BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1595
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Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1595 (Campos) - As Amended March 29, 2016
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|Policy |Labor and Employment |Vote:|6 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires, by January 1, 2018, private or public
employers providing mass transportation services to train
employees on human trafficking, as specified, and requires the
Department of Justice (DOJ) to develop guidelines for this
training.
FISCAL EFFECT:
First-year cost of $272,000, and ongoing cost of $475,000 (GF),
to DOJ to survey best practices, engage stakeholders, develop
AB 1595
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guidelines and create a curriculum model for the mass
transportation industry regarding human trafficking. On an
ongoing basis, DOJ would continue to be engaged to assess the
training curriculum success, make improvements based on feedback
and update the guidelines as they continue to gather
intelligence.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose/Background. According to the author, this bill aims
to address the lack of awareness on human trafficking in
California, particularly in regards to who is at risk, how to
identify the signs, and how to report the signs. AB 1595
expands the approach taken by the Santa Clara County Valley
Transportation Authority, San Francisco Airport, the US
Department of Transportation, and many other organizations
concerned about human trafficking by requiring all mass
transit agencies across this state to train their employees in
how to recognize the signs of human trafficking and how to
make the appropriate reports to law enforcement agencies.
The Attorney General's office reports that human trafficking
is the world's fastest growing criminal enterprise, with a
global industry estimated at $32 billion-a-year. The human
trafficking industry affects more than 20.9 million people
globally. Contrary to public perception that human trafficking
victims are from other countries, data collected from
California's task forces indicate that the vast majority of
victims are Americans. Notably, 72% of all human trafficking
survivors are U.S citizens, with 80% of human trafficking
victims in the U.S being women, and 50% being children who
attend school in the day and are trafficked at night.
California, in particular, is one of the top four destination
states for human trafficking in the U.S.
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2)Support. Supporters argue that training ground transportation
on how to recognize common signs of trafficking, as they are
on the frontlines every day, could be instrumental in helping
report human trafficking in California.
3)Opposition. CalChamber argues that this bill fails to specify
what are the commonly known or accepted signs of human
trafficking, and to whom an employee should report human
trafficking, and without further clarification, it will create
uncertainty, confusion, and inconsistency regarding the
training provided. In addition, CalChamber expresses concern
that this bill is included in the Labor Code and therefore any
alleged violation is subject to the Labor Code Private
Attorney General Act for a representative action.
4)Related Legislation. AB 1942 (Christina Garcia), also on
today's calendar, requires a hotel or motel that provides
lodging services to train employees on human trafficking, as
specified. AB 1942 is currently pending before this
committee.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 1595
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