BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1731


                                                                    Page  1





          Date of Hearing:  April 6, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          AB  
          1731 (Atkins) - As Introduced January 28, 2016


           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Policy       |Public Safety                  |Vote:|7 - 0        |
          |Committee:   |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 


          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          Creates the Statewide Interagency Human Trafficking Task Force,  
          comprised of specified agencies, to: 1) gather statewide data on  
          human trafficking; 2) recommend interagency protocols and best  
          practices for training and outreach to entities likely to  
          encounter sex trafficking; and 3) evaluate and implement  
          approaches to increase public awareness about human trafficking.  










                                                                    AB 1731


                                                                    Page  2






          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Moderate General Fund cost to the Department of Justice of  
          $175,000 in 2016-17 and $313,000 annually thereafter, for two  
          positions.  


          COMMENTS:


          1)Background. In 2004 and 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice  
            awarded grants to create six regional task forces in  
            California to combat human trafficking.  In 2009 and 2010, the  
            California Emergency Management Agency used American Recovery  
            and Reinvestment Act grant funds to supplement the original  
            six task forces and establish three new regional task forces.



          As part of their work to combat human trafficking, the task  
            forces provide training to a variety of audiences on how to  
            identify and respond to the crime. From mid-2010 to mid-2012,  
            California's task forces provided training to 25,591 law  
            enforcement personnel, prosecutors, victim service providers,  
            and other first responders. 
            In 2013, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research  
            Council prepared a guide for providers of victim services for  
            minors that had been trafficked.  The guide pointed out that  
            each of the sectors involved in addressing commercial sexual  
            exploitation and sex trafficking of minors-victim and support  
            services, health care, education, the legal sector, and the  
            commercial sector-has specific roles to play.  Adequate  
            responses to trafficking of minors requires collaboration and  
            coordination among all of these sectors, as well as at all  
            levels-federal, state, and local. However, the efforts of  
            individuals, groups, and organizations in different sectors  
            and with different areas of expertise tend to be disconnected.  








                                                                    AB 1731


                                                                    Page  3





             


          2)Purpose. According to the author, "California remains at the  
            forefront in the fight against human trafficking and will  
            continue to do so.  Yet, there is not currently a statewide  
            entity working to coordinate the efforts of all the relevant  
            state agencies, to collect and analyze multi-faceted human  
            trafficking data from around the state, and to increase  
            awareness about human trafficking so that members of the  
            public know how to identify and report human trafficking."


            AB 1731 creates California Interagency Human Trafficking Task  
            Force, comprised of representatives from state agencies  
            involved in law enforcement, social services, child welfare,  
            labor, public health, and corrections and rehabilitation,  
            education, and the courts.  It directs the Task Force to do  
            the following: 


             a)   Gather statewide data on sex and labor traffickers, sex  
               buyers, and human trafficking victims, including statistics  
               on prosecution of offenders as well as services provided to  
               victims, including commercially sexually exploited  
               children.

             b)   Recommend interagency protocols and best practices for  
               training and outreach to the law enforcement community,  
               victim service providers, and other state or private sector  
               employees likely to encounter sex trafficking, such as  
               educators and hotel workers.

             c)   Evaluate and implement approaches to increase public  
               awareness about human trafficking and make new  
               recommendations on these approaches.

          3)Support:  According to the California Statewide Law  
            Enforcement Association, "AB 1731 allows the various state  








                                                                    AB 1731


                                                                    Page  4





            agencies to gather data and recommend protocols and best  
            practices for training and outreach to law enforcement, victim  
            service providers, and others.  By collaborating on best  
            practices, law enforcement and community partners will be  
            better equipped to handle cases and encounters with human  
            trafficking."

          4)Related Legislation:  AB 1730 (Atkins), authorizes the chief  
            probation officer of a county to create a program to provide  
            services to youth within the county that address the need for  
            services relating to the commercial sexual exploitation of  
            youth.  AB 1730 will be heard in this committee today.




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