BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 90 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 90 (Swanson) As Amended April 4, 2011 Majority vote PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Ammiano, Knight, Cedillo, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, | | |Hagman, Hill, Mitchell, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, | | |Skinner | |Charles Calderon, Campos, | | | | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, | | | | |Hall, Hill, Lara, | | | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, | | | | |Solorio, Wagner | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Includes in the definition of "human trafficking" the conduct of any person who causes, induces, encourages or persuades a minor under the age of 18 to engage in a commercial sex act, as specified, with the intent to effect any of the following: pimping; pandering, as specified; sexual exploitation of a child; enticement, as specified; using a minor in pornography; extortion; or, solicitation of prostitution. "Commercial sex act" is defined as any sexual conduct, as specified, on account of which anything of value if given or received from a minor. EXISTING LAW : 1)Provides that any person who deprives or violates the personal liberty of another with the intent to effect or maintain a felony violation of enticement of a minor into prostitution, pimping or pandering, abduction of a minor for the purposes of prostitution, extortion, or to obtain forced labor or services, is guilty of human trafficking. 2)States human trafficking of a person over the age of 18 is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, four, or five years. If the victim of the trafficking was under 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense, that offense is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for four, six, or eight years. AB 90 Page 2 3)States unlawful deprivation or violation of the personal liberty of another includes substantial and sustained restriction of another's liberty accomplished through fraud, deceit, coercion, violence, duress, menace, or threat of unlawful injury to the victim or to another person, under circumstances where the person receiving or apprehending the threat reasonably believes that it is likely that the person making the threat would carry it out. 4)States any person who solicits or who agrees to engage in or who engages in any act of prostitution is guilty of misdemeanor disorderly conduct. 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 California 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. 5)States any person who, knowing another person is a prostitute, lives or derives support or maintenance in whole or in part from the earnings or proceeds of the person's prostitution, or from money loaned or advanced to or charged against that person by any keeper or manager or inmate of a house or other place where prostitution is practiced or allowed, or who solicits or receives compensation for soliciting for the person, is guilty of pimping, a felony, and shall be punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, four, or six years. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, minor to moderate annual General Funds costs for increased state prison terms, potentially in excess of $150,000 per year, to the extent the expanded definition of human trafficking results in additional commitments. In 2009 and 2010 combined, 13 persons were committed to state prison under this section. If this bill results in two additional persons per year receiving the six-year midterm sentence, in four years the increased cost for incarceration will exceed $250,000, assuming full sentence credit and $50,000 per capita. AB 90 Page 3 Though proponents of this bill contend it is merely a consistent clarification of the intent of current law, if the clarification is helpful in gaining convictions and state prison commitments, there will be attendant costs. If there are no attendant costs, there is arguably no need for the clarification. COMMENTS : According to the author, "Ýt]here are an estimated 800,000 human beings trafficked for domestic, labor, and sex slavery each year. The inexpensive price of the victims and the unlikely chance of criminal prosecution make this a lucrative criminal endeavor at this time in history. Our state cannot stand by and watch hundreds of thousands of young children's lives ruined because some criminals have found trafficking to be more lucrative and safer than dealing drugs. Our children are not a business commodity for criminals to debate over. Some of these girls are as young as 4 years old. "As Legislators, we must do everything we can to stop the explosion of slavery on our streets. "AB 90 is a clean and simple fix to this complex area of law. Federal law clearly states that prosecutors do not have to prove force or coercion when a trafficking victim is under the age of 18. State law is vague regarding force or coercion in a human trafficking offense: it requires a showing of force, yet it says state law is intended to conform with federal law. AB 90 will clean up this confusion by aligning state human trafficking law with federal law. Therefore, where a person under 18 is involved, AB 90 will change the standard of proof to a showing that the defendant "caused, induced, encouraged, or persuaded the victim. "This important change in the law recognizes the fact that many child victims of trafficking suffer from significant physical and mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and trauma bonding, which creates the same kind of confinement as physical coercion. "AB 90 will also allow prosecutors to implement the fines and forfeiture provisions passed in AB 17, providing funding to community based organizations supporting sexually exploited minors." Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this bill. AB 90 Page 4 Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0000890