BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2498
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Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2498 (Bonta) - As Amended April 7, 2016
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|Policy |Judiciary |Vote:|10 - 0 |
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| |Privacy and Consumer | |11 - 0 |
| |Protection | | |
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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
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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
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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."
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Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081