BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                                                                    AB 1675


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          Date of Hearing:  April 5, 2016
          Counsel:               Sandra Uribe


                         ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY


                       Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair





          AB  
                     1675 (Mark Stone) - As Amended  March 28, 2016




          SUMMARY:  Requires a program of informal supervision for minors  
          who commit the crimes of solicitation, prostitution, or  
          loitering with the intent to commit prostitution.  Specifically,  
          this bill:  

          1)Requires a probation officer, in a case in which a minor is  
            alleged to have committed the crime of solicitation,  
            prostitution, or loitering with the intent to commit  
            prostitution, to provide informal supervision for the minor,  
            instead of requesting that the prosecutor file a petition  
            declaring the minor to be a ward of the juvenile court.

          2)Requires the probation officer to delineate a specific program  
            of supervision for the minor.

          EXISTING LAW:  

          1)Provides that anyone who solicits or who agrees to engage in  
            or who engages in any act of prostitution is guilty of a  
            misdemeanor.  (Pen. Code, § 647, subd. (a)(2).)











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          2)Makes it a crime to loiter in a public place for the purpose  
            of engaging in prostitution.  (Pen. Code, § 653.22.)

          3)Punishes the crime of loitering with the intent to engage in  
            prostitution as a misdemeanor.  (Pen. Code, § 653.26.)

          4)States that, in a case where the probation officer concludes  
            that a minor is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court  
            or will probably soon be within that jurisdiction, he or she  
            may delineate a specific program of informal supervision for  
            the minor instead of filing a delinquency or dependency  
            petition, if the minor and the minor's parent or guardian  
            consent.  (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 654.)  

          5)Restricts a program of informal supervision to no more than  
            six months.  (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 654.)  

          6)Provides that a program of informal supervision may call for  
            the minor to obtain care and treatment for the misuse of or  
            addiction to controlled substances from a county mental health  
            service or other appropriate community agency.  (Welf. & Inst.  
            Code, § 654.)  

          7)Provides that a program of informal supervision must require  
            the minor's parents or guardians of the minor to participate  
            with the minor in counseling or education programs. (Welf. &  
            Inst. Code, § 654.)

          8)Authorizes the probation officer to file a petition, or  
            request that the prosecuting attorney file a petition, at any  
            time within the six-month period or up to 90 days thereafter.   
            (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 654.)  

          9)Excludes minors alleged to have committed certain offenses for  
            participating in a program of informal supervision, except in  
            the unusual case where the interest of justice would best be  
            served and the court gives reasons on the record for its  
            decision.  (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 654.3.)











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          10)Authorizes a program of informal supervision specifically for  
            minors charged with driving under influence of alcohol or  
            drugs.   (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 654.1.)

          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown

          COMMENTS:  

          1)Author's Statement:  According to the author, "While  
            California law states that children cannot consent to sex,  
            children continue to be convicted as prostitutes.  The  
            majority of these children are trafficked and forced, induced  
            or coerced into commercial sex.  Others are runaways who find  
            themselves on the streets with no other means to survive.  All  
            are victims. 

          "Fortunately, children who are involved in prostitution are  
            beginning to be treated and provided services as victims.   
            Task forces, programs and services have been put into place,  
            and even scarce public dollars have been allocated to help  
            these children.  However, the fact remains that these children  
            will always be viewed -- and more importantly, treated -- as  
            criminals as long as they are wards of delinquency and can be  
            prosecuted as prostitutes." 

          2)Informal Supervision Rather Than Wardship:  Juvenile  
            delinquency actions are begun by the filing of a petition  
            under Welfare and Institutions Code section 602.  The petition  
            alleges criminal offenses and is brought by the district  
            attorney.

          But, the Welfare and Institutions Code provides an opportunity  
            for pre-petition informal supervision, also known as  
            diversion.  (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 654, 654.2.)  If the  
            probation officer concludes that the minor is within the  
            juvenile court's jurisdiction, or likely soon will be, the  
            officer can delineate a specific program of supervision for  
            the minor for up to six months to try to adjust the situation  











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            that brings the minor within the juvenile court's  
            jurisdiction. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 654; In re Adam R. (1997)  
            57 Cal.App.4th 348.) 
          The discretion to initially determine whether to institute  
            informal supervision against the minor rests with the  
            probation officer and cannot be delegated to the prosecution.  
            (Charles S. v. Superior Court (1982) 32 Cal.3d 741, 746.)

            Informal supervision is a voluntary contract between the  
            probation officer, the minor, and the parents or guardians.  
            The juvenile may be placed on informal probation for up to six  
            months. If the juvenile successfully completes this program,  
            the case is then closed.  If the juvenile is unsuccessful at  
            any time during the six-month period, the probation department  
            may make a referral to the district attorney's office for a  
            formal petition to the juvenile court.  (Welf. & Inst. Code, §  
            654.)

            Importantly, the court cannot require a minor to admit the  
            truth of the petition before granting informal supervision.<1>  
            (In re Ricky J. (2005) 128 Cal.App.4th 783.)  

            This bill creates a process of informal supervision for minors  
            alleged to be involved in prostitution to be diverted from the  
            delinquency court process, so that these children can still  
            receive support services with the help of the probation  
            --------------------------
          <1> In this respect, informal supervision differs from deferred  
          entry of judgment (DEJ) which provides an informal juvenile  
          court alternative for first-time non-violent offenders.  With  
          DEJ, the minor admits the allegations of the petition, but a  
          jurisdictional and dispositional hearing is not held. Instead,  
          entry of judgment is deferred and the minor is required to  
          comply with certain conditions for a period of 12 to 36 months.   
          If the minor complies, the charges in the section petition are  
          dismissed, the arrest is deemed never to have occurred, and the  
          minor's juvenile record is sealed. (See Welf. & Inst. Code, §§  
          790-794.)












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            department, without the immediate threat of criminal  
            sanctions.  It requires probation officers to initially  
            provide informal supervision in these types of cases, rather  
            than having the prosecutor file a delinquency petition asking  
            the court to declare the minor a ward of the court.
            
          3)Safe Harbor Laws:  Legislation containing protective  
            provisions for trafficked children is sometimes called "safe  
            harbor" laws.  Common goals identified in safe harbor  
            legislation include: that trafficked children be treated as  
            victims and not prosecuted as prostitutes, that trafficked  
            children be diverted from the justice system and placed in  
            appropriate services.  

          Safe harbor laws can take different approaches including  
            providing immunity from prosecution for certain offenses by  
            minors, creating an affirmative defense to criminal charges  
            for trafficked victims, providing for the pretrial diversion  
            of trafficked youth, and creating procedures to clear  
            trafficking related criminal convictions from victim's  
            records.  

          This bill diverts minors from the juvenile delinquency system  
            while providing needed services under the supervision of the  
            probation department.  
          
          4)Argument in Support:  According to the California Attorneys  
            for Criminal Justice, "This bill would move from the  
            over-criminalization of minors that participate in acts of  
            prostitution and move towards providing diversion programs,  
            preventing the minor from being declared a ward of the  
            juvenile court. 

          "In the past few years, legislators and law enforcement have  
            frequently attempted to pass harsh, draconian laws that  
            increase punishment for persons that are involved in acts of  
            prostitution. However, as we have seen in the past few  
            decades, the over-criminalization, particularly that of youth,  
            has failed as an effective policy. In addition, criminalizing  











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            these minors continues the pattern of blaming the victim  
            without looking at the heart of the issue. 

          "AB 1675 would highlight these minors as victims and provide the  
            much needed diversion and support his vulnerable population  
            requires. By reevaluating our treatment our treatment of these  
            minors, we can avoid treating them as criminals and instead  
            providing much-need support to overcome these obstacles. These  
            minors are victimized without being provided needed  
            rehabilitation, mental health treatment, and educational  
            alternatives. This bill takes the right approach in  
            intervening before the minor is forced into a cycle of crime."

          5)Related Legislation:

             a)   AB 1760 (Santiago) immunizes from prosecution a minor  
               who has engaged in a commercial sex act or who committed a  
               nonviolent crime as a human trafficking victim and instead  
               allows the minor to be adjudged to be a dependent subject  
               to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.  AB 1760 will be  
               heard by this Committee today.

             b)   AB 1708 (Gonzalez) decriminalizes prostitution by  
               minors.  AB 1708 is pending hearing in this Committee. 

             c)   SB 1322 (Mitchell) decriminalizes specified  
               prostitution-related offenses committed by a person under  
               18, but would authorize a peace officer to take a minor  
               into temporary custody.  SB 1322 is pending hearing in the  
               Senate Public Safety Committee.

          6)Prior Legislation:

             a)   SB 114 (Pavley), Chapter 42, extended the sunset date to  
               January 1, 2017, for the discretionary pilot project  
               related to commercially sexually exploited minors  
               established pursuant to SB 1279 (Pavley) and extended the  
               date for the District Attorney of Los Angeles to submit a  
               report to the Legislature to April 1, 2016.











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             b)   AB 799 (Swanson), Chapter 51, Statutes of 2011, extended  
               the sunset of the existing Alameda County pilot project  
               relating to sexually exploited minors to January 2017, and  
               requires the Alameda County District Attorney to provide a  
               report to the Legislature on the pilot contingent upon  
               local funding and operation of the pilot by April 2016.


             c)   SB 1807 (Morgan), Chapter 1258, Statutes of 1988,  
               created a program of supervision specifically for minors  
               charged with driving under the influence of an alcoholic  
               beverage or drug.

          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
          
          Support

          American Civil Liberties Union
          California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
          California District Attorneys Association
          California Public Defenders Association

          Opposition
          
          None

          Analysis Prepared  
          by:              Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744






















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