BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 1585|
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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1585
          Author:   Alejo (D) and Campos (D), et al.
          Amended:  5/23/14 in Assembly
          Vote:     21


           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE  :  5-0, 6/17/14
          AYES:  Hancock, Anderson, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  De León, Knight

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  6-0, 8/14/14
          AYES:  De León, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Walters

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  79-0, 5/28/14 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Human trafficking

           SOURCE  :     California Attorney General


           DIGEST  :    This bill provides that a defendant who has been  
          convicted of solicitation or prostitution, as specified, may  
          petition the court for, and the court may set aside the  
          conviction if the defendant can show that the conviction was the  
          result of his/her status as a victim of human trafficking.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1.Allows a court to set aside a conviction of a person who has  
                                                                CONTINUED





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            fulfilled the conditions of probation for the entire period of  
            probation, or has been discharged prior to the termination of  
            the period of probation, or who the court in its discretion  
            and the interests of justice, determines that the person  
            should be granted relief, provided that the person is not then  
            serving a sentence for any other offense, is not on probation  
            for any other offense, and is not being charged with any other  
            offense.  (Penal Code Section 1203.4 (a).)

          2.Provides that the relief pursuant to Penal Code Section 1203.4  
            does not relieve the petitioner of the obligation to disclose  
            the conviction in response to any direct question contained in  
            any questionnaire or application for public office, for  
            licensure by any state or local agency, or for contracting  
            with the California State Lottery Commission.

          3.States that a person who was adjudicated a ward of the court  
            for the commission of a violation of specified provisions  
            prohibiting prostitution may petition a court to have his/her  
            records sealed as these records pertain to the prostitution  
            offenses without showing that he/she has not been subsequently  
            convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral  
            turpitude, or that rehabilitation has been attained.  This  
            relief is not available to a person who paid money or any  
            other valuable thing, or attempted to pay money or any other  
            valuable thing, to any person for the purpose of prostitution,  
            as defined.

          4.Provides that a person who was under the age of 18 at the time  
            of a commission of a misdemeanor and is eligible for, or has  
            previously received expungement relief, may petition the court  
            for an order sealing the record of conviction and other  
            official records in the case, including records of arrests  
            resulting in the criminal proceeding and records relating to  
            other offenses charged in the accusatory pleading, whether the  
            defendant was acquitted or charges were dismissed.  Thereafter  
            the conviction, arrest, or other proceeding shall be deemed  
            not to have occurred, and the petitioner may answer  
            accordingly any question relating to their occurrence.

          5.States that any person who was under the age of 18 when he/she  
            was arrested for a misdemeanor, may petition the court in  
            which the proceedings occurred or, if there were no court  
            proceedings, the court in whose jurisdiction the arrest  







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            occurred, for an order sealing the records in the case,  
            including any records of arrest and detention, in certain  
            circumstances.

          6.Allows in certain cases, a person who has reached the age of  
            18 years to petition the juvenile court for sealing of his/her  
            juvenile record.

          7.Prohibits an employer, whether a public agency or private  
            individual or corporation, from asking an applicant for  
            employment to disclose, through any written form or verbally,  
            information concerning an arrest or detention that did not  
            result in conviction, or information concerning a referral to,  
            and participation in, any pretrial or post-trial diversion  
            program; nor shall any employer seek from any source  
            whatsoever, or utilize, as a factor in determining any  
            condition of employment including hiring, promotion,  
            termination, or any apprenticeship training program or any  
            other training program leading to employment, any record of  
            arrest or detention that did not result in conviction, or any  
            record regarding a referral to, and participation in, any  
            pretrial or post-trial diversion program.  States that nothing  
            shall prevent an employer from asking an employee or applicant  
            for employment about an arrest for which the employee or  
            applicant is out on bail or on his/her own recognizance  
            pending trial.  This provision does not apply to employment of  
            peace officers.

          This bill:

          1.Allows a court, upon making a finding that a defendant has  
            been convicted of solicitation or prostitution as a result of  
            his/her status as a victim of human trafficking, to issue an  
            order that does all of the following:

             A.   Sets forth a finding that the petitioner was a victim of  
               human trafficking when he/she committed the crime;

             B.   Orders expungement relief;

             C.   Notifies the Department of Justice (DOJ) that the  
               petitioner was a victim of human trafficking when he/she  
               committed the crime and the relief that has been ordered by  
               the court; and







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             D.   Prohibits DOJ from disseminating the petitioner's record  
               of conviction for specified licensing, employment and  
               certification requirements. 

           Comments

           According to the author's office, under existing law, when a  
          victim of human trafficking is convicted of solicitation or  
          prostitution their only option is to have the conviction set  
          aside or dismissed under Penal Code Section 1203.4.  However,  
          even when the conviction has been set aside, it may be  
          discovered during the criminal history background check process.  
           As a result, the current expungement process still requires DOJ  
          to reveal these convictions to employers, and licensing and  
          certification entities.

          The existing law is unfair.  These individuals are the true  
          victims of the crime, and a victim should not be prevented  
          opportunities that allow them to live a normal life.  According  
          to a study by the Polaris Project, a group committed to  
          combating human trafficking, having a conviction of prostitution  
          on one's record makes it difficult for a victim of human  
          trafficking to fully integrate back into society.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, potential  
          near-term court costs in the range of $125,000 to $250,000  
          (*Trial Court Trust Fund) for every 5% to 10% of the estimated  
          25,000 misdemeanor convictions for prostitution accrued over the  
          past nine years (since human trafficking under Penal Code  
          Section 236.1 was established) that petition the court.  This  
          estimate assumes 90 minutes of court time per petition ($100/90  
          minutes).  Out-year court costs potentially less than $30,000  
          assuming petitions filed for every 5% to 10% of 2,700  
          misdemeanor convictions annually going forward.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/13/14)

          California Attorney General (source)
          Alameda County District Attorney
          American Academy of Pediatrics







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          California Against Slavery
          California Catholic Conference
          California Coalition for Youth
          California Communities United Institute
          California District Attorneys Association
          Californians for Safety and Justice
          Citizens for Law and Order, Inc.
          City and County of San Francisco
          City of Oakland
          Crime Victims Action Alliance
          Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
          The Child Abuse Prevention Center

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  79-0, 5/28/14
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,  
            Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,  
            Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,  
            Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,  
            Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,  
            Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,  
            Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A.  
            Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,  
            Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,  
            Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Vacancy


          JG:e  8/15/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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