BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1942
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 1942
(Cristina Garcia) - As Amended April 13, 2016
PROPOSED CONSENT
SUBJECT: HUMAN TRAFFICKING RECOGNITION AND REPORTING: TRAINING:
HOTELS AND MOTELS
KEY ISSUE: SHOULD HOTEL AND MOTEL EMPLOYEES WHO ARE LIKELY TO
COME INTO CONTACT WITH VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING BE REQUIRED
TO BE TRAINED IN HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
AND HOW TO REPORT THOSE SIGNS TO AN APPROPRIATE LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY?
SYNOPSIS
This bill represents another helpful step in the Legislature's
and this author's continuing efforts to battle the tragedy of
human trafficking. 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. California, in particular, is one of the top
four destination states for human trafficking in the United
States. In response to this problem, the Legislature enacted SB
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657 (Steinberg) in 2010, which mandated that all retailers and
manufacturers doing business in the state in excess of one
hundred million dollars publicly disclose their efforts, if any,
to eradicate human trafficking from their supply chains. It was
signed by the Governor and has become a national model for
leveraging the power of business to fight human trafficking. In
2012, the Legislature enacted SB 1193 (Steinberg), which
required businesses, transit hubs, and other locations that are
the most likely sites of sex and labor trafficking to post a
notice in multiple languages and conspicuous font that
publicizes human trafficking resources. This bill builds on
those efforts by requiring hotel and motel employees who are
likely to come into contact with victims of human trafficking in
recognizing the signs of human trafficking and how to report
those signs to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Because
this bill amends Section 52.6, the same code section with the
notice posting requirements for businesses, the civil penalty
and enforcement provisions in that section will apply to
violations of the training requirements in this bill.
Therefore, a business that violates the training requirements
will be subject to a civil penalty. And in the circumstances
described above, a government entity will be able to bring a
civil action against the business. This bill is supported by a
wide array of law enforcement and anti-trafficking groups, as
well as the California Catholic Conference, the California Labor
Federation, and the National Association of Social Workers.
Recently passed (on Consent) by the Assembly Labor and
Employment Committee, this bill has no opposition on file.
SUMMARY: Requires training of hotel and motel employees in
recognizing the signs of human trafficking and how to report
those signs to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires that a hotel or motel that provides lodging services
in the state shall train its employees who are likely to
interact or come into contact with victims of human
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trafficking in recognizing the signs of human trafficking and
how to report those signs to the appropriate law enforcement
agency.
2)The training described in 1), above, shall follow the
Department of Justice guidelines.
3)Requires, by July 1, 2017, the Department of Justice to
develop guidelines for training employees to be used by a
hotel or motel described above and shall post them on its
Internet Web site.
4)Specifies that the guidelines shall include, but are not
limited to, all of the following:
a) An overview of human trafficking, including the
experience of its victims, how and why it takes place in
the hospitality industry, and how it is defined under state
and federal law.
b) How to identify signs of human trafficking.
c) How to report signs and incidences of human trafficking.
d) The risks human trafficking can pose to the hotel or
motel.
1)Requires, by January 1, 2018, the training to be incorporated
into the initial training process for all new employees who
are likely to interact or come into contact with victims of
human trafficking.
2)Defines, for the purposes of the training requirements of this
bill, "offense" means each incident identified in the notice
of noncompliance issued to an employer or business by a
government entity without reference to any particular number
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of employees involved.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes, under federal law, the crimes of kidnapping in
interstate or foreign commerce, peonage, slavery and
trafficking in persons, and provides for criminal and civil
penalties. (18 U.S.C. Secs. 1201, 1581-1595.)
2)Provides, under the federal Victims of Trafficking and
Violence Protection Act of 2000, the crime of human
trafficking, and delineates various federal actions to combat
trafficking, punish perpetrators, and provide services to
victims of trafficking. (22 U.S.C. Sec. 7100 et seq.)
3)Provides, under state law, that any person who deprives or
violates the personal liberty of another with the intent to
effect or maintain prostitution, child pornography, extortion,
or to obtain forced labor or services is guilty of human
trafficking. (Penal Code Sec. 236.1.)
4)Provides, under state law, for mandatory restitution and
allows trafficking victims to bring a civil action against his
or her trafficker. (Civil Code Sec. 52.5. All further
statutory references are to the California Civil Code, unless
otherwise indicated.)
5)Provides, under state law, that any provision of a contract
that purports to allow a deduction from a person's wages for
the cost of emigrating and transporting that person to the
United States would be void as against public policy.
(Section 1670.7.)
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6)Mandates, under state law, that all retailers and
manufacturers doing business in the state and who generate in
excess of one hundred million dollars in "gross receipts" to
publicly "disclose its efforts to eradicate slavery and human
trafficking from their direct supply chains for tangible goods
offered for sale." (Section 1714.43.)
7)Allows, under state law, for the seizure of any real property
that is used to facilitate human trafficking. (Penal Code
Sec. 236.3.)
8)Requires the operators of bars, adult or sexually oriented
businesses, massage businesses that are not licensed by a
central massage licensing authority, airports, rail stations,
bus stations, highway truck stops, emergency rooms, urgent
care centers, farm labor contractors, privately operated job
recruitment centers, and roadside rest stops to post a
conspicuous notice publicizing human trafficking resources.
(Section 52.6 (a).)
9)Requires the Department of Justice to develop a model notice
that complies with 8), above, and to make a model notice
available on the Department of Justice's website. (Section
52.6 (d).)
10)Provides that a business or establishment that fails to
comply with the requirements of this section is liable for a
civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) for a first
offense and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent
offense. (Section 52.6 (e).)
11)Provides that a government entity may bring an action to
impose a civil penalty pursuant to this subdivision against a
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business or establishment if a local or state agency with
authority to regulate that business or establishment has
satisfied both of the following:
a) Provided the business or establishment with reasonable
notice of noncompliance, which informs the business or
establishment that it is subject to a civil penalty if it
does not correct the violation within 30 days from the date
the notice is sent to the business or establishment.
b) Verified that the violation was not corrected within the
30-day period described in paragraph. (Ibid.)
FISCAL EFFECT: As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS: This bill represents another helpful step in the
Legislature's and this author's continuing efforts to battle the
tragedy of human trafficking. 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. Hotels and
motels, like mass transit locations, are high-risk areas for
human trafficking in both sexual and labor trafficking.
Currently, there is no requirement for the hotel and motel
industry to provide human trafficking awareness training for
employees. According to the author:
Polaris, a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating
human trafficking, has identified 1,434 cases of human
trafficking in hotels and motels nationally from December
2007 through February 2015 involving 1,867 victims, 45% of
whom were minors. These alarming statistics only help to
identify trends. They do not represent the full scope of
the problem, as the data received by Polaris comes only
from reports to the National Human Trafficking Resource
Center and to Polaris' BeFree helpline.
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Scope of the Human Trafficking Problem - Legislative,
Administrative, and Law Enforcement Response. 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 United States.
In 2010 the Legislature enacted SB 657 (Steinberg), which
mandated that all retailers and manufacturers doing business in
the state in excess of one hundred million dollars publicly
disclose their efforts, if any, to eradicate human trafficking
from their supply chains. It was signed by the Governor and has
become a national model for leveraging the power of business to
fight human trafficking. In 2012, the Legislature enacted SB
1193 (Steinberg), which required businesses, transit hubs, and
other locations that are the most likely sites of sex and labor
trafficking to post a notice in multiple languages and
conspicuous font that publicizes human trafficking resources.
This bill builds on those efforts by requiring hotel and motel
employees who are likely to come into contact with victims of
human trafficking in recognizing the signs of human trafficking
and how to report those signs to the appropriate law enforcement
agency.
According to the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee's
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recent analysis of this bill, the U.S. Department of
Transportation launched the Transportation Leaders Against Human
Trafficking, which is an open membership group partnership
comprised of transportation and travel industry stakeholders in
2012. It was created to maximize the transportation industry's
collective impact on combatting trafficking. The San Francisco
International Airport and Oakland International Airport have
implemented a training program on recognizing the signs of human
trafficking. The Santa Clara County Valley Transportation
Authority (VTA) has also implemented a training program,
requiring its transportation employees to learn how to identify
signs of human trafficking and abductions and how to report
these signs. This training helped a VTA bus driver named Tim
Watson save a three-year old child from abduction.
Similar training in the hotel and lodging industry could
likewise be helpful in terms of recognizing and reporting cases
of human trafficking. According to the author:
A hotel or motel that provides lodging services in the
state shall require its employees, who are likely to
interact or be in contact with victims of human
trafficking, to receive training that educates the
employees in recognizing the signs of human trafficking and
reporting those signs to the appropriate law enforcement
agency. The training should address no less than the
following issues: An overview of human trafficking,
including the experience of its victims, how and why it
takes place in the hospitality industry, and how it is
defined in the law. By requiring human trafficking training
for all hotels and motels in California, the state will
open a new avenue for helping victims and arresting human
traffickers - and will be the first state in the nation to
do so.
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Similarly, the Guardian Group writes as follows in support of
the bill:
A wide array of legislation has been introduced to take
steps to fight the crime of human trafficking in
California. This legislation is focused on encouraging
training for hotel and lodging workers on human
trafficking. Hotels and motels are high-risk areas for
human trafficking, including both sexual trafficking of
guests and labor trafficking of employees. There is
currently no requirement for the lodging industry to train
their employees to spot or report victims of human
trafficking. Absent training, employees risk missing
telltale signs of human trafficking and lacking the
knowledge of appropriate reporting measures.
Civil Penalties for Violations. Current law requires that
operators of bars, adult or sexually oriented businesses,
massage businesses that are not licensed by a central massage
licensing authority, airports, rail stations, bus stations,
highway truck stops, emergency rooms, urgent care centers, farm
labor contractors, privately operated job recruitment centers,
and roadside rest stops to post a conspicuous notice developed
by the California Department of Justice, publicizing human
trafficking resources. (Section 52.6 (a), (d).) A business
that fails to comply with the notice posting is liable for a
civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) for a first offense
and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent offense.
(Section 52.6 (e).) Current law allows a government entity to
bring an action to impose a civil penalty pursuant to this
subdivision against a business or establishment if a local or
state agency with authority to regulate that business or
establishment has done both of the following: (1) Provided the
business or establishment with reasonable notice of
noncompliance, which informs the business or establishment that
it is subject to a civil penalty if it does not correct the
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violation within 30 days from the date the notice is sent to the
business or establishment, and (2) Verified that the violation
was not corrected within the 30-day period described in
paragraph. (Ibid.) Because this bill amends Section 52.6, the
same code section with the notice posting requirements, the
civil penalty and enforcement provisions in that section will
apply to the training requirements in this bill. Therefore, a
business that violates the training requirements will be subject
to a civil penalty. And in the circumstances described above, a
government entity will be able to bring a civil action against
the business.
CURRENT AND RECENT SIMILAR LEGISLATION: AB 1595 (Campos)
requires training for private and public employers that provide
mass transportation services in recognizing the signs of human
trafficking and how to report those signs to the appropriate law
enforcement agency. AB 1595 is pending in the Assembly
Employment and Labor Committee.
AB 22 (Lieber, Chapter 240, Statutes of 2005) enacted the
California Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which established
civil and criminal penalties for human trafficking and allowed
for forfeiture of assets derived from human trafficking.
SB 180 (Kuehl, Chapter 239, Statutes of 2005) also established
the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery
(California ACTS) Task Force.
SB 657 (Steinberg, Chapter 556, Statutes of 2012), the
California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, encourages large
businesses to voluntarily take steps to use their substantial
economic leverage to deter forced labor from being used in their
supply chains.
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SB 1230 (DeSaulnier, 2010) required public postings regarding
human trafficking for specified businesses. This bill passed
the Legislature in 2010, but was vetoed.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Association of Code Enforcement Officers
California Catholic Conference
California College and University Police Chiefs Association
California Labor Federation
California Narcotic Officers Association
Guardian Group
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Los Angeles Police Protective League
National Association of Social Workers
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Riverside Sheriffs Association
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Alison Merrilees / JUD. / (916) 319-2334