Last week Democratic lawmaker Maggy Krell, a former sex trafficking prosecutor for the California Attorney General’s Office, was angry when her legislation was torched.
This week, it was a far different story. Last Tuesday’s loss is this week’s victory — with some caveats.
The Assembly Public Safety Committee, which had originally cut out a key element of Krell’s sex trafficking bill, Assembly Bill 379, changed its mind and put it back in.
AB 379 will now once again increase the punishment for trafficking of 16- and 17-year-olds. Last week, that increase was removed by the same committee.
The charge for trafficking is already a felony if a child is under the age of 16. This bill includes 16- and 17-year-olds if it can be proven they were trafficked, or if the offender is more than three years older than a child victim.
This final element was reportedly to pacify the progressive wing, which for some time now has been concerned about legislation which increases criminal penalties and expressed worries about parents who might use the law to threaten teens over their relationships.
What happened after their vote no doubt influenced this week’s backtrack. The decision was widely reported in local, state and national media.
Gov. Gavin Newsom immediately criticized the committee’s decision and he was soon joined by powerful Democratic and Republican lawmakers as well as hundreds of California’s anti-trafficking and victim support organizations.
“The goal has always been to hammer the creeps who are buying teens for sex and create more support for victims,” Krell said in a statement.
The assemblywoman also said the new version of the bill “accomplishes these goals and makes it a felony for a grown man to buy a child for sex.”
“I appreciate everyone’s work on this bill, especially the survivor coalition for never giving up,” Krell said.
“I’m gratified that the Legislature listened to the anguish of the survivors’ voices,” said San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan, adding that in her view it was about time that “California’s laws protect all children from the horrors of human trafficking.”
On Wednesday, AB 379 heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
It is expected to clear the Assembly, but there are no assurances when it reaches the Senate, which last year removed the 16-to-17 felony enhancement in another bill.
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