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.








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          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, 









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             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  








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            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.  









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           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