BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1322
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
1322 (Mitchell)
As Amended May 31, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 28-10
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public Safety |6-1 |Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, |Melendez |
| | |Lopez, Low, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Decriminalizes prostitution for those under 18 years
of age. Clarifies that a minor may be taken into temporary
custody under limited circumstances. Specifically, this bill:
1)Specifies that the statutes which makes solicitation of
prostitution and loitering with intent to commit prostitution
misdemeanors, does not apply to a child under 18 years of age
who is alleged to have engaged in such conduct to receive
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money or other payment.
2)States that a commercially sexually exploited child may be
taken into temporary custody if the fact that the child is
left unattended poses an immediate threat to the child's
health or safety, or other specified criteria.
EXISTING LAW:
1)States that any person who solicits or who agrees to engage in
or who engages in any act of prostitution is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
2)Specifies that a person agrees to engage in an act of
prostitution when, with specific intent to so engage, he or
she manifests an acceptance of an offer or solicitation to so
engage, regardless of whether the offer or solicitation was
made by a person who also possessed the specific intent to
engage in prostitution.
3)States that "prostitution" includes "any lewd act between
persons for money or other consideration."
4)States that it is unlawful for any person to loiter in any
public place with the intent to commit prostitution.
5)Specifies that any peace officer may, without a warrant, take
into temporary custody a minor when the officer has reasonable
cause for believing that the minor has an immediate need for
medical care, or the minor is in immediate danger of physical
or sexual abuse, or the physical environment or the fact that
the child is left unattended poses an immediate threat to the
child's health or safety, and the minor meets other specified
criteria.
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6)Specifies that if a child has suffered, or there is a
substantial risk that the child will suffer, serious physical
harm or illness, as a result of the failure or inability of
his or her parent or guardian to adequately supervise or
protect the child, or the willful or negligent failure of the
child's parent or guardian to adequately supervise or protect
the child from the conduct of the custodian with whom the
child has been left, is within the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court and may be found to be a dependent child of the
court.
7)States that a child who is sexually trafficked, as specified,
or who receives food or shelter in exchange for, or who is
paid to perform, sexual acts as specified, and whose parent or
guardian failed to, or was unable to, protect the child, is
within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and may be found
to be a dependent child of the court.
8)Establishes the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children
Program, (CSEC) as administered by Department of State Social
Services (DSS), to serve children who have been sexually
exploited.
9)Requires DSS, in consultation with the County Welfare
Directors Association of California, to develop an allocation
methodology to distribute funding for the program.
10)Authorizes the use of these funds by counties electing to
participate in the program for prevention and intervention
activities and services to children who are victims, or at
risk of becoming victims, of commercial sexual exploitation.
11)Requires DSS to contract for training for county children's
services workers to identify, intervene, and provide case
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management services to children who are victims of commercial
sexual exploitation, and for the training of foster caregivers
for the prevention and identification of potential victims.
12)Require each county, electing to receive funds, to develop an
interagency protocol to be utilized in serving sexually
exploited children who have been adjudged to be a dependent
child of the juvenile court.
13)States that except as specified, a mandated reporter shall
make a report to an agency, as specified, whenever the
mandated reporter, in his or her professional capacity or
within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or
observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or
reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or
neglect.
14)Specifies that peace officer standards and training (POST)
shall implement by January 1, 2007, a course or courses of
instruction for the training of law enforcement officers in
California in the handling of human trafficking complaints and
also shall develop guidelines for law enforcement response to
human trafficking.
15)Requires law enforcement agencies to use due diligence to
identify all victims of human trafficking, regardless of the
citizenship of the person.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "Under California law a
child who is under the age of 18 cannot consent to sex. And yet
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we charge the child victims of commercial sex trafficking with
crimes. Crimes like prostitution.
"Under current law a victim can be detained in juvenile hall and
prosecuted for prostitution. This is not an appropriate,
effective or ethical response to this growing epidemic.
"In 2014, SB 855, [(Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review),
Chapter 29] a budget trailer bill, was signed into law by
Governor Brown. This bill creates a clear path to the
dependency system for CSEC victims while allocating $14 million
in ongoing funding for counties and child welfare agencies for
prevention, intervention and services for these victims.
"Even though SB 855 was directly setup to identify a clear path
to the dependency court system for victims, these CSEC victims
are still being prosecuted through the delinquency court system
when a victim is arrested for prostitution, loitering, or a
similar crime as a result of his/her victimization.
"SB 1322 is in keeping with this shift in policy. This bill
will stop the criminalization of CSEC victims by decriminalizing
prostitution charges for minors. If it is determined that the
person suspected of soliciting prostitution is under the age of
18, law enforcement, as a mandated reporter, shall immediately
report any allegation of commercial sexual exploitation to the
county child welfare department."
Analysis Prepared by:
David Billingsley / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0003548
SB 1322
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