BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2040
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Date of Hearing: April 18, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2040 (Swanson) - As Introduced: February 23, 2012
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 4-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill:
1)Provides that a person adjudicated a ward of the court for an
offense involving an act of prostitution, may upon reaching 18
years of age, petition the court to have his or her record
sealed without showing that he or she has not been convicted
of a subsequent felony or of a misdemeanor involving moral
turpitude, or that rehabilitation has been attained to the
satisfaction of the court, as required by current law.
2)Provides that a person who was 18 or older at the time of an
offense involving prostitution, or a person who was under 18
but tried as an adult for an offense involving prostitution,
may petition the court to withdraw his or her guilty plea, and
requires the court to grant the petition if the court finds
the petitioner has made a satisfactory showing that the
violation was a result of the petitioner being a victim of
human trafficking, as specified.
3)Specifies that the provisions of this bill apply
retroactively.
4)Specifies this bill does not authorize sealing any record
unrelated to an act of prostitution.
FISCAL EFFECT
Based on about 9,000 misdemeanor adult dispositions for
prostitution statewide, if 5% pursued such a petition, with an
average of one hours of court time per case, the annual GF cost
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to the state trial courts would be about $225,000.
Assuming a 90% smaller universe of juvenile petitions for
prostitution, if 25% of these petitions resulted in wardship
dispositions, and half of these dispositions resulted in
petitions for relief, with an average of one hour of court time
per hearing, the annual GF cost to the state trial courts would
be about $100,000.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author and proponents contend that current law
relating to record-sealing and expungement does not
sufficiently address the special circumstances of human
trafficking, and that prostitution merits a special statute.
According to the author, "Victims of human trafficking are
often forced into prostitution and other crimes against their
will. When these victims try to leave the sex trade, their
criminal records often follow them, limiting their employment
and housing opportunities and making it difficult for them to
integrate back into society and a safe environment?.
"AB 2040 assists persons who were victims of human trafficking
in two significant ways: 1) With respect to record sealing,
AB 2040 deletes the requirement that a petitioner show the he
or she has not been subsequently convicted of a felony or
misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or that rehabilitation
has been attained. Rehabilitation is an impossible legal
hurdle to prove for someone whose crime was caused by their
commercial sexual exploitation. By deleting the
rehabilitation requirement, AB 2040 makes it easier for those
victims to get their juvenile records sealed. 2) With respect
to petitions to withdraw pleas and set aside convictions, AB
2040 would require a court to grant the petition for setting
aside certain convictions for prostitution if the petitioner
has demonstrated that the violation was a result of the
petitioner having been a victim of human trafficking."
2)Is there a need for a special record-sealing procedure for
prostitution? As noted in the Assembly Public Safety analysis
of this bill, current statute provides sealing and expungement
relief to juveniles adjudicated for most offenses and adults
convicted of most misdemeanors, including prostitution. For
offenses committed as a juvenile, the petitioner may have his
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or her record sealed upon reaching 18 years of age if he or
she has not been subsequently convicted of a felony or a
misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, and if the court is
satisfied that the petitioner has been rehabilitated. In
addition, an offender may file a petition any time before
reaching the age of 21 to dismiss the petition if the court
finds that the interests of justice and the welfare of the
minor require such dismissal, or if it finds that the minor is
not in need of treatment or rehabilitation.
For misdemeanor offenses committed as an adult, the offender
may have his or her conviction set aside or dismissed upon a
showing the petitioner has completed probation, is not serving
a sentence for any other offense, is not on probation for any
other offense, and is not being charged with any other
offense.
Is there a need to create a special sealing or expunging
procedure for prostitution offenses when relief is already
available under existing law? Is it good policy to grant a
petitioner relief without requiring a showing of
rehabilitation, completion of probation, or that the
petitioner is not continuing to engage in acts of prostitution
or other criminal acts?
3)Opposition . According to the California District Attorneys
Association, "This bill would effectively negate the
requirements of existing law that a convicted person complete
any punishment and/or supervision and refrain from future
criminal acts in order to qualify for expungement relief....
"We do not deny the pernicious effects of human trafficking,
but the bottom line is that adults who commit crimes face
consequences. Existing law provides a procedure to expunge
certain offenses and we feel it is unnecessary to create a
special process for one class of offenses and one class of
offenders."
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081