BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 420|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 420
Author: Huff (R), et al.
Amended: 8/11/16
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/21/15
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Leno, Liu, McGuire, Monning, Stone
SENATE FLOOR: 36-0, 5/4/15
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Block, Cannella, De León,
Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hall, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill,
Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire,
Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen,
Nielsen, Pan, Roth, Runner, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Hancock, Pavley
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 8/29/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Prostitution
SOURCE: Alameda County District Attorney
Los Angeles County District Attorney
DIGEST: This bill defines and divides the crime of prostitution
into three separate forms: 1) the defendant agreed to receive
compensation, received compensation, or solicited compensation
in exchange for a lewd act; 2) the defendant provided
compensation, agreed to provide compensation, or solicited an
adult to accept compensation in exchange for a lewd act; and 3)
the defendant provided compensation, or agreed to provide
compensation, to a minor in exchange for a lewd act, regardless
of which party made the initial solicitation.
SB 420
Page 2
Assembly Amendments 1) restore a long-standing provision in
existing law - that the defendant must do some act "in
furtherance" of the offense, in addition to agreeing to engage
in commercial sex - that was inadvertently stricken in this
bill; and 2) add chaptering amendments to protect this bill and
SB 1129 (Monning), SB 1322 (Mitchell), and AB 1708 (Gonzalez).
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Provides that any person who solicits, agrees to engage in, or
engages in an act of prostitution is guilty of a misdemeanor.
The crime includes an element that the defendant specifically
intended to engage in an act of prostitution and some act was
done in furtherance of the agreed upon act. (Pen. Code § 647,
subd. (b).)
2)Provides that where any person is convicted for a second
prostitution offense, the person shall serve a sentence of at
least 45 days, no part of which can be suspended or reduced by
the court regardless of whether or not the court grants
probation. (Pen. Code § 647, subd. (k).)
3)Provides that where any person is convicted for a third
prostitution offense, the person shall serve a sentence of at
least 90 days, no part of which can be suspended or reduced by
the court regardless of whether or not the court grants
probation. (Pen. Code § 647, subd. (k).)
4)Provides that where a defendant is convicted of a prostitution
offense in which the defendant sought to procure or procured
the "sexual services of a prostitute who was a minor," the
following shall apply:
SB 420
Page 3
a) The defendant shall, in addition to any other fine or
penalty, be ordered to pay up to $25,000; and
b) Upon appropriation, the proceeds of the fine shall "be
available to fund programs and services for commercially
sexually exploited minors in the counties" of conviction.
(Pen. Code §§ 261.9 and 647, subd. (b).)
This bill divides prostitution into three separate crimes. Each
crime includes an element that the defendant takes some act
beyond manifestation of an agreement to engage in an act of
prostitution as follows:
1)One crime is committed by the person who agreed to pay, or
paid, or solicited another person to accept payment, in
exchange for a lewd act.
2)A separate crime is committed by the person who agreed to
receive, received, or solicited another to provide
compensation for a lewd act.
3)A third crime is committed by a person who solicits a minor for
a lewd act in exchange for compensation, or who accepts an
offer by a minor to engage in a lewd act in exchange for
compensation paid to the minor.
Background:
According to the author:
Research proves that demand for commercial sex drives
the market for exploitation, especially among
children. Under current law, any person who offers to
engage in or engages in any act of prostitution is
guilty of disorderly conduct. It's time we call
purchasing of sex acts what it is and separate out the
buyers from the sellers, who more often than not - are
victims of sex trafficking.
SB 420
Page 4
There is now no distinction in law among an adult who
is selling sexual acts, from the adult who purchases
sexual acts, or from an adult who is purchasing sex
from a minor. SB 420 focuses on the demand side of
human trafficking, by amending Penal Code Section 647,
to separate the buyers and sellers of human
trafficking and prostitution.
SB 420 is a necessary first step to address the demand
side of human trafficking. By making separating the
individuals involved in prostitution, we can determine
how many children and adults are being purchased for
sex. By US Department of State estimates, sex
trafficking is a $32 billion industry in this country
and 50 percent of trafficking victims are minors.
Easy access to the Internet enables human beings to
become ensnared and sold across state lines. The FBI
has determined that three of the nations' thirteen
High Intensity Child Prostitution areas are located
here in California. Data generated by SB 420 is
essential for crafting solutions to a disturbing
public safety enemy in our communities.
The narrow or initial purpose of this bill is to allow
collection of data to determine how many adults are arrested for
and convicted of paying for sexual acts, how many adults are
arrested for and convicted of selling sexual acts and how many
adults are arrested for and convicted of paying for sexual
services from minors. The bill divides the prosecution statute
- Penal Code Section 647, subdivision (b) - into three
paragraphs reflecting each form of the crime. In order for the
data to be valuable and accurate, reporting agencies will need
to specifically note the paragraph under which a defendant was
arrested and convicted. Representatives from the California
Department of Justice explained: "The way [crime reports]
appears in the system is entirely dependent on the law
enforcement agency or court that enters the offense into the
system. One agency may enter PC 647(b)(2) while another may
only enter PC 647(b)."
Prosecutors will likely record the specific paragraph under
which the defendant is convicted - PC 647 (b)(2) for example.
SB 420
Page 5
However, police officers and sheriff's deputies might not
specifically record the paragraph of arrest unless instructed to
do so. Further, it may not be apparent to officers and deputies
what specific form of prostitution would be charged by the
prosecutor in any particular case. That could cause some
confusion and inaccuracy in the data.
Another impediment to full and accurate data collection is the
fact that sex with a minor is a crime. If a minor and an adult
are involved in a prostitution incident, numerous outcomes
involving sex crimes and prostitution could occur. For example,
the police could arrest both parties for prostitution, but the
prosecutor could charge the adult with a sex crime, or
prostitution, or both. The prosecutor could charge the minor
with no crime, or file a prostitution charge. The adult could
be initially charged with a sex crime but plead guilty to a
prostitution offense, perhaps if the minor appeared to be an
adult. In sum, it may be difficult to determine the extent of
prostitution involving minors from arrest and conviction data.
Sexual conduct with a minor constitutes a felony in most
instances, regardless of whether anything of value was offered
or exchanged for the sexual acts. If the minor involved in
commercial sex of was under the age of 14, the defendant has
committed the felony of lewd conduct, with a prison term of
three, six or eight years, or five, eight or 10 years if
coercion is involved (Pen. Code § 288, subds. (a)-(b).)
Soliciting an act of prostitution from a minor under the age of
14 could likely be prosecuted as attempted lewd conduct. The
prison or jail term for an attempt is generally one-half the
punishment for the completed crime. Where the defendant
solicited or employed a minor who was14 or 15 years old, and the
defendant was at least 10 years older than the minor, the
defendant has committed an alternate felony-misdemeanor.
Any defined sex act - sodomy, sexual penetration, oral
copulation or sexual intercourse - with a minor is a crime. The
penalties depend on the relative ages of the defendant and the
minor and whether the crime involved some form of force,
coercion or improper advantage. A defendant charged with a
prostitution-related offense involving a minor could also be
charged and convicted of a sex crime in the same case.
SB 420
Page 6
Generally, because the defined sex crime and the sexual commerce
offense would involve a single transaction or act, the defendant
could only be punished for one offense - the offense carrying
the greatest penalty. (Pen. Code § 654.)
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/29/16)
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
California Against Slavery
California District Attorneys Association
California Police Chiefs Association
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Survivors for Solutions
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/29/16)
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Public Defenders Association
Erotic Service Providers Union
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 8/29/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim,
Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,
Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Quirk
SB 420
Page 7
Prepared by:Jerome McGuire / PUB. S. /
8/30/16 20:24:31
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