BILL ANALYSIS SB 1279 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 15, 2010 Counsel: Milena Nelson ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Tom Ammiano, Chair SB 1279 (Pavley) - As Amended: April 20, 2010 SUMMARY : Allows the County of Los Angeles to create a pilot project, contingent on local funding, for the purposes of developing a comprehensive, replicative, multidisciplinary model to address the needs and effective treatment of commercially sexually exploited minors. Specifically, this bill : 1)Allows the Los Angeles County District Attorney to develop in collaboration with county and community-based agencies protocols for identifying and assessing minors who may be victims of commercial sexual exploitation, upon their arrest or detention by law enforcement. 2)Allows the Los Angeles County District Attorney to develop a diversion program reflecting the best practices to address the needs and requirements of arrested or detained minors who have been determined to be victims of commercial sexual exploitation. 3)Allows the Los Angeles County District Attorney to form a multidisciplinary team including, but not limited to, city police departments, county sheriff's department, the public defender's officer, the probation department, child protective services, and community-based organizations that work with or advocate for commercially sexually exploited minors. This team will: a) Develop a training curriculum reflecting best practices for identifying and assessing minors who may be victims of commercial sexual exploitation; and, b) Offer and provide this training curriculum through multidisciplinary teams to law enforcement, child protective services and others who are required to respond to arrested or detained minors who may be victims of commercial sexual exploitation. SB 1279 Page 2 4)Defines "commercially sexually exploited minor" as a person under the age of 18 who has been abused, as specified, and who has been detained for a violation of the law or placed in a civil hold for specified offenses. 5)Contains a sunset date of January 1, 2014. EXISTING LAW : 1)Allows the Alameda County District Attorney to create a pilot project, contingent on local funding, for the purposes of developing a comprehensive, replicative, multidisciplinary model to address the needs and effective treatment of commercially sexually exploited minors. [Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 18259.] 2)Defines "commercially sexually exploited minor" for purposes of the Alameda County pilot project as a person under the age of 18 who has been abused, as specified, and who has been detained for a violation of the law or placed in a civil hold for specified offenses. (WIC Section 18259.3.) 3)Creates a sunset date for the Alameda County pilot project of January 1, 2012. (WIC Section 18259.5.) 4)States that "sexual exploitation" refers to any person who knowingly promotes, aids, or assists, employs, uses, persuades, induces, or coerces a child, or any person responsible for the welfare of a child, who knowingly permits or encourages a child to engage in, or assist other to engage in, prostitution or a live performance involving obscene sexual conduct, or to either pose or model alone or with others for purposes of preparing a film, photograph, negative, slide, drawing, painting or other pictorial depiction involving obscene sexual conduct. [Penal Code Section 1165.1(c)(2).] 5)Defines the following as "disorderly conduct", a misdemeanor (Penal Code Section 647): a) Solicitation of any person to engage in or who engages in lewd or dissolute conduct in any public place or in any place open to the public or exposed to public view; and, SB 1279 Page 3 b) Solicitation or agreement to engage in or engagement in any act of prostitution. A person agrees to engage in an act of prostitution when, with specific intent to so engage, he or she manifests an acceptance of an offer or solicitation to so engage, regardless of whether the offer or solicitation was made by a person who also possessed the specific intent to engage in prostitution. No agreement to engage in an act of prostitution shall constitute a violation of this subdivision unless some act, in addition to the agreement, is done within this state in furtherance of the commission of an act of prostitution by the person agreeing to engage in that act. As used in this subdivision, "prostitution" includes any lewd act between persons for money or other consideration. 6)Prohibits loitering in any public place with the intent to commit prostitution. (Penal Code Section 653.22.) FISCAL EFFECT : None COMMENTS : 1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Under current law, when an adult has consensual sexual relations with a minor, the adult is subject to criminal prosecution, and as a matter of law, the minor is deemed too young to consent to such relations. They are considered a victim under the law. This is not the case when money is exchanged for sexual activity however. In a case where an adult pays a minor in exchange for sexual activities, that minor is eligible for charges of prostitution under Penal Code Section 647(a) or (b), Section 653.22(a), or Section 653.23(a). "This is a grave injustice in many cases where minors are forcibly coerced and manipulated, often by an adult, into selling their bodies for the benefit of their pimps. Untold numbers of children fall victim to predatory adults who sexually exploit them for commercial gain in this manner, and who very often abuse these minors in unspeakably brutal ways. Currently, exploited minors often go through the juvenile justice system with little opportunity for rehabilitation and healing that is specific to their needs. "Following the collaborative diversion efforts which were spurred in Alameda County by AB 499 (Swanson) from 2008, and SB 1279 Page 4 are currently set to be fully integrated in that county this summer, this bill seeks to address the specialized needs of commercially sexually exploited minors in a manner which focuses on rehabilitation rather than criminalization. This bill would authorize a similar pilot project specific to the needs and capacity of Los Angeles County, and contingent upon local funding. "Additionally, in light of the fact that federal grants are made available through the Department of Justice and other departments to local governments and entities for the purposes of combating human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of minors, it is the intent and hope of this legislation that Los Angeles County will be competitive for any such grants or other sources of funding in the future. "In California, it is a crime to recruit children, pimp children or pander children for the purpose of prostitution per Penal Code sections 266, 266(h), and 266(i). However, with the exception of the pilot program in Alameda County, California does not treat children involved in these acts of prostitution as victims. It is imperative that California change that approach, and using Alameda County's efforts as a very effective beginning, this bill seeks to expand and build upon that model in Los Angeles County. It is imperative that as many exploited children as possible are given the chance to have a normal life in California, and this bill seeks to increase those chances." 2)Status of Alameda County Pilot Project : According to the Alameda County District Attorney's Web site, the pilot project authorized under AB 499 (Swanson), Chapter 359, Statutes of 2008, is part of larger project called "H.E.A.T Watch". H.E.A.T (Human Exploitation And Trafficking) Watch is "an innovative, multi-level blueprint designed to combat the H.E.A.T. epidemic victimizing our youth, plaguing our communities, and impacting our businesses." One component of this program, authorized by AB 499, specifically targets the needs of minors who are victims of sexual commercially exploitation. The program is expected to be fully operational at the end of June 2010. 3)Prior Legislation : AB 499 (Swanson), Chapter 359, Statutes of 2008, created an identical pilot project in Alameda County. SB 1279 Page 5 REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists California Commission on the Status of Women California Public Defenders Association California Teachers Association Children's Law Center of Los Angeles Los Angeles District Attorney's Office Opposition None Analysis Prepared by : Milena Nelson / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744