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A07175 Summary:

BILL NOA07175
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSORJackson
 
COSPNSRGonzalez-Rojas, Forrest, Shrestha
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Rpld §§230.02, 230.15, 230.20, 230.25 & 230.40, Pen L; rpld §§60.47 & 170.80, §170.30 sub 4, §720.15 sub 4, CP L; amd Various Laws, generally
 
Decriminalizes certain prostitution offenses; amends provisions relating to prosecution of such offenses and vacating judgments.
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A07175 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7175
 
SPONSOR: Jackson
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the penal law, in relation to decriminalizing sex work; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating to prostitution (Part A); to amend the criminal procedure law and the civil practice law and rules, in relation to eliminating prior criminal records and making other related changes; and to repeal certain provisions of the criminal procedure law relating to the prosecution of prostitution offenses (Part B); and to amend the multiple dwelling law, the public health law, the real property actions and proceedings law, the real property law, the vehicle and traffic law, and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to making conforming changes (Part C)   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To repeal statutes that criminalize sex work between consenting adults, but keep laws relating to minors or trafficking, and to provide for criminal record relief for people convicted of crimes repealed under this bill.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Part A repeals and amends parts of Penal Law Article 230 that make sex work between consenting adults illegal. All existing statutory provisions that prohibit sex work involving minors, force, intimidation, coercion, and trafficking remain in effect. This bill does not repeal any of theSe provisions. Part B repeals and amends parts of the Criminal Procedure Law and Civil Practice Law and Rules to provide for criminal record relief for indi- viduals previously convicted of crimes that are repealed under this bill. Part C repeals and amends parts of the Multiple Dwelling Law, Public Health Law, Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, Real Property Law, Vehicle and Traffic Law, and the Administrative Code of the City of New York to make conforming changes and clarifications   JUSTIFICATION: New York state law contains over a dozen criminal and civil provisions that punish adults who consent to sell or buy sex, as well as those who help and depend on them, not to mention the numerous prohibitions and punishments for prostitution in a wide variety of laws. Trying to stop sex work between consenting adults should not be the business of our criminal justice system. Criminalizing sex work criminalizes a means of survival for marginalized people, and it makes LGBTQ people especially vulnerable to police harassment and arrest based on their gender expression and sexuality. Research on the impact of full decriminalization of sex work in New Zealand and New South Wales, Australia has found: - 90 percent of sex workers believe decriminalization gave them more employment, legal, and health rights. - 60 percent of sex workers stated they were better able to screen and refuse potentially dangerous clients. - 73 percent of sex workers entered the industry to pay for household expenses, while another 82 percent stayed in the industry for the same reason. - Sex workers also have greater access to and use of condoms. Criminal- ization drives sex work into the shadows in an underground illegal envi- ronment where sex workers face increased violence, abuse, and exploita- tion, and are more vulnerable to trafficking. Though anti-sex work laws may have originally been conceived as a protection of society's morals and perhaps even women, these laws now criminalize women and LGBTQ people for acts of survival and resistance to the force of economic insecurity. Decriminalizing sex work upholds the rights of those who trade sex, reduces violence and trafficking, and increases labor protections. France's 2016 implementation of "End Demand" (also referred to as the Nordic model) re-defined the criminalization of sex work so as to end the arrests and prosecutions of sex workers, but also maintained all penalties for patronizing or "promoting" sex work. As a result, research shows that: - 63 percent of sex workers reported worse living condition - 42 percent reported increased workplace violence - 38 percent reported increased difficulty negotiating condom use with clients This model is not as effective as decriminalization and does not provide safer conditions for those involved. Decriminalization of sex work is supported by the World Health Organiza- tion, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women, Lambda Legal, the ACLU, GMHC, the NYC Anti-Violence Project, Make the Road NY, NYCLU, the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, the Urban justice Center, Womankind, VOCAL-NY, Center for Constitutional Rights, Center for HIV Law and Policy, UNAIDS, Housing Works, Scientists for Sex Worker Rights, Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and a growing list of other organizations. This bill does not alter the criminal and civil legal provisions under which individuals who engage in trafficking, coercion, sexual abuse, abuse of minors, or rape may be prosecuted. In fact, when the law differentiates between sex work between consenting adults and situations where a party does not consent or that involve minors, sex workers will have an increased ability to report abuse, rape, theft, and other crimes perpetrated against them that today go ignored and are exacerbated by law enforcement activity. The bill allows individuals who have been previously convicted of offenses that are repealed in this bill to vacate those judgments of conviction. This will enable them to access housing, health, and economic resources that are currently off-limits to them because of their criminal records. Record relief will also allow people to transition into other employment if they choose, without the stigma and harassment that often follows from having a criminal record with prostitution convictions. The decriminalization of sex work in New Zealand shows us that criminal- izing sex work between consenting adults does not end the demand for sex work, and-it certainly does not improve the lives of people who partic- ipate in the sex trades by choice, circumstance, or coercion, or people Who are profiled as sex workers. Instead of treating all people in the sex trades as criminals, victims, or both, it is time to.create a more nuanced legal approach to the sex trades. Sex workers want decriminali- zation so they can work in a legal environment, work without fear of the police, report any violence they experience, and report trafficking when it affects their peers. It is time to put people before antiquated moral judgments.   SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: This legislation would further advance the human rights of sex workers who are doing what they can to make an income to support themselves and their families. This legislation would humanize sex workers who deserve to work in a safe, secure, and clean environment without fear of judge- ment or arrest. The existing laws create crimes that primarily victimize women and LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly women and LGBTQ+ individuals of color, those that are in poverty, and immigrants. The advocacy group, Survivors Against SESTA, says: "For an issue which encompasses issues of economic justice, labor, criminalization and policing, 'sexuality, racial justice, immigration, gender identity, and complex other frame- works, sex worker rights can be a lynchpin issue impacting the most marginalized in our communities.Caring about LGBTQ survival means caring about the lives, health and safety of sex workers"   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: SENATE: 2021-22 - S 3075 (Salazar) Referred to Codes in 2021 and 2022. 2019-20 - S 6419 (Salazar) Referred to Rules in 2019, referred to Codes in 2020. ASSEMBLY: 2021-22 - A849 (Gottfried) - Referred to Codes. 2019-20 - A8230 (Gottfried) - Referred to Codes. 2021-22 - A849 (Gottfried) - Referred to Codes   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: No negative fiscal implications. This bill, by eliminating arrests, prosecutions, and incarceration of sex workers or alleged sex workers would result in significant fiscal savings for local and state govern- ment.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect thirty days after it becomes law, though each Part contains an effective date applicable to that Part - Part A imme- diately, Part B and C 30 days after enactment.
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