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 Page 3 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