BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1731
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1731 (Atkins) - As Introduced January 28, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
Creates the Statewide Interagency Human Trafficking Task Force,
comprised of specified agencies, to: 1) gather statewide data on
human trafficking; 2) recommend interagency protocols and best
practices for training and outreach to entities likely to
encounter sex trafficking; and 3) evaluate and implement
approaches to increase public awareness about human trafficking.
AB 1731
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FISCAL EFFECT:
Moderate General Fund cost to the Department of Justice of
$175,000 in 2016-17 and $313,000 annually thereafter, for two
positions.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. In 2004 and 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice
awarded grants to create six regional task forces in
California to combat human trafficking. In 2009 and 2010, the
California Emergency Management Agency used American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act grant funds to supplement the original
six task forces and establish three new regional task forces.
As part of their work to combat human trafficking, the task
forces provide training to a variety of audiences on how to
identify and respond to the crime. From mid-2010 to mid-2012,
California's task forces provided training to 25,591 law
enforcement personnel, prosecutors, victim service providers,
and other first responders.
In 2013, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research
Council prepared a guide for providers of victim services for
minors that had been trafficked. The guide pointed out that
each of the sectors involved in addressing commercial sexual
exploitation and sex trafficking of minors-victim and support
services, health care, education, the legal sector, and the
commercial sector-has specific roles to play. Adequate
responses to trafficking of minors requires collaboration and
coordination among all of these sectors, as well as at all
levels-federal, state, and local. However, the efforts of
individuals, groups, and organizations in different sectors
and with different areas of expertise tend to be disconnected.
AB 1731
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2)Purpose. According to the author, "California remains at the
forefront in the fight against human trafficking and will
continue to do so. Yet, there is not currently a statewide
entity working to coordinate the efforts of all the relevant
state agencies, to collect and analyze multi-faceted human
trafficking data from around the state, and to increase
awareness about human trafficking so that members of the
public know how to identify and report human trafficking."
AB 1731 creates California Interagency Human Trafficking Task
Force, comprised of representatives from state agencies
involved in law enforcement, social services, child welfare,
labor, public health, and corrections and rehabilitation,
education, and the courts. It directs the Task Force to do
the following:
a) Gather statewide data on sex and labor traffickers, sex
buyers, and human trafficking victims, including statistics
on prosecution of offenders as well as services provided to
victims, including commercially sexually exploited
children.
b) Recommend interagency protocols and best practices for
training and outreach to the law enforcement community,
victim service providers, and other state or private sector
employees likely to encounter sex trafficking, such as
educators and hotel workers.
c) Evaluate and implement approaches to increase public
awareness about human trafficking and make new
recommendations on these approaches.
3)Support: According to the California Statewide Law
Enforcement Association, "AB 1731 allows the various state
AB 1731
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agencies to gather data and recommend protocols and best
practices for training and outreach to law enforcement, victim
service providers, and others. By collaborating on best
practices, law enforcement and community partners will be
better equipped to handle cases and encounters with human
trafficking."
4)Related Legislation: AB 1730 (Atkins), authorizes the chief
probation officer of a county to create a program to provide
services to youth within the county that address the need for
services relating to the commercial sexual exploitation of
youth. AB 1730 will be heard in this committee today.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081