BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 473 (Block) - Human Trafficking.
Amended: As Introduced Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: May 13, 2013 Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 473 would 1) add pimping, pandering, and human
trafficking to the list of predicate crimes that establish a
"pattern of criminal gang activity" as specified, and, 2) impose
higher penalties for human trafficking and prostitution-related
offenses that occur within 1,000 feet of a school, as specified.
Fiscal Impact:
Increased annual state incarceration costs potentially in
the millions of dollars (General Fund) for persons subject
to extended sentences due to enhancements resulting from the
expanded definition of a criminal street gang.
For every 10 percent of prostitution-related convictions
occurring within 1,000 of school grounds, increased annual
state incarceration costs potentially in the range of
$840,000 to $1.8 million (General Fund) per year,
compounding to $2.5 million to $5.4 million annually due to
overlapping sentences, for the three-year sentence
enhancement.
Background: The California Street Terrorism Enforcement and
Prevention Act (STEP Act) was passed in 1988 to seek the
eradication of criminal street gang activity by focusing upon
patterns of criminal gang activity and upon the organized nature
of street gangs.
Under the STEP Act, a "pattern of criminal gang activity" is
defined as the commission or attempted commission of two or more
of 33 enumerated offenses, provided the last of the offenses
occurred within three years after a prior offense, and the
offenses were committed on separate occasions, or by two or more
persons. The list of predicate crimes includes but is not
limited to assault, robbery, grand theft, burglary, carjacking,
kidnapping, money laundering, arson, rape, and murder.
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In addition, current law provides that a pattern of gang
activity may be shown by the commission of one or more of 28 of
the 33 enumerated offenses referenced above.
Existing law defines "criminal street gang" as any ongoing
organization, association, or group of three or more persons,
whether formal or informal, having as one of its primary
activities the commission of one or more of the 33 enumerated
offenses, having a common name or identifying sign or symbol,
and whose members engage in a pattern of gang activity. The
definition of a criminal street gang triggers enhanced
penalties, bail, and parole/probation conditions.
Under existing law, once the existence of a criminal street gang
is established, any person convicted of a felony committed for
the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with any
criminal street gang is subject to a sentence enhancement or
special gang penalty, as specified below:
The minimum enhancements (in addition to the term for the
underlying felony) are:
§ felony (other than specified) 2, 3, or 4 years
§ serious felony 5 years
§ violent felony 10 years
§ home invasion robbery life, min. 15 years before
parole eligibility
§ carjacking life, min. 15 years
§ shooting from vehicle life, min. 15 years
§ extortion/witness intimidation life, min. 7 years
Proposed Law: This bill would:
Add pimping, pandering, and human trafficking to the
list of predicate crimes that establish a pattern of
criminal gang activity, thereby expanding the activities
used to establish the existence of a criminal street gang.
Impose a three-year sentence enhancement in state prison
for defendants convicted of human trafficking,
prostitution, and related sexual exploitation crimes that
occur on the grounds of, or within 1,000 feet of, a public
or private elementary, vocational, junior high, or high
school, during school hours or when minors are using the
facility.
Provide that a violation of the provision does not
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require the physical presence on school grounds or within
1,000 feet of school grounds.
Because this bill amends Proposition 21, a 2/3 vote will be
required.
Related Legislation: Proposition 35 (November 2012 general
election) expanded the definition of human trafficking and
created enhanced penalties.
Proposition 21 (March 2000 primary election) greatly increased
the sentence enhancements imposed where a defendant committed a
felony for the benefit of a gang.
Staff Comments: By expanding the list of predicate crimes used
to establish a pattern of gang activity as part of the proof of
the existence of a criminal street gang, this bill could
potentially increase the number of persons subject to numerous
gang-related sentence enhancements and special gang penalties.
The provisions of this bill would not affect cases in which the
existence of a criminal street gang has already been established
through other offenses listed as predicate gang crimes, but
would apply in the case where a group with a common name (or
common identifying sign or symbol) engages in pimping,
pandering, or human trafficking and no other offenses listed as
predicate gang crimes have been used to establish the existence
of a gang. In addition to the impact on newly established
criminal street gang members, this bill could increase the
number of enhancements for prosecutions for non-gang members who
commit a felony in association with a criminal street gang as
more broadly defined under the provisions of this bill. It is
unknown the extent to which the additional crimes will impact
gang-related sentencing, but given the broad range of extended
sentence enhancements and penalties provided for under current
law, ongoing costs could be substantial.
As an example, for 25 individuals subject to a five-year
sentence enhancement, increased state incarceration costs could
range from $0.7 million to $1.5 million (General Fund) per year,
compounding to $3.5 million to $7.5 million after five years due
to overlapping sentences, based on the range of potential costs
to accommodate extended state prison sentences. To the extent
the number of individuals impacted is greater/less or the
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average sentence enhancement imposed is longer/shorter than the
five years estimated, annual costs would be impacted
accordingly.
Arrest information from the DOJ indicates an increasing number
of arrests for violations of human trafficking and
prostitution-related offenses (PC §§ 236.1, 266, 266a-266j)
since 2010, with over 1,050 arrests in 2012. In addition,
Proposition 35 was recently approved by the voters in November
2012, which expanded the definition of human trafficking, which
could result in future increases in the committal of these
crimes.
The imposition of a three-year sentence enhancement for the
crimes of human trafficking and specified sex trafficking
offenses that occur on the grounds of, or within 1,000 feet of a
school will result in increased state costs for incarceration of
an unknown but potentially significant amount. The CDCR has
indicated nearly 300 commitments to state prison under the
qualifying offenses of human trafficking, pimping, and pandering
in 2012. It is unknown what proportion of the specified
convictions in the past would have been subject to the school
grounds provisions of this bill, but for every 10 percent of
cases (30 persons statewide) that could have been impacted,
additional state incarceration costs in the range of $840,000 to
$1.8 million (General Fund) per year and up to $2.5 million to
$5.4 million per year for the compounding effect of overlapping
sentences could result based on the costs potentially required
to accommodate extended state prison sentences.
California's prison system continues to operate under federal
oversight as it addresses the issues of prison overcrowding and
constitutionally adequate health care in its 33 facilities. On
April 11, 2013, the three-judge panel denied the state's motion
to vacate/modify the inmate population cap and ordered the state
to provide a list of proposed population reduction measures
within 21 days of the order (May 2, 2013). To the extent this
measure exacerbates prison overcrowding due to lengthier prison
terms, this bill creates future cost pressure (General Fund) to
potentially utilize additional contract beds, out-of-state
facilities, or capital outlay in order to comply with the
court-ordered population limit.
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