AB 1738: Sex offenses: prostitution: registration.

(1)Existing law requires persons convicted of specified sex offenses, or attempts to commit those offenses, to register with local law enforcement agencies while residing in the state or while attending school or working in the state. Existing law establishes, commencing January 1, 2021, 3 tiers of registration based on the underlying offense and other criteria, for periods of at least 10 years, at least 20 years, and life, respectively, or 2 tiers for other specified periods for a ward of the juvenile court. Willful failure to register, as required, is a misdemeanor, or a felony, depending on the underlying offense.

This bill would add, to the list of offenders required to register, an individual who is convicted of the commission, or the attempted commission, of soliciting, or agreeing to engage in, or engaging in, an act of prostitution with another person who is a minor in exchange for the individual providing compensation, money, or anything of value to the minor, if the individual was 18 years of age or older at the time of the commission or attempted commission of the offense and knew, or reasonably should have known, that the other person was a minor and a victim of human trafficking, as defined. The bill would classify that individual as a tier 2 offender, commencing January 1, 2021, subject to registration for at least 20 years. By imposing additional duties on local authorities, and by expanding the scope of persons who would be committing a crime by failing to register as a sex offender, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

(2)Existing law requires the Department of Justice to make available to the public specified information concerning registered sex offenders on an Internet Web site. Existing law requires that information to include, among other things, the address at which the person resides for certain registrants, or the ZIP Code in which the person resides for other certain registrants. Existing law also authorizes a person to file an application for exclusion from the Internet Web site and establishes the requirements for exclusion.

This bill would require the department to make available to the public the above information concerning the individual described in paragraph (1), under the category of registrants whose ZIP Code is included in the information.

(3)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.