California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2740

Introduced by Assembly Members Lackey and Low

February 19, 2016

An act to amend Section 236.1 of the Penal Code, relating to human trafficking.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2740, as introduced, Lackey. Human trafficking.

Existing law, as amended by Proposition 35, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election, makes it a crime to deprive or violate another person’s personal liberty with the intent to obtain forced labor or services. Existing law also makes it a crime to deprive or violate another person’s personal liberty for the purpose of prostitution or sexual exploitation. Proposition 35 provides that it may be amended by a statute in furtherance of its objectives by a majority of the membership of each house of the Legislature concurring.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 236.1 of the Penal Code is amended to
read:

236.1.  

(a)  begin delete Any end delete begin insert A end insert person who deprives or violates the personal
liberty of another with the intent to obtain forced labor or services,
is guilty of human trafficking and shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for 5, 8, or 12 years and a fine of
not more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).

(b)  begin delete Any end delete begin insert A end insert person who deprives or violates the personal liberty
of another with the intent to effect or maintain a violation of
Section 266, 266h, 266i, 266j, 267, 311.1, 311.2, 311.3, 311.4,
311.5, 311.6, or 518 is guilty of human trafficking and shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 8, 14, or 20 years
and a fine of not more than five hundred thousand dollars
($500,000).

(c)  begin delete Any end delete begin insert A end insert person who causes, induces, or persuades, or attempts
to cause, induce, or persuade, a person who is a minor at the time
of commission of the offense to engage in a commercial sex act,
with the intent to effect or maintain a violation of Section 266,
266h, 266i, 266j, 267, 311.1, 311.2, 311.3, 311.4, 311.5, 311.6, or
518 is guilty of human trafficking. A violation of this subdivision
is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison as follows:

(1) Five, 8, or 12 years and a fine of not more than five hundred
thousand dollars ($500,000).

(2) Fifteen years to life and a fine of not more than five hundred
thousand dollars ($500,000) when the offense involves force, fear,
fraud, deceit, coercion, violence, duress, menace, or threat of
unlawful injury to the victim or to another person.

(d) In determining whether a minor was caused, induced, or
persuaded to engage in a commercial sex act, the totality of the
circumstances, including the age of the victim, his or her
relationship to the trafficker or agents of the trafficker, and any
handicap or disability of the victim, shall be considered.

(e) Consent by a victim of human trafficking who is a minor at
the time of the commission of the offense is not a defense to a
criminal prosecution under this section.

(f) Mistake of fact as to the age of a victim of human trafficking
who is a minor at the time of the commission of the offense is not
a defense to a criminal prosecution under this section.

(g) The Legislature finds that the definition of human trafficking
in this section is equivalent to the federal definition of a severe
form of trafficking found in Section begin delete 7102(8) end delete begin insert 7102(9) end insert of Title 22
of the United States Code.

(h) For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Coercion” includes begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert scheme, plan, or pattern intended
to cause a person to believe that failure to perform an act would
result in serious harm to or physical restraint against any person;
the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process; debt bondage;
or providing and facilitating the possession of begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert controlled
substance to a person with the intent to impair the person’s
judgment.

(2) “Commercial sex act” means sexual conduct on account of
which anything of value is given or received by begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert person.

(3) “Deprivation or violation of the personal liberty of another”
includes substantial and sustained restriction of another’s liberty
accomplished through force, fear, fraud, deceit, coercion, violence,
duress, menace, or threat of unlawful injury to the victim or to
another person, under circumstances where the person receiving
or apprehending the threat reasonably believes that it is likely that
the person making the threat would carry it out.

(4) “Duress” includes a direct or implied threat of force,
violence, danger, hardship, or retribution sufficient to cause a
reasonable person to acquiesce in or perform an act which he or
she would otherwise not have submitted to or performed; a direct
or implied threat to destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate, or possess
begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert actual or purported passport or immigration document of
the victim; or knowingly destroying, concealing, removing,
confiscating, or possessing begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert actual or purported passport or
immigration document of the victim.

(5) “Forced labor or services” means labor or services that are
performed or provided by a person and are obtained or maintained
through force, fraud, duress, or coercion, or equivalent conduct
that would reasonably overbear the will of the person.

(6) “Great bodily injury” means a significant or substantial
physical injury.

(7) “Minor” means a person less than 18 years of age.

(8) “Serious harm” includes any harm, whether physical or
nonphysical, including psychological, financial, or reputational
harm, that is sufficiently serious, under all the surrounding
circumstances, to compel a reasonable person of the same
background and in the same circumstances to perform or to
continue performing labor, services, or commercial sexual acts in
order to avoid incurring that harm.

(i) The total circumstances, including the age of the victim, the
relationship between the victim and the trafficker or agents of the
trafficker, and any handicap or disability of the victim, shall be
factors to consider in determining the presence of “deprivation or
violation of the personal liberty of another,” “duress,” and
“coercion” as described in this section.