BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2327
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2327 (Cooley) - As Amended March 28, 2016
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Public Safety |Vote:|7 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill expands the crime of communicating with a minor, with
the intent to commit specified sexual offenses with the minor,
to include attempting to contact or communicating with a minor
with the intent to commit human trafficking.
FISCAL EFFECT:
AB 2327
Page 2
According to the California Department of Corrections (CDCR),
the contracted out-of-state bed rate is $29,000. If every year,
two individuals serve four additional years in state prison, the
first year cost will be $58,000, $116,000 the second, $174,000
the third, and $232,000 every year thereafter. This cost will
be further increased by an additional $29,000 if the five year
enhancement is applied to a repeat offender.
AB 2327 results in 2.5 years, 4 years, or 6 years and a fine of
$250,000 if an individuals is convicted of contacting a minor
with the intent of human trafficking for specified sexual
purposes, this is half the punishment for the actual offense.
However, the five-year enhancement for repeat offense is not
halved.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. Current law specifies that every person who
contacts or communicates with a minor, or attempts to contact
or communicate with a minor, who knows or reasonably should
know that the person is a minor, with intent to commit any of
several specified offenses involving the minor shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison for the term
prescribed for an attempt to commit the intended offense. The
specified offenses include, but are not limited to:
kidnapping, rape, willful harm or injury to a child, various
sexual acts, and child pornography. Current law also provides
that the punishment for the offense of contacting or
communicating with a minor is the same as an attempt to commit
the crime, the punishment for attempt is generally one half
the sentence of the completed crime.
Current punishment for human trafficking of a minor is five,
eight or 12 years and a $500,000 fine, and fifteen-to-life and
a $500,000 fine if the offense involves force, fear, threat or
AB 2327
Page 3
bodily injury. Current law also provides that a person
convicted of a violation of contacting or communicating with a
minor who has previously been convicted of a violation of the
same offense shall be punished by an additional and
consecutive term of imprisonment in the state prison for five
years.
Human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation or
sale of people for forced labor. Through violence, threats
and coercion, victims are forced to work in, among other
things, the sex trade, domestic labor, factories, hotels and
agriculture. According to the January 2005 United States
Department of State's Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center
report, "Fact Sheet: Distinctions Between Human Smuggling and
Human Trafficking", there is an estimated 600,000 to 800,000
men, women and children trafficked across international
borders each year. Of these, approximately 80% are women and
girls and up to 50% are minors.
In 2012, voters passed Proposition 35, which modified many
provisions of California's already tough human trafficking
laws. The proposition increased criminal penalties for human
trafficking, including prison sentences up to 15-years-to-life
and fines up to $1.5 million. Additionally, the proposition
specified that the fines collected are to be used for victim
services and law enforcement. Proposition 35 requires persons
convicted of trafficking to register as sex offenders, and
prohibits evidence from being used against a victim in court
proceedings if that victim engaged in sexual conduct.
Additionally, the proposition lowered the evidential
requirements for a showing of force in cases of minors.
2)Purpose. According to the author, "Human trafficking is a
profitable criminal industry. Unlike selling drugs, buying and
selling human beings is a crime that can repeat itself
multiple times. It is estimated that every year approximately
500,000 American youth are at-risk for being sold for sex in
the United States. Traffickers and exploiters who prey on
children know no boundaries; they are near schools, shopping
AB 2327
Page 4
malls, parks, foster homes, and online. Child trafficking
criminals are making use of online resources, using technology
to target their audience more efficiently. AB 2327 helps law
enforcement target traffickers and 'Johns' more efficiently
for their participation in this industry."
3)Support. According to the Alameda District Attorney's Office,
"This bill adds sexual contact with a minor victim of human
trafficking. We have seen a growing use of the internet to
lure children into a destructive, assaultive situation where
the sexual exploitation and sexual assault can occur. This
bill protects children from those who lure children for the
perpetrators own sexual gratification.
4)Opposition: According to the American Civil Liberties Union,
"given that a person can already be convicted and punished for
engaging in the conduct contemplated in this bill, and given
that our prisons and jails are already overcrowded and
draining precious public safety resources, this bill appears
unwise and unnecessary."
5)Prior Legislation: SB 1128 (Alquist), Chapter 337, Statutes
of 2006, created the "Sex Offender Punishment, Control and
Containment Act of 2006" which makes several changes to the
law relating to sex offenders.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 2327
Page 5