BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2202
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2202 (Baker) - As Introduced February 18, 2016
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|Policy |Governmental Organization |Vote:|18 - 0 |
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| |Public Safety | |7 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) to
allocate and award funds for the purposes of establishing the
Human Trafficking Prevention Vertical Prosecution Program
(Program). In summary, this bill:
1)Requires CalOES to allocate and award funds to up to 11
district attorney offices that employ a vertical prosecution
AB 2202
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methodology for the prosecution of human trafficking crimes.
2)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.
3)Appropriates $2.6 million from the General Fund to CalOES for
the purpose of funding the Human Trafficking Prevention
Vertical Prosecution Program
4)Sunsets the provisions of this bill on January 1, 2021
FISCAL EFFECT:
This bill appropriates $2.6 million from the General Fund to the
CalOES.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill will help further
efforts to prosecute and convict human traffickers.
2)Vertical Prosecution. "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
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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.
3)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. Between 2010 and 2012, California's nine
regional human trafficking task forces identified 1,277
victims, initiated 2,552 investigations, and arrested 1,798
individuals. 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.
4)Related Legislation:
a) AB 1730 (Atkins), currently in this committee's Suspense
file, 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 is
pending hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
b) AB 1731 (Atkins), currently in this committee's Suspense
file, creates the Statewide Interagency Human Trafficking
Task Force to gather statewide data on human trafficking,
to recommend interagency protocols and best practices for
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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. AB 1731 is pending hearing in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
1)Prior Legislation:
a) AB 1623 (Atkins), Chapter 85, Statutes of 2014,
authorizes a local government or nonprofit organization to
establish a family justice center to assist specified types
of crime victims, including victims of human trafficking.
b) SB 1279 (Pavley), Chapter 116, Statutes of 2010,
established a pilot project in Los Angeles County to
create, implement, and deliver standardized training
curricula that would provide a protocol for law enforcement
and social services to assess and recognize sexually
exploited minors within the juvenile justice system.
c) AB 499 (Swanson), Chapter 359, Statutes of 2008,
established a pilot project in Alameda County to create,
implement, and deliver standardized training curricula that
would provide a protocol for law enforcement and social
services to assess and recognize sexually exploited minors
within the juvenile justice system.
d) SB 180 (Kuehl), Chapter 239, Statutes of 2005,
established the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking
and Slavery Task Force and requires it to evaluate various
programs available to victims of trafficking and various
criminal statutes addressing human trafficking.
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e) AB 22 (Lieber), Chapter 240, Statutes of 2005, created
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. In addition, the Act required law
enforcement agencies to provide Law Enforcement Agency
Endorsement to trafficking victims, providing trafficking
victims with protection from deportation and created the
human trafficking task force
Analysis Prepared by:Luke Reidenbach / APPR. / (916)
319-2081