BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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                                 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  
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          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."







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          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  







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            deterrent and penalty for perpetrators."


          RJG:mw  1/20/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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