BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 12|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 12
Author: Swanson (D), et al
Amended: 5/9/11 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/14/11
AYES : Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price,
Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/19/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Prostitution involving minors: special fine
SOURCE : City of Oakland
DIGEST : This bill: (1) requires the court to impose a
special fine of up to $25,000 in a case where a defendant
is convicted of prostitution involving a minor; and (2)
provides that the proceeds of such funds be available, upon
legislative appropriation, to fund programs and services
for sexually exploited minors in the county of conviction.
ANALYSIS : Existing law defines "unlawful sexual
intercourse" as an act of sexual intercourse accomplished
with a person under the age of 18 years. (Penal Code
Section 261.5, subd. (a).)
Existing law provides the following penalties for unlawful
sexual intercourse:
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Where the defendant is not more than three years older or
three years younger than the minor, the offense is a
misdemeanor.
Where the defendant is more than three years older than the
minor, the offense is an alternate felony-misdemeanor,
punishable by a jail term of up to one year, a fine of up
to $1,000, or both, or by a prison term of 16 months, two
years or three years and a fine of up $10,000.
Where the defendant is at least 21 years of age and the
minor is under the age of 16, the offense is an alternate
felony-misdemeanor, punishable by a jail term of up to one
year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, or by a prison term
of 16 months, two years or three years and a fine of up
$10,000. (Penal Code Section 261.5, subd (b)-(d).)
Existing law provides that any person who engages in lewd
conduct - any sexually motivated touching or a defined sex
act - with a child under the age of 14 is guilty of a
felony, punishable by a prison term of three, six or eight
years. Where the offense involves force or coercion, the
prison term is five, eight or 10 years. (Penal Code
Section 288, subd. (b).)
Existing law provides that where any person who engages in
lewd conduct with a child who is 14 or 15 years old, and
the person is at least 10 years older than the child, the
person is guilty of an alternate felony-misdemeanor,
punishable by a jail term of up to one year, a fine of up
to $1,000, or both, or by a prison term of 16 months, two
years or three years and a fine of up $10,000. (Penal Code
Section 288, subd. (c)(1).)
Existing law provides that any person who solicits, or who
agrees to engage in, an act of prostitution, or any person
who engages in an act of prostitution, is guilty of a
misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail
for up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
(Penal Code Section 647, subd. (b).)
Existing law provides that an act of prostitution includes
any lewd act between persons for money or other
consideration. (Penal Code Section 647, subd. (b).)
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Existing law provides that an agreement to engage in an act
of prostitution occurs only where the person making the
agreement actually intends to engage in the act. The
agreement does not constitute a crime unless the person
made some act in furtherance of the agreement. (Penal Code
Section 647, subd. (b).)
This bill states that any person convicted of soliciting or
engaging in an act of prostitution, where the person
involved in the solicitation or the act was under 18 years
of age, shall be ordered by the court, in addition to pay
an additional fine not to exceed $25,000.
This bill specifies that, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, the fine shall be available to fund programs
and services for commercially sexually exploited minors in
the counties where the offenses are committed.
This bill includes numerous legislative declarations and
findings concerning the prevalence of human trafficking of
minors for sexual commerce, the harm caused this activity
and the need for victims of these crimes to receive
appropriate services.
This bill states legislative intent to recast the state's
laws relating to human trafficking and child sex slavery to
treat the trafficked children as victims, rather than
prostitutes.
This bill states legislative intent that any person funding
human trafficking and paying for the services of child sex
slaves should be treated as severely as an adult engaging
in a sex act with a minor, regardless of whether the person
pays for the sexual services of the minor he or she is
abusing.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/14/11)
City of Oakland (source)
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
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Employees, AFL-CIO
California Against Slavery
California Catholic Conference
California Chapter - National Association of Social Workers
California Communities Untied Institute
California Narcotic Officers' Association
California National Organization for Women
California Nurses Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California Teachers Association
Child Abuse Prevention Center
Children's Advocacy Institute
Concerned Women for America
Crime Victims United
Eta Nu Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Sorority Incorporated
Junior Leagues of California
Polaris Project
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "The
average age of a child entering the sex industry is 12
years old, with some of the most horrific cases involving
children as young as 4 years old. Annually, over 300,000
minors are captive victims of traffickers and the customers
engaging in these illicit activities keep the industry
alive.
"The Abolition of Child Commerce, Exploitation, and Sexual
Slavery Act of 2011 (AB 12) raises to $25,000 the fine
against a person convicted of engaging in sex with a minor
for money. Under current law, the fines for such
activities are less than those for a person engaging in sex
with a minor without the exchange of money.
"No amount of money could ever make up for the violence and
mental abuse that sexually exploited minors experience from
the traffickers who force them into the sex industry and
the men who pay for their sexual services. However, the
increased fines which would be assessed against 'Johns' in
accordance with this bill, would be dedicated to community
agencies that provide education, counseling, and shelter
for sexually exploited minors."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Achadjian, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill
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Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Gorell
RJG:do 6/15/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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