BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1129|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1129
Author: Monning (D)
Introduced:2/17/16
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 4/19/16
AYES: Hancock, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning
NOES: Anderson, Stone
SUBJECT: Prostitution: sanctions
SOURCE: California Public Defenders Association
DIGEST: This bill repeals statutory provisions imposing
mandatory minimum prostitution jail terms for repeat offenders
and specifically authorizing the court to impose a driver's
license suspension on a first-time offender where a prostitution
offense occurred within 1,000 feet of a residence.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Provides that any person who solicits, agrees to engage in, or
engages in an act of prostitution is guilty of misdemeanor.
Prostitution includes any lewd act between persons for money
or other consideration. (Pen. Code § 647, subd. (b).)
2)Provides that any person who solicits another person to engage
in any lewd or dissolute act in a public place is guilty of a
misdemeanor. (Pen. Code § 647, subd. (a).)
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3)Provides that any person is convicted for a second
prostitution offense 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).)
4)Provides that any person convicted for a third prostitution
offense 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).)
5)Authorizes a sentencing court to suspend the driver's license
of a person convicted of a prostitution offense that occurred
with the use of a motor vehicle within 1,000 feet of a
"private residence." The court may restrict for six months
the person's driving privilege to necessary travel to and from
the person's place of employment or education. If operation
of a motor vehicle is necessary for the performance of the
person's employment duties, the court may allow driving for
that purpose. (Pen. Code § 647, subd. (k); Veh. Code §
13201.5.)
This bill:
1)Repeals the mandatory minimum terms for repeated prostitution
offenses, leaving discretion with the court to impose an
appropriate sentence.
2)Repeals the specific authority of a court to order suspension
of the driver's license of a convicted prostitution defendant
if the offense was committed with a vehicle within 1,000 feet
of a residence.
Background
According to the author:
Mandatory minimum sentencing laws grew largely out of
1980's tough-on-crime laws that sought stiffer
punishments for drug and violent crimes and shifted much
of sentencing from rehabilitation to punishment and
deterrence. Statutory minimum sentences have increased
jail and prison populations and stripped the court's
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ability to address the underlying issues that cause a
person to offend in the first place. California's
prostitution laws require a mandatory minimum sentence of
45 days in county jail for a second conviction, and 90
days for a third. The court can also ? restrict an
individual's ability to drive for up to six months if the
offense involved a vehicle, or was committed within a
thousand feet of a residence. These sentences are based
on the assumption that mandatory jail time will deter
future offenders. Researchers have concluded that
mandatory minimum sentences have been massively
ineffective. An October, 2011 United States Sentencing
Commission report to the US Congress stated that:
"certainty of punishment ? is the more cost effective
deterrent compared to the severity of punishment?"
California's prison and jail overcrowding problem ? has
culminated in the realignment of the entire criminal
justice system. Requiring a "john" or sex-worker to
spend a minimum of 45, or 90 days in jail ? creates the
potential for the need to release more serious offenders
in order to make room for those convicted of
recidivist-prostitution.
The mandatory sentences prevent a judge from tailoring a
sentence for a specific offender or ordering alternative
sanctions. The Sentencing Commission's 2011 report
further describes that: "[T]he Judicial Conference has
long urged Congress 'to reconsider the wisdom' of
mandatory minimum penalties because they 'block judges
from considering the individual circumstances of
particular cases.'" Mandatory jail time also creates a
disincentive for offenders to accept probation or
treatment, as an offender may opt to choose the 45 days
in jail in order to avoid [lengthy] supervision. A
mandatory sentence shifts discretion from judges to
prosecutors who can create their own charging schemes and
use the threat of incarceration to gain plea-deal
convictions. Many of those who engage in prostitution
are victims of human trafficking and forced into sex
work. They should not be incarcerated for 45 to 90 days.
SB 1129 will also remove the current Vehicle Code Section
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13201.5 provisions that allow the courts to remove a
person's driving privileges for engaging in prostitution.
This arbitrary and summary removal of a person's license
for up to 6 months is excessive, and would likely derail
any rehabilitative efforts that could dissuade an
offender from engaging it further prostitution.
The authority of a court to suspend for 30 days the driver's
license of a prostitution offender was enacted by AB 2949
(Harvey, Chapter 1019, Statutes of 1996). AB 1788 (Wright,
Chapter 758, Statutes of 1998) authorized the court to impose a
six month suspension of a driver's license or a convicted
prostitution offender, except for travel to and from work. The
Senate Floor Analysis of AB 1788 explained:
The Prostitution Abatement and Neighborhood Protection
Act and authorized courts to suspend the driving
privilege of any person convicted of soliciting,
agreeing to, or engaging in, an act of prostitution
with the use of a vehicle and within 1,000 feet of a
private residence for up to 30 days. AB 2949's intent
was to deter individuals from "cruising" residential
neighborhoods in search of prostitutes. According to
Los Angeles County: "The existing 30 days suspension
is little more than an inconvenience for many
offenders. A six month suspension should cause
violators to think about potential penalties before
engaging in acts of prostitution in an automobile. It
will help keep prostitution away from residential
neighborhoods."
There appear to be no study of the effect the driver's license
suspension had on prostitution offenses committed within 1,000
feet of private residence. Existing law does not define the
term "private residence." A thousand feet is the length of
three and 1/3 football fields. It would appear that many, if
not most, prostitution offenses in urban areas occur within
1,000 feet of residences. There appear to be no case applying
or interpreting the license suspension provisions.
A study in 2002 in the Western Criminology Review of a now
defunct first-offender program in Portland, Oregon (SEEP) found
very low recidivism rates for all prostitution arrestees,
regardless of whether they participated in SEEP, were referred
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to SEEP but did not attend, or were not referred to the program.
The study considered only a two-year period and a relatively
small number of offenders. The researchers inferred from the
data that an arrest, per se, could have deterred offenders, as
prostitution offenses involve significant shame. The authors,
however, also questioned if the offenders continued to solicit
prostitutes but simply learned how to avoid arrest. They could
not say whether the education from the SEEP program would have
led the participants to a avoid prostitution for a substantial
time in the future.
A 2008 John Jay College study of commercially, sexually
exploited homeless youth in New York city found that these young
people often sought out customers and found customers for each
other. (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/fuo/5550558811.html pp
48-49,. 32-102) Sexually exploited youth sought older white
customers who were perceived to have more money, although the
actual range of customers was relatively wide. A 2012 New
Yorker article reported that these young people in lived in
harsh conditions and risked becoming "lifers" on the street.
Programs and services for them were scarce and typically
short-term.
(http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/12/10/netherland)
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 4/21/16)
California Public Defenders Association (source)
American Civil Liberties Union
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
OPPOSITION: (Verified4/21/16)
California District Attorneys Association
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California Police Chiefs Association
Prepared by:Jerome McGuire / PUB. S. /
4/22/16 12:32:08
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