BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2202
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 6, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Adam Gray, Chair
AB 2202
(Baker) - As Introduced February 18, 2016
SUBJECT: Human trafficking: vertical prosecution program
SUMMARY: Requires the Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) to
allocate and award funds for the purposes of establishing the
Human Trafficking Prevention Vertical Prosecution Program.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires CalOES to allocate and award funds to up to 11
district attorney offices that employ a vertical prosecution
methodology for the prosecution of human trafficking crimes.
2)Requires each county selected for funding meet all of the
following minimum requirements:
(a) Employ a vertical prosecution methodology for human
trafficking crimes.
(b) Require that a county selected for funding dedicate at
least one-half of the time of one deputy district attorney
and one-half of the time of one district attorney
investigator solely to the investigation and prosecution of
AB 2202
Page 2
human trafficking crime.
(c) Provide Cal OES with annual data on the number of human
trafficking cases filed by that county, the number of human
trafficking convictions obtained, and the sentences imposed
for those convicted of human trafficking in that county.
(d) Enter into an agreement, either by contract or by a
memorandum of understanding, with an advocacy agency funded
by CalOES that provides services, counseling, or both, to
victims of human trafficking in order to ensure that
victims and witnesses of human trafficking, as appropriate,
receive services.
(e) Funding received by district attorney offices pursuant
to this program shall be used to supplement, and not
supplant, existing financial resources.
1)Requires CalOES, on or before January 1, 2019, to submit to
the Legislature and the Governor's Office a report that
describes the counties that received funding pursuant to this
program, the number of prosecutions for human trafficking
cases filed by the counties receiving funding, the number of
human trafficking convictions obtained by those counties, and
the sentences imposed for human trafficking crimes in those
counties.
2)Appropriates two million six hundred thousand dollars
($2,600,000) from the General Fund to CalOES for the purpose
of funding the Human Trafficking Prevention Vertical
Prosecution Program
3)Sunsets the provisions of the bill on January 1, 2021
AB 2202
Page 3
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes CalOES by the Governor's Reorganization Plan No.2,
operative July 1, 2013.
2)Requires CalOES to perform a variety of duties with respect to
specified emergency preparedness, mitigation, and response
activities in the state, including emergency medical services.
3)Specifies that the State Emergency Plan (SEP) shall be in
effect in each political subdivision of the state, and the
governing body of each political subdivision shall take such
action as may be necessary to carry out the provisions
thereof.
4)Requires the Governor to coordinate SEP and those programs
necessary to mitigate the effects of an emergency.
5)Requires the Governor to coordinate the preparation of plans
and programs for the mitigation of the effects of an emergency
AB 2202
Page 4
by the political subdivisions of the State of California, such
plans and programs to be integrated into and coordinated with
the State Emergency Plan and the plans and programs of the
federal government and of other states to the fullest possible
extent.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
Purpose of the bill : According to the author, human trafficking
is a form of modern day slavery, one that involves the use of
force, fraud, or coercion to recruit, harbor, transport,
provide, or obtain a person for the purposes of labor or sexual
exploitation. Approximately 14,000 to 17,000 victims are
trafficked into the United States annually.
Vertical prosecution teams are the most effective in prosecuting
human trafficking. Vertical prosecution units generally involve
one or more staff attorneys who handle a specific type of case,
here, human trafficking, from arraignment to conviction, rather
than different attorneys handling different stages of
prosecution. This means district attorneys (DA's) are able to
specialize in the uniquely challenging features of prosecuting
human trafficking. It also means the victim, who is already
facing a difficult and emotional process, does not have to
develop a new relationship with a new prosecutor at each stage
of the case. Vertical prosecution units also work closely with
law enforcement during investigations. This is a method that is
often employed in human trafficking cases because it allows the
prosecution team to give valuable feedback on the key evidence
that law enforcement should seek to collect, and facilitates the
victims' sustained participation in cases that are otherwise
already difficult to prosecute.
AB 2202
Page 5
The author states that increasing funding to supplement current
vertical prosecution programs in California will provide
valuable resources to these programs and help further efforts to
prosecute and convict human traffickers. Providing this support
to vertical prosecution is one of the single most effective ways
to get perpetrators behind bars for the crime of human
trafficking.
Background : "Vertical Prosecution" refers to a method in which a
prosecutor is assigned to the case from the initial point of
referral to the completion of the prosecution. Many argue this
method of prosecution results in continuity and improved
prosecution success, as well as benefits for crime victims, such
as allowing prosecutors to build a rapport with victims by
remaining with the case from intake to sentencing, which ensures
that victims do not have to tell their story repeatedly to
prosecutors at various stages of the case.
Through the California District Attorneys Association (CDAA), 13
counties were contacted and asked if they have at least one
vertical prosecution unit in their District Attorney's office.
Of the 13 counties that responded, 12 of them have at least one
vertical unit - most using multiple. Of the respondents, the
only county that does not have any vertical units is Inyo
County, which only employs 3 deputy district attorneys.
DOJ Report : According to the California Department of Justice
(DOJ), human trafficking is the world's fastest growing criminal
enterprise and is an estimated $32 billion-a-year global
industry. In their 2012 report, "The State of Human Trafficking
in California," DOJ states from mid-2010 to mid-2012,
California's nine regional human trafficking task forces
identified 1,277 victims, initiated 2,552 investigations, and
arrested 1,798 individuals. The public perception is that human
trafficking victims are from other countries, but data from
AB 2202
Page 6
California's task forces indicate that the vast majority are
American-72% of human trafficking victims whose country of
origin was identified were U.S. residents. The report also
states that labor trafficking are under-reported and
under-investigated as compared to sex trafficking-56% of victims
who received services through California's task forces were
identified as sex trafficking victims. Yet, data from other
sources indicate that labor trafficking is 3.5 times as
prevalent as sex trafficking worldwide.
The report also identifies ways to combat human trafficking; and
opportunities in protecting and assisting victims and bringing
traffickers to justice. Specifically, the report states that a
vertical prosecution model run outside routine vice operations
can help law enforcement better protect victims and improve
prosecutions.
OCJP and CalOES : The former Governor's Office of Criminal
Justice Planning (OCJP) was established in 1968 to provide
funding for criminal justice and victim assistance programs.
OCJP was abolished in the 2003-2004 State Budget on December 31,
2003. All of the programs, with the exception of those in the
Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Branch (which
transferred to the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation), were incorporated into CalOES. Many of these
programs include criminal justice and victim service grant
programs administered by CalOES. Programs include:
Violence Against Women Vertical Prosecution Program (VV
Program) - The VV Program is designed to improve the
criminal justice system's response to violent crimes
against women through a coordinated multidisciplinary
response. This is achieved through the creation or
AB 2202
Page 7
enhancement of a specialized unit, which focuses on the
vertical prosecution of the defendant and services for the
victim(s).
Unserved/Underserved Victim Advocacy and Outreach
Program (UV Program) - The primary purpose of the UV
Program is to focus on service delivery to victims of
violent crime within unserved/underserved and socially
isolated populations. In addition, it is designed to
promote awareness and to improve knowledge about accessing
local services available to crime victims.
Human Trafficking Advocate Program (HA Program) - The HA
Program provides funding to 10 Victim/Witness Assistance
Centers to provide additional support, such as, hiring
additional staff, identifying additional human trafficking
victims, and providing comprehensive services to victims of
human trafficking.
Appropriation : AB 2202 would appropriate $2.6 million to CalOES
to fund up to 11 counties to participate in the Human
Trafficking Prevention Vertical Prosecution Program. According
to CalOES, using the minimum staffing requirements set forth in
Section 13849 (b)(2), which requires a county selected for
funding dedicate at least one-half of the time of one deputy
district attorney and one-half of the time of one district
attorney investigator solely to the investigation and
prosecution of human trafficking crime, it will cost $212,897 on
average to fund the program in each county. The bill would
allow for 11 counties to be funded, which totals $2,576,053.70
($212,897 x 11). The author has chosen to round up from that
number to $2.6 million to ensure there is enough funding for 11
counties to participate.
Double referral : Should AB 2202 pass the Assembly Committee on
Governmental Organization on Wednesday, April 6, 2016, this bill
will be referred to the Assembly Committee on Public Safety for
AB 2202
Page 8
further consideration.
Related Legislation : AB 694 (Bloom), Chapter 126, Statutes of
2013. Prohibits the admissibility of evidence that a victim has
engaged in any commercial sexual act as a result of being a
victim of human trafficking in order to prove the victim's
criminal liability for the commercial sexual act.
AB 528 (Aghazarian) of 2007/2008 Session. Would have
established a graffiti prevention pilot program, to be known as
the "Tag, You're It" Act of 2007, to fund, through grants,
specified graffiti prevention and prosecution efforts in 5
counties, as specified and administered by the Office of
Emergency Services. Additionally, this bill requires the
district attorney to employ a vertical prosecution methodology
to manage a dedicated graffiti vandalism caseload. (Died is
Assembly Appropriations)
SB 180 (Kuehl), Statutes of 2005, Chapter 239. Establishes the
California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery Task Force
and require it to evaluate various programs available to victims
of trafficking and various criminal statutes addressing human
trafficking, and report to the Legislature, Governor, and
Attorney General on or before July 1, 2007.
AB 22 (Lieber), Statutes of 2005, Chapter 240. Established
civil and criminal penalties for trafficking in human beings,
allowed for forfeiture of assets derived from human trafficking,
makes legislative findings and required law enforcement agencies
to provide Law Enforcement Agency Endorsement (LEAE) to
trafficking victims, created California Alliance to Combat
Trafficking and Slavery Task Force, and provided restitution to
victims.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
AB 2202
Page 9
Support
California District Attorneys Association
Nancy E. O'Malley, District Attorney of Alameda County
County of San Bernardino
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Kenton Stanhope / G.O. / (916) 319-2531
AB 2202
Page 10