BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1129| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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).) SB 1129 Page 2 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 SB 1129 Page 3 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 SB 1129 Page 4 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 SB 1129 Page 5 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 SB 1129 Page 6 California Police Chiefs Association Prepared by:Jerome McGuire / PUB. S. / 4/22/16 12:32:08 **** END ****