BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1771
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1771 (O'Donnell)
As Amended May 19, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public Safety |6-1 |Jones-Sawyer, |Quirk |
| | |Melendez, Lackey, | |
| | |Lopez, Low, Santiago | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |19-1 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, |Quirk |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Patterson, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Santiago, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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AB 1771
Page 2
SUMMARY: Increases the punishment for supervising or aiding a
prostitute from up to 6 months in the county jail to up to a
year in the county jail, and adds additional circumstances that
can be considered in determining whether someone is guilty of a
violation of supervising or aiding a prostitute. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Increases the penalty for soliciting or aiding a prostitute
from a maximum sentence of 6 months in the county jail to a
maximum of one year in the county jail.
2)Specifies that if someone is repeatedly speaking to or
communicating with a person who is soliciting sex for money or
a person who is offering sexual services for compensation,
they may be guilty of the crime of supervising or aiding a
prostitute.
3)Specifies that if someone repeatedly or continuously monitors
or watches another person who is soliciting sex for money or a
person who is offering sexual services for compensation, they
may be guilty of the crime of supervising or aiding a
prostitute.
4)Specifies that if someone receives or appears to receive money
from another person who is soliciting sex for money or a
person who is offering sexual services for compensation, they
may be guilty of the crime of supervising or aiding a
prostitute.
5)Permits prior human trafficking convictions to be considered
in determining whether a person may be guilty of the crime of
supervising or aiding a prostitute.
6)States that a juvenile court may dismiss charges against a
juvenile for this offense upon a finding that the juvenile who
is alleged to have supervised or aided a prostitute did so due
to coercion or duress, as defined.
AB 1771
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides that a person may not direct, supervise, recruit, or
otherwise aid another person in the commission of a violation
of specified prostitution offenses. Additionally, a person
may not collect or receive all or part of the proceeds earned
from an act or acts of prostitution committed by another
person. Violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor
punishable by up to six months in the county jail.
2)Provides that in determining whether a person is guilty of
directing or supervising a prostitute, the following
circumstances may be considered:
a) The offender repeatedly speaks or communicates with
another person who is acting in violation of loitering for
the purpose of engaging in prostitution.
b) The offender repeatedly or continuously monitors or
watches another person who is acting in violation of
loitering for the purpose of engaging in prostitution.
c) The offender repeatedly engages or attempts to engage in
conversation with pedestrians or motorists to solicit,
arrange, or facilitate an act of prostitution between the
pedestrians or motorists and another person who is acting
in violation of loitering for the purpose of engaging in
prostitution.
d) The offender repeatedly stops or attempts to stop
pedestrians or motorists to solicit, arrange, or facilitate
an act of prostitution between pedestrians or motorists and
another person who is acting in violation of loitering for
AB 1771
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the purpose of engaging in prostitution.
e) The offender circles an area in a motor vehicle and
repeatedly beckons to, contacts, or attempts to contact or
stop pedestrians or other motorists to solicit, arrange, or
facilitate an act of prostitution between the pedestrians
or motorists and another person who is acting in violation
of loitering for the purpose of engaging in prostitution.
f) The offender receives or appears to receive money from
another person who is acting in violation of loitering for
the purpose of engaging in prostitution.
g) The offender engages in any of the behavior described
above, inclusive, in regard to, or on behalf of two or more
persons who are in violation of loitering for the purpose
of engaging in prostitution.
h) The offender has been convicted of violating specified
prostitution related offenses.
i) The offender has engaged, within six months prior to the
arrest in any behavior described in this subdivision, or in
any other behavior indicative of prostitution activity.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, moderate nonreimbursable costs to cities and counties
for enforcement, offset to some extent by fine revenues.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "Criminal street gangs have
been continually evolving new methods to fund gang activities
for decades. In recent years, they have increasingly migrated
AB 1771
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to commercial sexual exploitation as a new source of illicit
income. These criminals view human trafficking as a more
profitable and lower risk enterprise than drug or weapons
trafficking. While a trafficker must invest additional
resources each time he wants to sell a gun or drugs, he can sell
a single person over and over again.
"AB 1771 gives discretion to judges to impose a longer sentence
when justified. The bill also makes admissible evidence that
can help judges and juries determine when a suspect is an
integral piece of gang operations. This will allow us to deal
significant damage to the human trafficking operations of these
gangs and help protect the victims of this horrible underground
sexual abuse."
Analysis Prepared by:
Gabriel Caswell/ PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0003029