BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1595 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 1595 (Campos) - As Amended March 29, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Labor and Employment |Vote:|6 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 1595 Page 2 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. AB 1595 Page 3 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 AB 1595 Page 4