the subject of the Governor's veto." Prior legislation . SB 557 (Yee), 2009-10, vetoed; AB 2810 (Brownley), Chapter 358, Statutes of 2008; AB 1278 (Lieber), Chapter 258, Statutes of 2008; AB 22 (Lieber), Chapter 240, Statutes of 2005; SB 180 (Kuehl), Chapter 239, Statutes of 2005; SB 751 (Morrow), 2005-06 Session, failed in Senate Public Safety Committee; SB 1255 (Hughes), Chapter 1022, Statutes of 1994; and AB 114 (Burton), Chapter 314, Statutes of 1994 FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 1/20/10) California Commission on the Status of Women California Narcotic Officers Association California Peace Officers Association California Police Chiefs Association ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office: "Unfortunately, California is home to one of the largest and most expansive human trafficking problems in the US. "Typically those trafficked are used for 2 different purposes, either forced labor or sexual exploitation. Statistics show that 90% of victims of human trafficking are female. According to the 2007 report released by the task force investigating human trafficking in California, 47% of victims are used in prostitution, 33% are used in domestic servitude, 5% in sweatshops and 2% in agriculture. Research by the Human Rights Center at the University of California found 57 forced labor operations between 1998 and 2003 throughout California. "SB 677 seeks to further assist victims and law enforcement in California, while providing another SB 677 Page 4 deterrent and penalty for perpetrators." RJG:mw 1/20/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****