BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 473|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 473
Author: Block (D), et al.
Amended: 8/7/14
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
SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 5/29/13
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller,
Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff,
Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Nielsen,
Padilla, Pavley, Price, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Walters,
Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 8/11/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Human trafficking
SOURCE : County of Alameda
County of Los Angeles
County of San Diego
DIGEST : This bill adds human trafficking to the list of
offenses that may be used to establish a pattern of criminal
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activity for the purpose of enhancing the sentence of any person
who commits a crime for the benefit of a criminal street gang.
Assembly Amendments remove pimping and pandering and make
technical amendments.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.States 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 punished by
imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one
year, or by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or
two or three years.
2.Defines a "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 criminal acts enumerated in
existing law having a common name or common identifying sign
or symbol, and whose members individually or collectively
engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang
activity.
3.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 of the following offenses, provided
at least one of the specified offenses occurred and the last
of those offenses occurred within three years after a prior
offense, and the offenses were committed on separate
occasions, or by two or more persons: assault with a deadly
weapon or by means of force likely to produce great bodily
injury; robbery; unlawful homicide or manslaughter; the sale,
possession for sale, transportation, manufacture, offer for
sale, or offer to manufacture controlled substances; shooting
at an inhabited dwelling or occupied motor vehicle;
discharging or permitting the discharge of a firearm from a
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motor vehicle; arson; the intimidation of witnesses and
victims; grand theft; grand theft of any firearm, vehicle,
trailer, or vessel; burglary; rape; looting; money laundering;
kidnapping; mayhem; aggravated mayhem; torture; felony
extortion; felony vandalism; carjacking; the sale, delivery,
or transfer of a firearm; possession of a pistol, revolver, or
other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person;
threats to commit crimes resulting in death or great bodily
injury; theft and unlawful taking or driving of a vehicle;
felony theft of an access card or account information;
counterfeiting, designing, using, attempting to use an access
card; felony fraudulent use of an access card or account
information; unlawful use of personal identifying information
to obtain credit, goods, services, or medical information;
wrongfully obtaining Department of Motor Vehicles
documentation; prohibited possession of a firearm, and;
carrying a concealed or loaded firearm.
4.States except as provided in existing law, any person who is
convicted of a felony committed for the benefit of, at the
direction of, or in association with any criminal street gang,
with the specific intent to promote, further, or assist in any
criminal conduct by gang members, shall, upon conviction of
that felony, in addition and consecutive to the punishment
prescribed for the felony or attempted felony of which he/she
has been convicted, be punished as follows:
A. Except as provided in existing law, the person shall be
punished by an additional term of two, three, or four years
at the court's discretion.
B. If the felony is a serious felony, as specified, the
person shall be punished by an additional term of five
years.
C. If the felony is a violent felony, as specified, the
person shall be punished by an additional term of 10 years.
1.Provides any person who is convicted of a felony enumerated in
this paragraph committed for the benefit of, at the direction
of, or in association with any criminal street gang, with the
specific intent to promote, further, or assist in any criminal
conduct by gang members, shall, upon conviction of that
felony, be sentenced to an indeterminate term of life
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imprisonment with a minimum term of the indeterminate sentence
calculated as the greater of:
A. The term determined by the court pursuant to current
determinate sentencing law for the underlying conviction,
including any enhancements.
B. Imprisonment in the state prison for 15 years if the
felony is a home invasion robbery, carjacking, or other
related offenses, as specified.
C. Imprisonment in the state prison for seven years if the
felony is extortion or threats to victims and witnesses.
1.States any person who solicits or recruits another to actively
participate in a criminal street gang, as defined in existing
law, with the intent that the person solicited or recruited
participate in a pattern of criminal street gang activity, as
specified, or with the intent that the person solicited or
recruited promote, further, or assist in any felonious conduct
by members of the criminal street gang, shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or
three years.
This bill adds human trafficking to the list of offenses that
may be used to establish a pattern of criminal activity for the
purpose of enhancing the sentence of any person who commits a
crime for the benefit of a criminal street gang.
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,
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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
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 8/12/13)
County of Alameda (co-source)
County of Los Angeles (co-source)
County of San Diego (co-source)
Alameda County District Attorney, Nancy O'Malley
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Against Slavery
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California Attorney General Kamala Harris
California District Attorneys Association
California Narcotics Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California Probation, Parole, and Correctional Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Child Abuse Prevention Center
City of Long Beach
Concerned Women for America of California
County of San Bernardino
Crime Victims United of California
Junior League of Orange County
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 Bernardino County Sheriff's Department
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San Diego County District Attorney, Bonnie Dumanis
San Diego County Sheriff's Department
Supervisor Don Knabe, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors,
Fourth District
Urban Counties Caucus
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/12/13)
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
Department of Finance
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors writes:
"Los Angeles County has seen a significant increase in the
number of sexually trafficked youth and some authorities have
identified the County as a major national hub for sex
trafficking. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has identified
Los Angeles as one of their High Intensity Child Prostitution
Areas.
"The Board of Supervisors believes the enhanced penalties
provided in SB 473 would assist law enforcement agencies and the
courts to substantially reduce human trafficking in Los Angeles
County and the rest of the State."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : California Against Slavery writes:
"In the U.S. the average age of entry into domestic minor sex
trafficking is just 12-14 years old; the average victim comes
from foster care or is a runaway, and has had a history of
sexual abuse earlier in his/her childhood. Traffickers target
youth that are vulnerable for basic needs like food and shelter,
or love and family, and exploit them. Many victims do not even
realize they are being victimized, as the trafficker has
manipulated, coerced, and "groomed" the victims into being
exploited.
"Young gang members exploit their networks within the school
system to recruit young girls of high school age, or recruit
anywhere where youth congregate - malls, shopping centers,
beaches, continuation schools, etc. It is imperative that human
trafficking be recognized as a gang activity."
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 8/11/14
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:ke 8/12/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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