SB 157-TRAFFICKING/PROSTITUTION/SEXUAL ABUSE    2:09:12 PM CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 157 and asked for a motion to adopt Version \L committee substitute. 2:09:20 PM SENATOR THERRIAULT motioned to adopt CS for SB 157, Version \L, labeled 25-LS0759\L, as the working document before the committee. There being no objection, it was so ordered. SENATOR DYSON, Sponsor of SB 157, relayed that a federally funded task force composed of the Troopers, the FBI, the Anchorage Police Department, and others looked into human trafficking in Alaska. SB 157 represents the task force's recommended changes to the Alaska statutes to facilitate the prosecution of people who traffic and prostitute children in particular. He noted that the current version addresses the criminal code. 2:10:32 PM Section 1 expands the definition of the crime of prostitution to include the buyer making it equally criminal for both sides of the prostitution transaction. Sections 2 and 3 raise the age of consent. The law against promotion of prostitution in the first degree would include prostitution of persons between 16 and 18 years of age. Previously it was 16 years of age. 2:11:30 PM Section 4 raises the penalty for promotion of prostitution in the first degree from a class B felony to a class A felony. Section 5 raises the penalty for promotion of prostitution of a child from a class A felony to an unclassified felony. Section 6 raises promotion of prostitution in the second degree from a class C felony to a class B felony. SENATOR DYSON elaborated that police officers have expressed concern that prosecutors don't take misdemeanor and lower class prostitution seriously. The feeling is that it would be taken seriously if the crimes were felonies. "The Department of Law is apparently comfortable with bumping these all up one notch," he stated. Section 7 deals with running a house of prostitution. It raises the penalty for promoting prostitution in the third degree from a class A misdemeanor to a class C felony. Also it includes prostitution of persons between 16 and 18 years of age. Previously the age was 16. SENATOR DYSON explained that the drafter, Mr. Luckhaupt, added a new fourth degree prostitution. It's to catch someone who is promoting prostitution that isn't at a class B or class C felony level. He understands it will help to prosecute people who know about and may facilitate prostitution even though they may not be getting a fee for their service. He noted that the Anchorage police are saying that hotels are turning a blind eye and this may get at that. 2:14:27 PM CHAIR FRENCH asked the Department of Law someone who delivers pizza, sweeps a driveway, plows snow, or hooks up telephone service in a place of prostitution would be guilty of engaging in conduct that institutes, aids, or facilitates prostitution. 2:14:42 PM RICK SVOBODNY, Deputy Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Law, said it depends. Literally if someone is aiding in the commission of the offense by sweeping the driveway so that patrons have access, then the answer is yes. If someone is delivering pizza with the intention of aiding in commission of the offense by providing food for what's going on, the answer is also yes. A bellhop who facilitates a hotel patron's request for a prostitute is guilty of promoting prostitution now, but this language may capture certain stances that he's not thinking about. CHAIR FRENCH asked if the mental element with respect to this provision would be "knowing." MR. SVOBODNY said he doesn't know but typically when someone is charged with aiding or abetting an offense the culpable mental state is higher. There must be intent that the underlying crime occur. For instance, it would not be a crime for him to agree to lend a gun to someone, but if he intended to help in an armed robbery then he would have to have a higher culpable mental state. "Sometimes you have to have a higher culpable mental state than the perpetrator." That language is built into the regular culpability statute, but it isn't built into this statute so it may well be that it's knowingly, he stated. MR. SVOBODNY summarized that the statutory construction answer is yes --it knowingly. CHAIR FRENCH said the mental element probably doesn't need to be inserted here. If it's knowingly or higher then you'd have to prove that the person who's sweeping the driveway is not doing it because he's earning $5 and that's how he makes his living. You'd have to prove that he's sweeping the driveway because he knows there's an event that night and he's making sure that business can be conducted inside the house of prostitution. MR. SVOBODNEY said if the particular words aren't used in statute it's knowingly. 2:18:36 PM CHAIR FRENCH expressed the view that the statute is fine the way it is. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked for clarification that by default it'd be knowingly. MR. SVOBODNY said yes. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the person who's shoveling the driveway has, under this statute, committed the crime of aiding prostitution if he/she knows that the owner of the facility intends to have prostitutes there. MR. SVOBODNY said he doesn't really know because it would have to be proved that the sweeper knew that he/she was clearing the driveway so that patrons of the prostitutes could go there. CHAIR FRENCH asked if it's fair to say that you would be looking for business partners, business associates, and others who are intimately connected to the operation in order to bring a prosecution. MR. SVOBODNY said yes; it will always be the case that the court will say that the mere presence at the scene of a crime is not sufficient to be guilty of a crime. There would have to be some other mental state before the person is guilty of a crime. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if a motel clerk would have committed a violation under this statute if he/she were to allow someone to check in if they were accompanied by someone who could be a prostitute. MR. SVOBODNY it would be necessary to show that the clerk knew that the person was a prostitute. SENATOR DYSON interjected that if the clerk is renting the room by the hour and the same girl is seen three or four times a night it's a good case. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if that's an objective or subjective standard. CHAIR FRENCH opined that it's the reasonable person standard. MR. SVOBODNY said the jury will make a determination of whether there was a substantial probability that the event existed--that the act of prostitution was or would be occurring. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said that's the objective standard. MR. SVOBODNY countered that it's the reasonable person standard. A jury would ask if that's what a reasonable person would know. 2:21:47 PM CHAIR FRENCH asked Senator Dyson to continue with Section 9. SENATOR DYSON continued. Section 9 clarifies that property that is used to aid or facilitate the promotion of prostitution can be seized. Section 10 inserts promoting prostitution of children into the sentencing code. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI referenced Section 9 and commented that the provision that the "property shall be forfeited" seems extreme. He noted that the Hotel Captain Cook for example is probably valued at several hundred million dollars. CHAIR FRENCH asked Mr. Svobodny if the Hotel Captain Cook could be at stake here. 2:23:06 PM MR. SVOBODNY explained that there's been a big discussion in alcohol forfeiture where Alaska Airlines claimed that it would have a plane seized if an agent put alcohol on a plane that was going to a dry community. In that case language was included so that would not be the case. He said he didn't know if there is special language or if it was just a conclusion that there must be a nexus. The person owning the property generally wouldn't be subject to having the property forfeited unless there was a certain culpable mental state. Under Senator Dyson's example, if the Hotel Captain Cook is renting rooms by the hour it may well be subject to seizure, but if it's simply a clerk who is acting beyond the scope of his/her duties then the hotel would not be subject to forfeiture. 2:24:43 PM CHAIR FRENCH advised that he would flag that area for more attention. 2:24:51 PM SENATOR DYSON added that the target is the people who are running a house of prostitution in their camper and the taxicab drivers who are regularly facilitating this business by transporting Johns and or by providing a cell phone and saying "here's a lady that would love to do business with you." Section 11 deals with fines. He understands that for the first time this makes it possible to impose fines as well as a jail sentence for this crime. Section 12 inserts promoting prostitution in the first degree. Consistently now the penalty for prostituting a child is the same as having molested or raped that child, he stated. SENATOR DYSON noted that Child Protective Services and Juvenile Justice asked him to continue to work on the section that allows the state to take protective custody without arresting a child who had been prostituted. He said he agreed to pull that section for continued work. 2:27:02 PM CHAIR FRENCH commented that he saw suggested language on that in a bill by Representative Doogan. He asked if they'd worked together. SENATOR DYSON said he'd worked with Representative Doogan a little. CHAIR FRENCH found no further testimony on SB 157. SENATOR DYSON said he was asked not to line up a lot of testimony, but he could do so if the committee required it. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked how this compares with what other states are doing. 2:28:03 PM SENATOR DYSON said he didn't know, but he could get the information. CHAIR FRENCH suggested he contact Senator Wielechowski directly and announced he would hold SB 157 in committee.