BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 473|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 473
Author: Block (D), et al.
Amended: 5/28/13
Vote: 27
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/23/13
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/13
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Human trafficking
SOURCE : County of Alameda
County of Los Angeles
County of San Diego
DIGEST : This bill adds pimping, pandering and human
trafficking to the list of predicate crimes that establish a
pattern of criminal gang activity, as specified.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides that any person who actively participates in any
criminal street gang with knowledge that its members engage
in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity,
and who willfully promotes, furthers, or assists in any
felonious criminal conduct by members of that gang, shall be
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punished, as specified.
2. Defines "a pattern of criminal gang activity" as the
commission of, attempted commission of, conspiracy to commit,
or solicitation of, sustained juvenile petition for, or
conviction of, two or more listed offenses.
3. Provides various penalties for human trafficking and sex
trafficking offenses, as specified.
This bill adds the following crimes to the list of predicate
gang crimes that can be used to establish a pattern of gang
activity as part of the proof of the existence of a gang:
1. Human trafficking;
2. Pimping; and
3. Pandering.
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.
In addition, existing 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
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According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, there will be
unknown, 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.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/13)
County of Alameda (co-source)
County of Los Angeles (co-source)
County of San Diego (co-source)
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California District Attorneys Association
California Narcotics Officers' Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Child Abuse Prevention Center
Concerned Women for America of California
County of San Bernardino
Crime Victims United of California
Junior League of San Diego
Junior Leagues of California, State Public Affairs Committee
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Los Angeles County Probation Officers Union
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
North County Lifeline
Riverside Sheriff's Association
San Diego County District Attorney, Bonnie Dumanis
San Diego County Sheriff's Department
Urban Counties Caucus
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/23/13)
American Civil Liberties Union of California
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
Pimping, pandering, and human trafficking is increasing at an
alarming rate across the country as well as in San Diego.
Criminal street gangs have embraced pimping, and human
trafficking as a new revenue booster; as it now rivals
narcotic sales as a major source of funding for many gangs.
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This crime targets our most vulnerable youth, who are often
recruited within the walls of the schools they attend.
States such as California, Florida, and New York are
particularly vulnerable to human trafficking because of
factors such as: proximity to international borders, number
of ports and airports, significant immigrant population, and
large economy that includes industries that attract forced
labor.
SB 473 would add pimping, pandering, and human trafficking to
the list of crimes associated with gang activity. Penal Code
186.22 defines a criminal gang and lists 33 offenses that are
associated with gang activity. The definition of a criminal
street gang triggers enhanced penalties and bail, affects
probation and parole conditions, augments law enforcement
tools, and affects the way the case is handled by all
stakeholders in the system.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Taxpayers for Improving Public
Safety writes:
There is no doubt but that the criminal activity which this
legislation seeks to prohibit is among the most repugnant.
Human trafficking not only injures those who are compelled to
be involved in prostitution and the sale and use of proscribed
drugs, it also creates an environment of fear in the
neighborhoods where it becomes situated.
The problem that the legislation does not identify who will be
released from State prison for each person that is committed
under this statute in that there is simply not a single
additional cell available as of this date or for the
foreseeable future. This legislation does not contain a
provision to fund out of state housing for inmates subject to
this legislation nor does it provide for new prison
construction. If neither is provided, in what manner may this
new criminal sanction be enforced?
The committee should remain mindful of the fact that
Coleman/Plata court has ordered the Governor to provide a plan
to reduce State prison inmate population to 137,500 inmates by
May 6. This legislation, if approved, will increase the
prison population exponentially which could easily be
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interrupted by the three federal judges as a rejection of
their April 11, 2013 order. This committee should require
this legislation provide a procedure to release an equal
number of inmates from State custody to make sure that there
is no net increase in inmate population to assure that there
is no contempt order issued.
JG:k 5/28/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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