BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2466
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Date of Hearing: May 2, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2466 (Blumenfield) - As Amended: April 18, 2012
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 5-0
Judiciary 10-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes freezing of assets in human trafficking
cases, prior to final judgment, by authorizing the prosecutor,
at the same time as, or subsequent to, the filing of a complaint
or indictment charging human trafficking, to file a petition for
protective relief to preserve property or assets that could be
used to pay for remedies relating to human trafficking,
including fines and restitution.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor state trial court workload, offset to an unknown degree by
increased restitution and fine revenue. In the past five years,
35 persons have been committed to state prison for human
trafficking.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author's intent is to stop human traffickers
from liquidating and otherwise protecting assets by providing
prosecutors the ability to freeze assets pre-conviction as
well as post-conviction.
2)According to the author, "Human trafficking is one of the
fastest-growing criminal activities in California. People are
being bought, sold and smuggled like modern-day slaves in an
illegal multi-billion-dollar industry. Victims of human
trafficking often are trapped in lives of misery. Prosecutors
currently have the ability to seize profits and property that
were directly connected to the tragic crime of human
AB 2466
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trafficking, but only after the defendant has been convicted.
This bill would give prosecutors another important tool to
prevent human traffickers from further profiting from and
exploiting their victims, and help victims secure the
restitution they are due."
3)Human trafficking is defined in Penal Code Section 236.1(a) as
any person who deprives or violates the personal liberty of
another person with the intent to effect or maintain a felony
violation of enticement, pimping, pandering, abduction for the
purposes of prostitution, employing a minor in sexually
explicit material, and extortion.
4)Support . According to the California Attorney General's
Office, "Under current law, there are provisions that allow
prosecutors to seek an order preserving property they believe
is subject to forfeiture under the criminal profiteering
statutes. There are, however, no laws to help prevent human
trafficking defendants from liquidating and hiding their
assets before conviction. So, under existing law, defendants
can render themselves judgment proof, avoid paying
constitutionally mandated restitution, and thereby profit from
the reprehensible crime of human trafficking. AB 2466 will
remedy this problem by amending the Penal Code to allow a
court to order the preservation of assets and property owned
by persons charged with human trafficking."
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081