BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1595


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          Date of Hearing:  May 11, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          AB  
          1595 (Campos) - As Amended March 29, 2016


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          |Policy       |Labor and Employment           |Vote:|6 - 0        |
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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable: No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill requires, by January 1, 2018, private or public  
          employers providing mass transportation services to train  
          employees on human trafficking, as specified, and requires the  
          Department of Justice (DOJ) to develop guidelines for this  
          training.     


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          First-year cost of $272,000, and ongoing cost of $475,000 (GF),  
          to DOJ to survey best practices, engage stakeholders, develop  








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          guidelines and create a curriculum model for the mass  
          transportation industry regarding human trafficking.  On an  
          ongoing basis, DOJ would continue to be engaged to assess the  
          training curriculum success, make improvements based on feedback  
          and update the guidelines as they continue to gather  
          intelligence.   


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose/Background.  According to the author, this bill aims  
            to address the lack of awareness on human trafficking in  
            California, particularly in regards to who is at risk, how to  
            identify the signs, and how to report the signs.  AB 1595  
            expands the approach taken by the Santa Clara County Valley  
            Transportation Authority, San Francisco Airport, the US  
            Department of Transportation, and many other organizations  
            concerned about human trafficking by requiring all mass  
            transit agencies across this state to train their employees in  
            how to recognize the signs of human trafficking and how to  
            make the appropriate reports to law enforcement agencies. 


            The Attorney General's office reports that human trafficking  
            is the world's fastest growing criminal enterprise, with a  
            global industry estimated at $32 billion-a-year. The human  
            trafficking industry affects more than 20.9 million people  
            globally. Contrary to public perception that human trafficking  
            victims are from other countries, data collected from  
            California's task forces indicate that the vast majority of  
            victims are Americans. Notably, 72% of all human trafficking  
            survivors are U.S citizens, with 80% of human trafficking  
            victims in the U.S being women, and 50% being children who  
            attend school in the day and are trafficked at night.   
            California, in particular, is one of the top four destination  
            states for human trafficking in the U.S. 










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          2)Support.  Supporters argue that training ground transportation  
            on how to recognize common signs of trafficking, as they are  
            on the frontlines every day, could be instrumental in helping  
            report human trafficking in California.  



          3)Opposition.  CalChamber argues that this bill fails to specify  
            what are the commonly known or accepted signs of human  
            trafficking, and to whom an employee should report human  
            trafficking, and without further clarification, it will create  
            uncertainty, confusion, and inconsistency regarding the  
            training provided.  In addition, CalChamber expresses concern  
            that this bill is included in the Labor Code and therefore any  
            alleged violation is subject to the Labor Code Private  
            Attorney General Act for a representative action.



          4)Related Legislation.  AB 1942 (Christina Garcia), also on  
            today's calendar,  requires a hotel or motel that provides  
            lodging services to train employees on human trafficking, as  
            specified.  AB 1942 is currently pending before this  
            committee.





          Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081
















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