BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2212
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 17, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mike Feuer, Chair
AB 2212 (Block) - As Introduced: February 24, 2012
Proposed Consent
SUBJECT : HUMAN TRAFFICKING: CIVIL PENALTIES
KEY ISSUE : SHOULD CIVIL PENALTIES BE LEVIED ON BUILDINGS OR
PLACES CLASSIFIED AS A PUBLIC NUISANCE WHERE HUMAN TRAFFICKING
OCCURS, AND IF SO, SHOULD THEY BE DIVIDED BETWEEN THE CITY
ATTORNEYS AND PROSECUTORS WHO ENFORCE THESE LAWS AS WELL AS A
VICTIM-WITNESS ASSISTANCE FUND?
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed
non-fiscal.
SYNPOSIS
This non-controversial bill targets the buildings or places
where human trafficking operations occur and assesses civil
penalties to support human trafficking enforcement and victim
services. Currently, certain buildings or places used for the
purposes of gambling, lewdness, or prostitution can already be
deemed a public nuisance, permitting enjoinment, abatement, and
civil damages to be directed to city prosecutors and a state
Restitution Fund. This bill expands existing law by allowing
cities and county law enforcement officials to label buildings
and places where human trafficking occurs "per se" as nuisance
once they learn of trafficking operations, similar to how places
of gambling and prostitution are already treated. Civil damages
imposed through such investigations would be split to support
continued law enforcement activity aimed at eliminating human
trafficking as well as providing additional legal and social
services for human trafficking victims. Under current law,
courts can seize property used in the commission of human
trafficking only after a felony conviction has been obtained.
This bill is supported by the Office of the City Attorneys in
San Diego and Los Angeles, the Peace Officers Research
Association of California (PORAC), the Junior Leagues of
California, and the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking
(CAST). These organizations agree that the bill will expand the
AB 2212
Page 2
scope and authority of law enforcement officials to target human
traffickers, while also fighting the injustice of modern day
slavery by providing crucial support to victims of human
trafficking and supportive organizations through a state
Victim-Witness Assistance Fund. There is no known opposition to
the bill.
SUMMARY : Targets the buildings or places where human
trafficking operations occur and assesses civil penalties to
support human trafficking enforcement and victim services.
Specifically, this bill provides that a building or place used
for human trafficking will be classified as a public nuisance.
Upon establishing nuisance related to human trafficking, an
order of abatement shall be entered as a part of the judgment of
the case, and the court may assess a civil penalty not to exceed
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) against any and all of
the defendants. Resulting civil penalties collected in these
cases shall then be shared between the Victim-Witness Assistance
Fund and the city attorney or city prosecutor or district
attorney to be used exclusively for enforcement of nuisance
abatement laws.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that a person who deprives or violates the personal
liberty of another with the intent to effect or maintain a
felony violation of specified sexual crimes, such as rape or
pandering, or to obtain forced labor or services, is guilty of
human trafficking, which is a felony punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison for 3, 4, or 5 years. (Penal
Code Section 236.1.)
2)Authorizes courts to seize any property used in the commission
of human trafficking once a felony conviction has been
obtained. (Penal Code Section 236.3.)
3)Allows, under the California Trafficking Victims Protection
Act, a victim of human trafficking to bring a civil action for
actual damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages,
injunctive relief, or any other appropriate relief. (Civil
Code Section 52.5.)
4)Defines "nuisance" as anything that is injurious to health,
including but not limited to, the illegal sale of controlled
substances, or is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an
AB 2212
Page 3
obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere
with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property, or
unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary
manner, of any navigable lake, river, bay, stream, canal, or
basin, or any public park, square, street, or highway. (Civil
Code Section 3479.)
5)Classifies a building or place used for the purpose of illegal
gambling, lewdness, assignation, or prostitution, and every
building or place in or upon which acts of illegal gambling,
lewdness, assignation, or prostitution, are held or occur, as
a nuisance. (Penal Code Sections 11225.)
6)Provides that buildings used for such illegal activities
constituting a public nuisance shall be enjoined, abated, and
prevented, and for which damages may be recovered. Civil
penalties recovered through this process are divided between
the Restitution Fund in the State Treasury and either the city
attorney and city prosecutor or the district attorney,
depending on who brought the action. (Penal Code Sections
11225, 11230.)
COMMENTS : This non-controversial bill seeks to use existing
nuisance abatement statutes and civil penalties to combat human
trafficking. Civil recourse will then, according to the bill's
law enforcement supporters, protect the public and allow victims
to recover civil damages from their abusers. While current law
permits city attorneys and prosecutors to bring a nuisance claim
against property where human trafficking occurred only after
acquiring a "time intensive" felony conviction, treating human
trafficking "per se" as nuisance will, it is hoped, help to
immediately protect the individuals and communities where this
conduct occurs by permitting city attorneys and prosecutors to
initiate such a nuisance abatement claim once they learn about a
trafficking operation. Civil penalties collected from such
human trafficking nuisance claims will be split among city
prosecutors and attorneys pursuing these nuisance abatement
claims, as well as a Victim-Witness Assistance Fund aimed at
supporting the victims of these crimes.
In support of the measure, the author states:
Adding this new remedy will make it easier for cities and
counties to prosecute human traffickers and will aid in the
fight to eliminate human trafficking in our state? It's one
AB 2212
Page 4
thing to help victims by placing additional penalties on
the trafficker, but it's another to get them the assistance
they need to escape their environment and get help.
The Devastation of Human Trafficking in California Demonstrates
the Need for Further Action: Human trafficking involves the
recruitment, transportation, or sale of people for forced labor.
These victims are frequently subject to threats, coercion, and
violence. According to April 2012 statistics from the U.N.
Office on Drugs and Crime, 2.4 million people across the globe
are victims of human trafficking at any one time, and 80 percent
of them are being exploited as sexual slaves. The U.N. also
states that nearly two out of every three victims are women, and
that a staggering $32 billion is being earned worldwide every
year by unscrupulous criminals running human trafficking
networks. Perhaps most disturbing of all, according to the
January 2005 U.S. Department of State's Human Smuggling and
Trafficking Center report, "Fact Sheet: Distinctions Between
Human Smuggling and Human Trafficking," up to 50% of the victims
of human trafficking are children.
California regrettably has been reported to be one of the top
four destination states for trafficking victims in the United
States. Over 500 victims from 18 countries were identified in
California between 1998 and 2003. Trafficking victims in
California reportedly tend to be concentrated in three
"industries": prostitution, sweat shops, and domestic service.
According to a February 2005 report produced by researchers at
the University of California, Berkeley, due to California's
significant immigrant population, its position as an
internationally-accessible port of entry and its large
manufacturing, agricultural and service sector industries, there
has been a steep rise in human trafficking in the state.
In 2005, the Legislature enacted the California Trafficking
Victims Protection Act (AB 22 (Lieber), Ch. 240, Statutes of
2005). This act established civil and criminal penalties for
human trafficking and allowed for forfeiture of assets derived
from human trafficking. The Task Force was charged with
conducting a thorough review of California's response to human
trafficking and to report its findings to the Governor, Attorney
General, and the Legislature. The report, issued in 2007,
argued that California's anti-trafficking law needs "stiffer
penalties" for traffickers. It stated that California bears a
"moral responsibility" to exert leadership in this area.
AB 2212
Page 5
The report concluded that in addition to human trafficking
causing harm to its victims, the "secondary consequences of
human trafficking can severely affect California communities."
It also connected human trafficking to several other violent
crimes. The 2005 U.S. State Department Report found that the
impact of human trafficking can lead to additional crime and
gang activity, child exploitation, public health problems and
depressed wages in surrounding communities.
Victims of Human Trafficking Require Additional Financial
Assistance and Robust Community Support: While it is important
to punish human traffickers, it is also felt critical to ensure
that penalties imposed on these traffickers are utilized to help
the victims of their crimes. The 2007 report reviewing
California's response to human trafficking found that
insufficient funding in human trafficking victims programs can
result in victims being less likely to receive services,
counseling, and the tools they need to escape enslavement. The
report also found that "shelter is one of a trafficking victim's
most critical needs, but California does not have enough
appropriate shelter space to support the needs of human
trafficking victims." As such, the report recommended that the
Legislature direct more funds to help, "non-governmental victim
service organizations to provide legal and social services for
human trafficking victims." Similarly, the 2011 U.S. State
Department's Trafficking in Persons Report urged that the U.S.,
"increase funding for �human trafficking] victim services."
Several States Have Passed Legislation Targeting the Property of
Human Traffickers and Directing Civil Remedies Towards Victims:
California should follow the lead of many other states like
Colorado, Tennessee, New Hampshire and Iowa that have passed
laws or on the verge of passing laws targeting the property
utilized by human traffickers and using the proceeds from the
respective penalties to assist victims of human trafficking.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : In support, the Office of the City
Attorney, San Diego states:
This bill would expand our scope of authority and let our
office address a serious issue by bringing legal action
against parties involved in human trafficking including the
traffickers, property managers and business owners who are
engaging in and profiting from illegal human trafficking
AB 2212
Page 6
activities?.I believe it is good to have multiple ways of
addressing criminal activity? The property owners who
provide these criminals a place to commit their crimes
should be held accountable.
The Office of the City Attorney, Los Angeles adds that illegal
gambling faces greater punishment than human trafficking, "This
discrepancy is unacceptable and must be remedied."
Adds the Junior Leagues of California: "We support AB 2212
because we believe it will allow for fast action to be taken by
law enforcement agents to shut down human trafficking operations
and will allow for funds to be allocated to community based
organizations that serve victims of human trafficking through
the Victim-Witness Assistance Fund."
The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking also agrees
with AB 2212's efforts to fight human trafficking because they
"witness�s] the fact that modern day slavery is a crime that
continues to exist and even thrive in our state because it
remains hidden from public view."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
California State Sheriffs' Association
Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST)
Office of the City Attorney, City of San Diego
Office of the City Attorney, City of Los Angeles
Junior Leagues of California
Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC)
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert & Zachary Baron / JUD. /
(916) 319-2334
AB 2212
Page 7