BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2498 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 2498 (Bonta) - As Amended April 7, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Judiciary |Vote:|10 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | |Privacy and Consumer | |11 - 0 | | |Protection | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill prohibits a law enforcement agency from disclosing the names, addresses, or images of a person who alleges to be a victim of human trafficking, or of that alleged victim's AB 2498 Page 2 immediate family, as defined, unless the disclosure is made to a prosecutor, parole officer of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation CDCR), hearing officers of the parole authority, probation officers of county probation departments, or other persons or public agencies where authorized or required by law. In addition, this bill adds criminal actions alleging human trafficking to the list of criminal cases (such as abandonment and neglect of children, sexual offenses, against minor, etc.) that take precedence over all other criminal actions in the judicial trial calendar. FISCAL EFFECT: Absorbable costs to the courts. COMMENTS: 1)Background/Purpose. Current law exempts from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) any records relating to an investigation conducted by a state or local law enforcement agency or any investigatory or security files complied by any other state or local agency for correctional, law enforcement, or licensing purposes. Specifies, however, that state and local law enforcement agencies shall disclose the names and addresses of persons involved in the incident, including certain information about the victim, as specified, unless the disclosure would endanger the successful completion of the investigation. This bill seeks to protect the privacy and anonymity of human trafficking victims and their families by amending provisions of the CPRA and the Penal Code in order to better shield the names and images of human trafficking victims (and their families) from public disclosure by public agencies and law AB 2498 Page 3 enforcement. AB 2498 is author-sponsored. According to the author, "This bill would protect victims by ensuring that the burden of opting-out is not placed on the victim, who may or may not comprehend the court process or the potential outcomes of identifying oneself, such as the risk of retaliation from an exploiter or buyer to themselves or their family members. Additionally, AB 2498 provides optional guidance to county courts to hear time-sensitive trafficking cases quickly by expanding the list of criminal actions that take precedence over all other criminal actions to include: human trafficking, pimping and pandering." This bill strengthens human trafficking victims' confidentiality by ensuring that in addition to a victim's name, their addresses, images and families are also excluded from a CPRA disclosure. 2)Support. The California State Sheriffs' Association states that while sexual assault and human trafficking victims may currently request their names to be withheld from public records, "this protection is not without security flaws because victims may still be identified by their picture, family ties or address." AB 2498 Page 4 Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916) 319-2081