1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: February 13, 2024
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Joseph H. McDougall, City Attorney
BY: Ray Johal, Senior Assistant City Attorney
SUBJECT: Adoption of an Ordinance for the Prevention of Human Trafficking
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK ESTABLISHING ARTICLE 17. PREVENTION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN CHAPTER 3 MORALS AND CONDUCT, TITLE 5 POLICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY OF THE BURBANK MUNICIPAL CODE (BMC) (Attachment 1).
SUMMARY
The above-titled Ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council on January 30, 2024. Council Member Anthony, Council Member Mullins, Council Member Takahashi, Vice-Mayor Perez, and Mayor Shultz were present.
A typographical error was identified in Section 5-3-1701F(A) in the draft Ordinance and addressed to City Council during the presentation.
Vote at Introduction:
AYES: Anthony, Mullins, Takahashi, Perez, and Schultz.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: None.
This Ordinance is now presented for adoption.
CITY ATTORNEY’S
OFFICE
2 Proposed Change
To address the typographical error, staff has amended the proposed Ordinance as stated below.
BMC Section 5-3-1701F(A) of the proposed Ordinance has been amended to read as follows (amendment is noted in red):
A. A business or other establishment that operates a facility described in Section C of this Chapter must provide at least 20 minutes of training to its new and existing Employees who could interact with, or come into contact with, a victim of Human Trafficking or who are likely to receive, in the course of their employment, a report from another Employee about suspected Human Trafficking, in recognizing the signs of Human Trafficking and how to report those signs to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity involves administrative and regulatory activity and has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and as such, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal.
Code Regs § 15378. In addition, because the human trafficking signage and training requirements are already a matter of state law, and the Ordinance simply creates a local administrative program to ensure compliance, it is seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, and therefore is not subject to the requirement s of CEQA 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15061(b)(3).
FISCAL IMPACT
The estimated cost associated with the proposed Ordinance is $16,000. The Community Development Department will re -evaluate the costs thereafter as it will depend on compliance of businesses in submitting declarations and the number of new businesses each year. Criminal prosecutions can be handled with existing resources of the C ity Attorney’s Office.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment 1 – Ordinance