BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1956
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Date of Hearing: March 27, 2012
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1956 (Portantino) - As Amended: March 22, 2012
SUMMARY : Expands the California Voluntary Tattoo Removal
Program to serve individuals, between 14 and 24 years of age,
who were tattooed for identification in human trafficking or
prostitution and are in the custody of the California Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) or county probation
departments, who are on parole or probation, or who are in a
community-based organization serving at-risk youth.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Required CDCR, Division of Juvenile Facilities (DJF) to
purchase, after a competitive bidding process, two medical
devices that utilize a laser to remove a tattoo from a
person's skin. DFJ shall determine, through a competitive
bidding process, the placement of the two medical devices
pursuant to specified guidelines. �Welfare and Institutions
Code Section 1915(a).]
2)States that one of the medical devices shall be located within
Los Angeles County and the other shall be located in one of
the following counties: Alameda, San Francisco, San Matera,
Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz. �Welfare and Institutions Code
Section 1915(a)(1).]
3)Provides that possible sites for the medical devices may
include: a licensed health facility, a licensed health
clinic, an educational institution, or a probation office.
Allows CDCR, DJF to enter into an agreement with a health
facility to use the medical device when it is not needed for
tattoo removal if the health facility provides the tattoo
removal services pursuant to this section free of charge.
�Welfare and Institutions Code Section 1915(a)(2).]
4)Requires candidates for tattoo removal to be screened by
community groups working collaboratively with the operators of
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the sites of the tattoo removal devices. A male candidate for
tattoo removal shall have a tattoo on his lower arm, hand,
neck, or head. A female candidate for tattoo removal shall
have a tattoo that would be visible in a professional work
environment. To be eligible for participation, the presence
of the tattoo must be deemed to present either a threat to the
personal safety of, or an obstacle to the employability of,
the candidate. Priority shall be given to candidates who have
a job offer that is contingent upon removal of the tattoo. At
the discretion of the organization that screens a candidate, a
candidate for this tattoo removal may be required to complete
20 hours of supervised public service work in order to
participate in this program. Parental consent shall be
required before the tattoo of any person under 18 years of age
is removed. �Welfare and Institutions Code Section 1915(b).]
5)Established the California Voluntary Tattoo Removal Program,
which serves individuals, between 14 and 24 years of age, who
have gang related tattoos and are in the custody of CDCR or
county probation departments, who are on parole or probation,
or who are in a community-based organization serving at-risk
youth. To the extent that funds are appropriated for this
purpose, the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA)
may administer the program. �Welfare and Institutions Code
Section 1916(a)-(c).]
6)Mandates CalEMA to award grants under the California Voluntary
Tattoo Removal Program in a competitive manner and on a
geographically diverse basis, serving both northern and
southern California. �Welfare and Institutions Code Section
1916(d).]
7)Limits funds appropriated for purposes of the California
Voluntary Tattoo Removal Program to federal funds. �Welfare
and Institutions Code Section 1916(f).]
8)Requires grantees of a California Voluntary Tattoo Removal
Program grant to serve individuals who have gang-related
tattoos that are visible in a professional environment and who
are recommended for the program by CDCR representatives,
parole agents, county probation officers, community-based
organizations, or service providers. �Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 1916(h).]
9)Provides that individuals who have gang-related tattoos that
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may be considered unprofessional and are visible in a
professional work environment who meet any of the following
criteria may be eligible for participation in the California
Voluntary Tattoo Removal Program:
a) Are actively pursuing secondary or postsecondary
education;
b) Are seeking employment or participating in workforce
training programs;
c) Are scheduled for an upcoming job interview or job
placement; and
d) Are participating in a community or public service
activity. �Welfare and Institutions Code Section 1916(i).]
10)Limits the use of the California Voluntary Tattoo Removal
Program grant funding to the following:
a) The removal of gang-related tattoos;
b) Maintenance or repair of tattoo removal medical devices;
and
c) Contracting with licensed private providers to offer the
tattoo removal service. �Welfare and Institutions Code
Section 1916(j).]
11)Sets a sunset date of January 1, 2017 on the California
Voluntary Tattoo Removal Program. �Welfare and Institutions
Code Section 1916(l).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Not only does
this practice have a permanent physical mark, but the long
term psychological effect of being marked as a pimp's property
is lasting. The physical and psychological abuse these
individuals suffer should not be a lifelong reminder for these
people. Assisting these victims with tattoo removal will help
them gain employment and break the psychological effect of the
tattoo to successfully leave the life of exploitation. This
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is a unique opportunity for the legislature to help these
individuals. According to CAL EMA, this program is funded
through a Justice Assistance Grant that is set aside for gang
and human trafficking costs and programs."
2)Background : According to information provided by the author,
"It has become a disturbing trend for individuals to be
tattooed for the purposes of prostitution and human
trafficking. These individuals are forced to carry around
these tattoos or "brands" on their body, a constant reminder
of their exploitation and abuse. Current free tattoo removal
programs are limited to former members of gangs; this bill
will include individuals who were tattooed for this purpose to
be eligible for the current program that is administered by
CAL EMA."
3)Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Formula Grant (JAG) :
AB 1122 (John A. Perez), Chapter 661, Statutes of 2011,
established the California Voluntary Tattoo Removal Program,
administered by CalEMA. According to CalEMA, the current
tattoo removal program is a one-time pilot program funded with
the 2011 JAG Award. The 2012 and beyond JAG Awards will
administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections
(BSCC). �SB 92 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter
36, Statutes of 2011.] Currently, trafficking victims are not
eligible for tattoo removal under the 2011 JAG Award grant
funds. In order for BSCC to expand the tattoo removal program
to this new group, the United States Department of Justice
would have to give their permission to allow their funds to be
used to remove tattoos from trafficking victims. �For more
information on the Byrne/JAG Awards, see
(as of
March 20, 2012).]
4)Tattoos used as Branding : One of the largest forms of
domestic trafficking in the U.S. involves traffickers who
coerce women and children to enter the commercial sex industry
through the use of a variety of recruitment and control
mechanisms in strip clubs, street-based prostitution, escort
services, and brothels. Domestic sex traffickers, commonly
referred to as "pimps", particularly target vulnerable youth,
such as runaway and homeless youth, and reinforce the reality
that the average age of entry into prostitution is 12-13 years
old in the U.S. Experts estimate that at least 100,000
children are sexually exploited each year."
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(
.)
Pimps use tattoos as a branding tool to show control and
ownership of sex trafficking victims. According to the
National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC), a
national, toll-free hotline where any person can call to
report suspected cases of human trafficking or request
information on human trafficking services, from December 7th,
2007 through February 29th, 2012, the NHTRC received 147 calls
to its hotline referencing tattoos in the context of specific
situations of potential trafficking. These calls corresponded
to 63 unique cases of potential trafficking. The data shows
that in one-third of the cases, callers noted the presence of
tattoos when describing a potential victim, but did not
know/specify if the tattoo was related to the potential
trafficking situation. In approximately 32% of cases, callers
noted the presence of tattoos when describing potential pimps
or other controllers. Nearly 18% of the cases referenced
situations where the pimp's name or identifying symbol had
been tattooed on a potential victim. 9.5% of cases referenced
situations where the potential victim was forced to be
tattooed by a pimp, but the nature of the tattoo was not
specified. In nearly 5% of cases, the potential victim was
tattooed with her street name. �For full report, see National
Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) Data Breakdown:
Tattoos, December 7th, 2007 through February 29th, 2012,
5)Argument in Support : According to Homeboy Industries , "We
have found that one of the most critical services we provide
is no-cost tattoo removal. Tattoo removal is important not
only for safety reasons and to increase employment
opportunities, but also because it signals an important
personal decision to change one's identity. One of the first
reasons our clients cite for why they want to get their
tattoos removed is so they set a good example for their
children. At Homeboy, we have seen the momentous change that
a simple procedure like tattoo removal can make in the lives
of our clients; the victims of human trafficking and
prostitution deserve this simple and impactful service."
6)Previous Legislation :
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a) AB 1122 (John A. Perez), Chapter 661, Statutes of 2011,
established the California Voluntary Tattoo Removal
Program, administered by CalEMA, which provides competitive
grants to grantees to serve individuals between 14 and 24
years of age who have gang-related tattoos and who are in
the custody CDCR or county probation departments, who are
on parole or probation, or who are in a community-based
organization serving at-risk youth.
b) SB 526 (Hayden), Chapter 907, Statutes of 1997,
authorized the Department of the Youth Authority to
purchase two medical devices that utilize a laser to remove
a tattoo from a person's skin and to place one in Los
Angeles County and one within any of specified San
Francisco Bay area counties, selected as specified.
c) SB 1700 (Hayden), Chapter 842, Statutes of 1998,
authorized the Department of the Youth Authority to
purchase four medical devices that utilize a laser to
remove a tattoo from a person's skin.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Catholic Conference
California Chief Probation Officers of California
California Probation, Parole, and Correctional Association
California Public Defenders Association
California State PTA
California State Sheriffs Association
Crime Victims United of California
Homeboy Industries
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
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