Assembly Democrats reversed course on a bill to classify child trafficking as a “serious felony” after mounting pressure from the public and Governor Gavin Newsom.
Senate Bill 14 would add trafficking of a minor to the state’s “Three Strikes Law,” which provides enhanced penalties for repeat offenses of certain serious felonies including murder, rape and arson. Those convicted on a third strike could automatically face 25 years to life in prison.
“This is a very measured, very narrow bill,” argued Sen. Shannon Grove, a Republican representing the Bakersfield area. “It only addresses those that traffic and sell our children for sex.”
The bill passed the state Senate without a single “no” vote earlier this year. But it ground to a halt on Tuesday, when all six Democrats on the Assembly Public Safety Committee declined to support it.
The next day, Newsom got involved. In a rare move, he called the Republican author to offer his support.
“I take it very seriously so I appreciate Shannon Grove’s efforts on this and wanted to make sure she knew that,” Newsom told reporters Wednesday.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas also voiced support for the bill to advance.
Under mounting public pressure, Asm. Liz Ortega, a Democrat representing the San Leandro area and member of the Public Safety Committee, tweeted that she made a “bad decision” and would help the bill get passed.
Before adjourning for a month-long summer recess and a deadline for bills to pass policy committees, Assembly Democrats on Thursday voted to allow a special hearing to reconsider the bill.
Republicans in the Assembly tried unsuccessfully to force a vote on the chamber floor.
Four of the six Democrats on the committee changed their votes: chair Reggie Jones-Sawyer, Liz Ortega, Miguel Santiago and Rick Chavez Zbur.
After the vote, Jones-Sawyer said he’s “trying to get to a perfect bill” and that SB14 in its current form is “not really solving the problem.”
This isn’t the first time the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee has taken heat for blocking bills to increase criminal penalties. Jones-Sawyer declined to hear several bills earlier this spring to hike penalties for fentanyl dealers, which infuriated parents whose children were poisoned by the powerful opiate.
Several Democratic committee members have argued the state’s past criminal justice policies have led to over-incarceration of people of color. They generally don’t support bills to increase any criminal penalties.
One of those members, Assembly Majority Leader Isaac Bryan, tweeted after the vote that victims of human trafficking are vulnerable to being criminalized.
Grove and other Republicans took the bill’s approval as a victory, though some in the minority party criticized their legislative counterparts for blocking the bill in the first place.
“It should not be this hard to pass good, common-sense policy that protects our children,” said Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, a Republican representing the Chico area.
“The pendulum has to swing back to a reasonable middle where we are actually protecting the people of this state. Where the Public Safety Committee is actually concerned with the safety of the public, and I think a message was sent today. We are seeing a turn,” Gallagher said.
Though Jones-Sawyer and other criminal justice reform-minded lawmakers say the bill still needs work, Grove told reporters she is confident it will get to Newsom’s desk without amendments.
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