BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1731


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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          1731 (Atkins)


          As Amended  May 27, 2016


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Public Safety   |7-0  |Quirk, Melendez,      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, |                    |
          |                |     |Lopez, Low, Santiago  |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow,    |                    |
          |                |     |Bloom, Bonilla,       |                    |
          |                |     |Bonta, Calderon,      |                    |
          |                |     |Chang, Daly, Eggman,  |                    |
          |                |     |Gallagher, Eduardo    |                    |
          |                |     |Garcia, Roger         |                    |
          |                |     |Hernández, Holden,    |                    |
          |                |     |Jones, Obernolte,     |                    |
          |                |     |Quirk, Santiago,      |                    |
          |                |     |Wagner, Weber, Wood   |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
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                                                                    AB 1731


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          SUMMARY:  Creates the Statewide Interagency Human Trafficking  
          Task Force to gather statewide data on human trafficking, to  
          recommend interagency protocols and best practices for training  
          and outreach to law enforcement, victim service providers, and  
          other state and private sector employees likely to encounter sex  
          trafficking, and to evaluate and implement approaches to  
          increase public awareness about human trafficking.   
          Specifically, this bill:
          1)Creates the Statewide Interagency Human Trafficking Task Force  
            within the Department of Justice consisting of representatives  
            from the following agencies:


             a)   A representative of the Department of Justice shall be  
               chair of the task force.


             b)   The State Department of Social Services;


             c)   The Children and Family Services Division of the State  
               Department of Social Services;


             d)   The Labor and Workforce Development Agency;


             e)   The State Department of Public Health;


             f)   The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation;


             g)   The State Department of Education; and


             h)   The Judicial Council.








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             i)   The California Victim Compensation and Government Claims  
               Board.


          2)Directs the Statewide Interagency Human Trafficking 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 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)States that the protocols in this bill shall not duplicate  
            protocols developed by the California Child Welfare Council,  
            as specified.


          EXISTING LAW:


          1)States that "sexual exploitation" refers to a person who  
            knowingly promotes, aids, or assists, employs, uses,  








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            persuades, induces,  or coerces a child, or a person  
            responsible for the welfare of a child, who knowingly permits  
            or encourages a child to engage in, or assist others to engage  
            in, prostitution or a live performance involving obscene  
            sexual conduct, or to either pose or model alone or with  
            others for purposes of preparing a film, photograph, negative,  
            slide, drawing, painting or other pictorial depiction  
            involving obscene sexual conduct.  
          2)States that any person who deprives or violates the personal  
            liberty of another with the intent to obtain forced labor or  
            services, is guilty of human trafficking and shall be punished  
            by imprisonment in the state prison for five, eight, or 12  
            years and a fine of not more than $500,000.


          3)Specifies that any person who deprives or violates the  
            personal liberty of another with the intent to effect or  
            maintain a violation of specified sex offenses, 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. 


          4)Provides that any person who causes or persuades, or attempts  
            to cause or persuade, a person who is a minor to engage in a  
            commercial sex act, with the intent to effect a violation of  
            specified sex offenses is guilty of human trafficking.  A  
            violation of this subdivision is 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. 










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          5)Allows the District Attorney of the County of Alameda, in  
            collaboration with county and community-based agencies, to  
            develop, as a component of the specified pilot project,  
            protocols for identifying and assessing minors, upon arrest or  
            detention by law enforcement, who may be victims of commercial  
            sexual exploitation. 
          6)Specifies that the District Attorney of the County of Alameda,  
            in collaboration with county and community-based agencies that  
            serve commercially sexually exploited minors, may develop, as  
            a component of the specified pilot project, a diversion  
            program reflecting the best practices to address the needs and  
            requirements of arrested or detained minors who have been  
            determined to be victims of commercial sexual exploitation. 


          7)Permits the District Attorney of the County of Alameda, in  
            collaboration with county and community-based agencies, to  
            form, as a component of the specified pilot project, a  
            multidisciplinary team including, but not limited to, city  
            police departments, the county sheriff's department, the  
            public defender's office, the probation department, child  
            protection services, and community-based organizations that  
            work with or advocate for commercially sexually exploited  
            minors. 


          8)Requires the District Attorney of the County of Alameda to  
            submit a report to the Legislature by April 1, 2016, that  
            summarizes the activities of the pilot project. 


          9)States that the authorization for the pilot project in Alameda  
            County will expire on January 1, 2017, unless extended by the  
            Legislature. 


          10)Allows the County of Los Angeles to establish a pilot project  
            to develop a comprehensive, replicative, multidisciplinary  
            model to address the needs and effective treatment of  








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            commercially sexually exploited minors who have been arrested  
            or detained by local law enforcement for a violation of  
            specified sexual offenses. 


          11)Requires the District Attorney of the County of Los Angeles  
            to submit a report to the Legislature by April 1, 2016, that  
            summarizes the activities of the pilot project.  


          12)States that the authorization for the pilot project in Los  
            Angeles County will expire on January 1, 2017, unless extended  
            by the Legislature. 


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, moderate General Fund cost to the Department of  
          Justice of $175,000 in 2016-17 and $313,000 annually thereafter,  
          for two positions.  


          COMMENTS:  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 such an entity, the California Interagency  
          Human Trafficking Task Force, with specific mandates for the  
          above-described action.  As the fight against human trafficking  
          evolves in our state, the Task Force can evolve with it, and  
          future legislation can mandate further action.


          "This statewide task force will be comprised of representatives  








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          from state agencies involved in law enforcement, social  
          services, child welfare, labor, public health, and corrections  
          and rehabilitation, education, and the courts."




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
          David Billigsley/ PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744  FN: 0003160