BILL ANALYSIS
SB 557
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Date of Hearing: July 15, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
SB 557 (Yee) - As Amended: July 8, 2009
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill provides that, upon a conviction for human
trafficking, as defined, if real property was used to facilitate
the offense, and the offense involves illegal gambling, lewdness
or prostitution, that property could be found to be a public
nuisance and the remedies applicable under the
prostitution-related nuisance statutes, as specified, shall
apply. Those remedies include closing the property for up to one
year and a civil fine of up to $25,000.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Negligible state enforcement-related costs.
2)Unknown, likely minor, increase in civil fine revenue to local
prosecutors and to the state.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author's intent is to use existing nuisance
abatement statutes to combat human trafficking-related
operations. According to the author, "Typically those
trafficked are used for two different purposes: either forced
labor or sexual exploitation. Statistics show that 90% of
victims of human trafficking are female. According to the 2007
report released by the task force investigating human
trafficking in California, 47% of victims are used in
prostitution, 33% are used in domestic servitude, 5% in
sweatshops and 2% in agriculture. Research by the Human Rights
Center at the University of California found 57 forced labor
operations between 1998 and 2003 throughout California.
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"SB 557 seeks to further assist victims and law enforcement in
California, while providing another deterrent for
perpetrators. Specifically, SB 557 allows any real property
used to facilitate human trafficking to be declared a public
nuisance and seized by the court until the nuisance is abated,
and further subjects the trafficker to the costs of the
seizure and a civil fine of up to $25,000."
2)Current Law .
a) Regarding human trafficking , provides that any person
who violates the personal liberty of another with the
intent to commit a felony violation of specified sex
crimes, extortion, or to obtain forced labor or services,
is guilty of human trafficking. Committed against an adult,
this offense is punishable by three, four or five years in
state prison. Committed against a minor, this offense is
punishable by four, six or eight years in state prison.
b) Regarding prostitution-related nuisance statutes , states
that buildings used for specified illegal activities are a
nuisance that shall be abated, and for which damages may be
recovered, whether a public or private nuisance. If the
existence of a nuisance is established, an abatement order
shall be entered as a part of the judgment, as follows:
i) Directing the removal from the place all fixtures
and movable property, and directing the sale thereof, as
well as closing the building for up to one year.
ii) If the court finds vacancy may create a nuisance or
is otherwise harmful to the community, the court may
order the person responsible for the nuisance to pay
damages in an amount equal to the fair market rental
value of the building for one year to the city or county
in whose jurisdiction the nuisance is located.
iii) The court may assess a civil penalty not to exceed
$25,000 against any and all of the defendants, based upon
the severity of the nuisance and its duration.
iv) Half of the civil penalties collected pursuant to
this section shall be deposited in the state Restitution
Fund, and half shall be paid to the city or county in
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which the action was brought by the city attorney or
district attorney.
3)Difference between Nuisance Forfeiture and Criminal
Profiteering Forfeiture.
Proceeds of human trafficking operations are already subject
to forfeiture under existing criminal profiteering statutes.
This bill provides that after a person is convicted of human
trafficking, any real property that person used to facilitate
the crime, such as a building used as a sweatshop or a
brothel, could be declared a nuisance, subject to seizure
pursuant to the existing statutory scheme for nuisance
abatement (known as Red Light Abatement laws).
Under the nuisance abatement statutes, a citizen or a
prosecuting agency may bring a civil lawsuit to obtain a court
order that, due to specified illegal activity taking place on
the premises, the property constitutes a nuisance. If the
court finds the specified illegal activity was taking place on
the property, the property is deemed a nuisance. The court
shall then order the building seized and the property closed
for up to one year.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081