BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 1085 (Walters) - Human trafficking: probation.
Amended: As Introduced Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 5, 2014 Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 1085 would prohibit a court from granting
probation to a defendant convicted of any form of human
trafficking, as specified.
Fiscal Impact:
Potentially significant future costs (General Fund) to CDCR
in new state prison commitments to the extent defendants
convicted of human trafficking that otherwise would have
been granted probation are committed to state prison. After
10 years, one or two additional commitments annually to
state prison would cumulatively cost in the range of $0.3
million to $0.6 million, utilizing the current unit cost for
in-state contracted bed space.
Potentially significant local cost savings due to reduced
supervision and incarceration costs to county jails and
local law enforcement that otherwise would have been
required as a condition of probation.
Background: Existing law provides that any person who deprives
or violates the personal liberty of another is guilty of human
trafficking if the person specifically intends one of the
following: 1) to effect or maintain a specified felony
prostitution-related offense, 2) commit extortion, 3) use a
minor to produce or distribute obscene material or child
pornography, or 4) to obtain forced labor or services (Penal
Code (PC) � 236.1(a)-(c)).
The offenses of human trafficking are punishable by varying
prison terms and fines, ranging from a determinate sentence of
5, 8, or 12 years and a fine of up to $500,000 for a case in
which the victim is an adult and the crime involves forced
labor, to a sentence of 15-years-to-life and a fine of up to
$500,000 for a case involving human trafficking of a minor for
commercial sex. Where a victim of human trafficking suffers
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great bodily injury, a consecutive prison sentence enhancement
of 5, 7, or 10 years is imposed. Existing law also provides that
defendants convicted of any human trafficking offense shall
receive a consecutive sentence enhancement of five years for
each separately charged prior human trafficking conviction.
Finally, the court may impose an additional and separate fine of
up to $1 million upon a defendant convicted of human
trafficking.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ) report, The State
of Human Trafficking in California, 2012, "Human trafficking is
an estimated $32 billion-a-year global industry. After drug
trafficking, human trafficking is the world's second most
profitable criminal enterprise, a status it shares with illegal
arms trafficking. California - a populous border state with a
significant immigrant population and the world's ninth largest
economy - is one of the nation's top four destination states for
trafficking human beings. "
Highlighted within the report, it was noted that, "In the two
years between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2012, California's task
forces initiated 2,552 investigations, identified 1,277 victims
of human trafficking, and arrested 1,798 individuals." (The
State of Human Trafficking in California, 2012, p. 50)
Existing law generally allows courts to grant probation to
persons convicted of crimes, except under specified provisions
of law that prohibit or severely limit probation. Examples of
crimes ineligible for probation include use of a firearm in the
commission of robbery, kidnapping, residential burglary, rape,
and various sex crimes. This bill seeks to add human trafficking
pursuant to PC � 236.1 to the list of probation-ineligible
crimes.
Proposed Law: This bill would prohibit the granting of probation
to, or the suspension of sentence for, a person who is convicted
of human trafficking as defined in PC � 236.1.
Related Legislation: SB 1084 (Walters) 2014 would add the crime
of human trafficking to the definition of a "serious felony" for
purposes related to plea bargaining, bail, sentencing,
probation, and future employment consequences. This bill failed
passage in the Senate Committee on Public Safety but has been
granted reconsideration.
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SB 1001 (Morrell) 2014 would include a human trafficking offense
as a "serious felony" for which an action for damages against a
defendant may be brought within 10 years from the date on which
the defendant is discharged from parole. This bill is pending
hearing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary.
Prior Legislation: Proposition 35 of the November 2012 General
Election, increases fines and prison sentences for human
trafficking offenses, expands the definition of human
trafficking to include the creation and distribution of child
pornography, and mandates law enforcement training on human
trafficking. Proposition 35 also requires convicted human
traffickers to register as sex offenders and disclose internet
activities and identities.
AB 2466 (Blumenfield) Chapter 512/2012 authorizes the court to
order the preservation of assets and property of criminal
defendants charged with human trafficking.
SB 1133 (Leno) Chapter 514/2012 expands the scope of property
subject to forfeiture in human trafficking cases and provides a
formula to redirect those resources to community groups that aid
victims of human trafficking.
AB 22 (Lieber) Chapter 240/2005 establishes civil and criminal
penalties for human trafficking, allows for forfeiture of assets
derived from human trafficking, requires law enforcement
agencies to provide Law Enforcement Agency Endorsement to
trafficking victims, creates the California Alliance to Combat
Trafficking and Slavery Task Force, and provides restitution to
victims.
Staff Comments: Because the number of human trafficking
convictions statewide that have historically been granted
probation is currently unknown, the potential costs for
increased prison commitments cannot be determined with certainty
though could likely be significant and eventually major as the
cumulative impact of overlapping sentences is incurred.
Information from Los Angeles County indicates approximately one
human trafficking conviction every 10 months, over the last 31
months, has been granted probation.
Staff notes that the AG report, The State of Human Trafficking
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in California 2012, indicates that the majority of human
trafficking cases are charged and prosecuted using alternative
PC sections (at least in the context of sex trafficking).
Whereas a human trafficking conviction is currently eligible for
probation, pimping and pandering convictions are not. Generally,
human trafficking statutes also allow for longer sentences than
pimping and pandering laws. To the extent human trafficking
cases currently charged under alternative PC statutes (i.e.,
pimping/pandering) are prosecuted under the human trafficking
statutes as a result of this measure would not result in new
commitments to state prison but could result in lengthier terms
served by individuals, resulting in additional future costs to
CDCR.
DOJ statewide arrest statistics indicate 286 arrests for human
trafficking occurred in 2013, nearly an 86 percent increase over
the 154 arrests reported in 2012. Approximately 25 percent of
arrests in 2012 have resulted in a conviction. Although only 28
convictions have been reported for arrests in 2013, because
conviction records relate back to the date of arrest regardless
of the year of conviction, it is likely that future convictions
will increase the number of convictions reported for 2013.
To the extent one or two additional defendants convicted of
human trafficking per year that otherwise would have been
granted probation are committed to state prison, the CDCR would
incur annual state incarceration costs of $310,000 to $620,000
after 10 years. This estimate is based on a cost for in-state
contracted bed space of $31,000 per bed per year as reflected in
the 2014-15 Governor's Budget. However, it should be noted that
the costs may be higher if the inmates in contracted bed space
have significant physical or mental health needs.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the CDCR to reduce prison
crowding to 137.5 percent of the prison system's design capacity
by February 28, 2016. Although public safety realignment has
achieved significant reductions in the prison population, and
the 2014-15 Governor's Budget projects meeting the population
cap in the near-term, the analysis by the Legislative Analyst's
Office suggests that CDCR's long-term prison caseload will
likely exceed this cap. Because California's institutions
already exceed the population limit, any near-term and future
increases to the state's prison population would likely require
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the state to pursue one of several options including
contracting-out for additional bed space or releasing current
inmates early onto parole.