BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 526 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 526 (Holden) As Introduced February 23, 2015 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes | |----------------+------+----------------------+---------------------| |Public Safety |6-0 |Melendez, | | | | |Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, | | | | |Low, Santiago, | | | | |Thurmond | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Increases the fine for the crime of abducting a minor for prostitution from a maximum of $2,000 to a maximum of $5,000. EXISTING LAW: 1)Provides that every person who takes away any other person under the age of 18 years from the parent, guardian, or other person having the legal charge of the other person, without their consent, for the purpose of prostitution, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison and a fine not exceeding $2,000. 2)States that upon conviction of any person for a violation of either procurement of a child under 16 for lewd or lascivious acts or abduction of a minor for purposes of prostitution, the court may impose an additional fine not to exceed $25,000. AB 526 Page 2 3)States that a person who, for the purpose of committing a lewd or lascivious act, persuades or entices by false promises, misrepresentations, or the like, any child under 14 years of age, to go out of the country, state, county, or into another part of the same county, is guilty of kidnapping. 4)Provides that when a person is convicted of kidnapping a victim under 14 years of age, the kidnapping is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for five, eight, or 11 years. 5)Provides that where a person is convicted of pimping or pandering involving a minor the court may order the defendant to pay an additional fine of up to $5,000. In setting the fine, the court shall consider the seriousness and circumstances of the offense, the illicit gain realized by the defendant and the harm suffered by the victim. The proceeds of this fine shall be deposited in the Victim-Witness Assistance Fund and made available to fund programs for prevention of child sexual abuse and treatment of victims. 6)States any person who, knowing another person is a prostitute, lives or derives support or maintenance in whole or in part from the earnings or proceeds of the person's prostitution, or from money loaned or advanced to or charged against that person by any keeper or manager or inmate of a house or other place where prostitution is practiced or allowed, or who solicits or receives compensation for soliciting for the person, when the prostitute is a minor, is guilty of pimping a minor, a felony, and shall be punishable as follows: a) If the person engaged in prostitution is a minor over the age of 16 years, the offense is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, four, or six years. b) If the person engaged in prostitution is under 16 years of AB 526 Page 3 age, the offense is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years. 7)Provides that any person who deprives or violates the personal liberty of another with the intent to effect or maintain a felony violation of enticement of a minor into prostitution, pimping or pandering, abduction of a minor for the purposes of prostitution, child pornography, or extortion, is guilty of human trafficking, and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for eight, 14, or 20 years and a fine of not more than $500,000. 8)States that any person who causes, induces, or persuades, or attempts to cause, induce, or persuade, a person who is a minor at the time of commission of the offense to engage in a commercial sex act, with the intent to effect or maintain a violation of enticement of a minor into prostitution, pimping or pandering, abduction of a minor for the purposes of prostitution, child pornography, or extortion, is guilty of human trafficking, and shall be punishable by imprisonment in the state prison as follows: a) Five, eight, or 12 years and a fine of not more than $500,000. b) Fifteen years to life and a fine of not more than $500,000 when the offense involves force, fear, fraud, deceit, coercion, violence, duress, menace, or threat of unlawful injury to the victim or to another person. FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS: According to the author, "For more than 30 years, the penalty for committing abduction for the purposes of prostitution has not been increased to match the growing criminal enterprise of human trafficking. AB 526 would increase the penalty threshold of AB 526 Page 4 committing abduction for the purposes of prostitution from up to a $2,000 fine to up to a $5,000 fine." Analysis Prepared by: Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0000185