BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    SB 1129


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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          1129 (Monning)


          As Amended  August 4, 2016


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  23-14


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          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                   |Noes                 |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Public Safety   |5-2  |Jones-Sawyer, Lopez,   |Melendez, Lackey     |
          |                |     |Low, Quirk, Santiago   |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
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          SUMMARY:  Repeals specified mandatory minimum sentences for  
          specified prostitution offenses.  Specifically, this bill  
          repeals the mandatory minimum terms for repeated prostitution  
          offenses, leaving discretion with the court to impose an  
          appropriate sentence as follows:
          1)Eliminates the requirement that a person convicted for a  
            second prostitution offense must 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.








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          2)Eliminates the requirement that a 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.  
             


          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.  


          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.  


          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.  


          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.  


          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  








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            "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.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel.


          COMMENTS:  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 sentencing many crimes from a rehabilitative approach,  
          to a punitive, deterrence centered approach.  The creation of  
          statutory minimum sentences has not only increased jail and  
          prison populations over subsequent decades; they have also  
          stripped the court's ability to address the underlying issues  
          that cause a person to offend in the first place.  


          "California's misdemeanor crime provisions for prostitution  
          contain some of the harshest mandatory penalties of all the  
          current misdemeanor offenses by requiring a mandatory, minimum  
          sentence of up to 90 days in jail for reoffending.  Penal Code  
          Section 647 requires that upon a second conviction of  
          prostitution charges an offender must serve a minimum of 45 days  
          in county jail, and 90 days upon a third misdemeanor conviction.  
           The mandatory sentence found in Penal Code 647 exists under the  
          assumption that mandatory jail time will deter future offenders  
          from engaging in prostitution.  The efficacy of mandatory  
          minimums as a deterrent to crime has been the subject of debate,  
          with many researchers concluding that they have been massively  
          ineffective. 


          "California's prison and jail overcrowding problem has reached  








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          crisis levels, and has culminated in pushing supervision of more  
          serious offenders down to the county jails.  Requiring a 'john'  
          or sex-worker to spend a minimum of 45, or even 90 days in  
          county jail for a misdemeanor like prostitution creates the  
          potential for jails needing to release more serious offenders in  
          order to make room for those convicted of  
          recidivist-prostitution.  


          "Additionally, the mandatory sentences required under conviction  
          of Penal Code 647 require jail time in all instances, and even  
          goes so far as to specifically forbid judicial intervention.   
          This prohibition on court involvement prevents a judge from  
          tailoring a sentence for a specific offender, or ordering  
          alternative probationary sanctions, such as participation in  
          diversion and rehabilitation programs that target the root cause  
          of the recidivism.  Mandatory jail time also creates a potential  
          disincentive for offenders to take part in court mandated  
          probation or treatment programs, as an offender may opt to  
          choose the 45 days in jail in order to avoid longer supervision  
          terms or required programs. 


          "Many of those who engage in prostitution are themselves victims  
          of human trafficking and are often forced into sex work and  
          should not be incarcerated for 45 to 90 days.  Providing the  
          courts discretion will allow judges to recognize trafficking and  
          use their discretion in sentencing.  With greater discretion a  
          judge can order a sentence longer than 90 days for a recidivist  
          john, or recommend a lesser, more programmatic-oriented option  
          for victims of trafficking.  


          "SB 1129 will repeal the mandatory minimum sentencing  
          requirements for repeat offenders of prostitution and ensure  
          that California's crowded jails are not burdened with these  
          non-violent, non-serious offenders.  Removing mandatory jail  
          time will ensure repeat offenders are still punished for  
          breaking the law, but allows for judicial discretion in  








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          determining the suitability of the punishment. 




          "SB 1129 will also remove the current statutory punishments  
          outlined in Vehicle Code Section 13201.5, which allow the courts  
          to remove a person's driving privileges for engaging in  
          prostitution.  These punitive statutes allow a judge to suspend  
          a person's driver's license for up to 30 days, or restrict their  
          driver's license for up to 6 months, if the prostitution was  
          committed within 1,000 feet of a private residence and with the  
          use of a vehicle.  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."




          Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion  
          of this bill.




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744  FN:  
          0003813


















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