Currently, California law does not make human trafficking a crime. Assemblywoman Lieber and District Attorney Harris joined together to make human trafficking a felony in California and assist victims in rebuilding their lives. The measure is the most comprehensive of its kind in the nation, addressing intra-state trafficking and combining both criminal and civil remedies to combat human trafficking.

Law enforcement leaders Los Angeles District Attorney Cooley, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris (co-sponsor of the bill) and Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca were joined by the bill’s author, Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, and a coalition of women’s rights and public interest groups who gathered in DA Cooley’s office to illustrate the importance of this legislation.

“The problem of human trafficking has reached into neighborhoods throughout California and is one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the world,” Lieber stated. “Individuals are bought, sold, transported and held in inhumane conditions for use in prostitution or as forced laborers. It would be morally and socially irresponsible to ignore this problem and the victims it creates in California every year.”

“After a tough fight in the Legislature, the Governor’s signature has now put the merchants of exploitation on notice: we’re coming after you with the full force of the law,” said District Attorney Harris. “The last time I saw so many different people come together to enact a new crime was when we confronted domestic violence.”

California has one of the highest incidences of trafficking in the country. A study by the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center identified 57 forced labor operations in almost a dozen California cities between 1998 and 2003, involving more than 500 individuals from 18 countries. According UC Berkeley, nearly eighty percent of these cases are centered in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego and Los Angeles.

"Every 10 minutes, a man, woman or child somewhere in the world is recruited, kidnapped or smuggled into the United States to work as an unpaid, indentured or forced laborer in domestic servitude, sweatshops, agriculture, brothers, prostitution rings and pornography," said Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said. "State prosecutors' hands have too long been tied. We need this exploitation of human beings identified for the crime it is so we can prosecute those who prey on immigrants."

“We are honored to have been part of this important effort to combat trafficking and urge the Governor to join us in our campaign to eradicate this most egregious form of human rights abuse,” said Kay Buck, Executive Director at CAST and member of co-sponsors the California Anti-trafficking Initiative. “I can’t stress enough the need for a comprehensive response to human trafficking that not only holds traffickers accountable but also treats victims as victims so they can heal from the trauma of slavery, be effective witnesses and regain control of their lives.”

The bill, authored by Assemblywoman Lieber and co-sponsored by District Attorney Harris and the California Anti-Trafficking Initiative, has received broad bi-partisan support. The California District Attorney’s Association endorsed the bill and leaders of CDAA have noted that the passage of AB 22 created a new crime in California for the first time since 1999. In response to growing incidents of trafficking and forced labor in California, law enforcement, labor, women’s groups, anti-trafficking advocates and faith groups have rallied around the bill. Supporters of the bill include the Legislative Women’s Caucus, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, California Commission on the Status of Women, California Catholic Conference of Bishops, California Labor Federation, Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Other participants at the press conference included Mary Wiberg, Executive Director, California Commission on the Status of Women; Kay Buck, Executive Director, Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST); Patti Chang, CEO, Women’s Foundation of California; Rohida Kahn, African Community Resource Center; Paula Petrotta, Executive Director, Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women; and Representatives of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, Western American Province.

The legislation passed the California Senate September 7 on a vote of 28-7; the Assembly concurred in Senate amendments to the bill on a vote of 74-3. The Governor signed the bill today.