SB 236: Human trafficking: vertical prosecution program.

Existing law establishes the Office of Emergency Services, which is required to, among other things, allocate and award funds to communities developing and providing ongoing citizen involvement and crime resistance programs.

This bill would require the office, to the extent funds are available for this purpose and until January 1, 2029, to allocate and award funds to up to 11 district attorney offices that employ a vertical prosecution methodology for the prosecution of human trafficking crimes and that meet other specified criteria, including minimum staffing levels for the program. The bill would require the office, on or before January 1, 2026, to submit to the Legislature and the Governors office a report that describes the counties that received funding pursuant to this program, the number of prosecutions for human trafficking cases filed by the counties receiving funding, the number of human trafficking convictions obtained by those counties, and the sentences imposed for human trafficking crimes in those counties. The bill would also appropriate $2,600,000 from the General Fund to the office for this program.