BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 677
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 30, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                      SB 677 (Yee) - As Amended:  June 10, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                              Public  
          SafetyVote:  7-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill provides that, upon a conviction for 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 prostitution-related  
          nuisance statutes, as specified, shall apply. Those remedies  
          include closing the property for up to one year and a civil fine  
          of up to $25,000. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Negligible state enforcement-related costs. 

          2)Unknown, likely minor, increase in civil fine revenue to local  
            prosecutors and to the state. 

           COMMENTS

          1)Rationale  . The author's intent is to use existing nuisance  
            abatement statutes to combat human trafficking-related  
            operations. According to the author, "Typically those  
            trafficked are used for two 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
                                                                  Page  2

            "SB 677 seeks to further assist victims and law enforcement in  
            California, while providing another deterrent for  
            perpetrators. Specifically, SB 677 allows any real property  
            used to facilitate human trafficking to be declared a public  
            nuisance and seized by the court until the nuisance is abated,  
            and further subjects the trafficker to the costs of the  
            seizure and a civil fine of up to $25,000."  

          2)Current Law  .  

             a)   Regarding human trafficking  , provides that any person  
               who violates the personal liberty of another with the  
               intent to commit a felony violation of specified sex  
               crimes, extortion, or to obtain forced labor or services,  
               is guilty of human trafficking. Committed against an adult,  
               this offense is punishable by three, four or five years in  
               state prison. Committed against a minor, this offense is  
               punishable by four, six or eight years in state prison.  
             b)   Regarding prostitution-related nuisance statutes  , states  
               that buildings used for specified illegal activities are a  
               nuisance that shall be abated, and for which damages may be  
               recovered, whether a public or private nuisance. If the  
               existence of a nuisance is established, an abatement order  
               shall be entered as a part of the judgment, as follows: 

               i)     Directing the removal from the place all fixtures  
                 and movable property, and directing the sale thereof, as  
                 well as closing the building for up to one year. 

               ii)    If the court finds vacancy may create a nuisance or  
                 is otherwise harmful to the community, the court may  
                 order the person responsible for the nuisance to pay  
                 damages in an amount equal to the fair market rental  
                 value of the building for one year to the city or county  
                 in whose jurisdiction the nuisance is located. 

               iii)   The court may assess a civil penalty of up to  
                 $25,000 against any and all of the defendants, based upon  
                 the severity of the nuisance and its duration. 

               iv)    Half of the civil penalties collected pursuant to  
                 this section shall be deposited in the state Restitution  
                 Fund, and half shall be paid to the city or county in  
                 which the action was brought by the city attorney or  
                 district attorney.








                                                                  SB 677
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           3)Difference between Nuisance Forfeiture and Criminal  
            Profiteering Forfeiture.  Proceeds of human trafficking  
            operations are already subject to forfeiture under existing  
            criminal profiteering statutes. This bill provides that after  
            a person is convicted of human trafficking, any real property  
            that person used to facilitate the crime, such as a building  
            used as a sweatshop or a brothel, could be declared a  
            nuisance, subject to seizure pursuant to the existing  
            statutory scheme for nuisance abatement (known as Red Light  
            Abatement laws). Under the nuisance abatement statutes, a  
            citizen or a prosecuting agency may bring a civil lawsuit to  
            obtain a court order that, due to specified illegal activity  
            taking place on the premises, the property constitutes a  
            nuisance. If the court finds the specified illegal activity  
            was taking place on the property, the property is deemed a  
            nuisance. The court shall then order the building seized and  
            the property closed for up to one year. 

           4)Prior legislation,  SB 557 (Yee) was similar to SB 677, but was  
            limited to situations involving gambling and prostitution, and  
            was vetoed. The governor 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." 

            AB 677 addresses the governor's stated concern.

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081