Sacramento, California Local News
Gov. Newsom signals support for bill targeting consumers of child sex trafficking industry
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Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signaled his support for a proposal targeting the consumers of child sex trafficking in California, but he suggested he has concerns about changes that were abruptly made to the proposal this week. “I look forward to getting this bill on my desk in a way that I’ll sign it, but we have some work to do,” Newsom said in response to a KCRA 3 question on the proposal. Republican State Senator Shannon Grove introduced the proposal, SB 1414 this year after successfully passing legislation that made child sex trafficking a serious felony in the state last year. The governor intervened when a committee in the Assembly tried to block that bill, SB 14, last summer. Grove said the work last year, she learned buyers typically face lesser, misdemeanor penalties, which prompted her to propose SB 1414, which would make the purchase of a child for sex a felony. Grove’s original proposal also required those convicted to register as sex offenders for a decade and would have removed the requirement in state law that those convicted of soliciting a minor knew or should have known that person was a minor. During negotiations ahead of the bill’s first hearing in the Senate Public Safety committee, Grove agreed to require sex offender registration once someone has committed the crime twice and leave the requirement in state law that those convicted knew or should have known the person they were soliciting was a minor. The one change she refused to agree to was to allow the crime to remain a felony for the purchase of 16- and 17-year-olds. On Tuesday, against her will, the Senate Public Safety committee publicly made the change, excluding 16- and 17-year-olds in the bill’s definition of a child. Legislative observers note these are considered “hostile amendments,” a rare move made by committees to forcibly change proposals when the author of the bill does not want them. “I deeply appreciate the direction that Senator Grove is going and I’m mindful that those three amendments, one in particular that there’s some work to do,” Newsom told reporters on Thursday. “I’m going to continue to fight for California’s children,” Grove told KCRA 3 on Thursday.She had been weighing her options on how or even if she would move forward with the proposal that she said now includes language she does not support. “We are regrouped now; we are focusing on how we can try to undo something that they did to us that was horrific to us in public safety, ” said Grove. Democratic State Senator Aisha Wahab stood by the changes and said they were key to keeping the bill alive. Wahab noted that previous, similar proposals have failed in the state’s Democratic-led Legislature since 2014. “We have to have harsh penalties against anybody who violates a child first and foremost,” Wahab said, noting she supported Grove’s proposal last year to ramp up penalties for child sex trafficking. “There are already current federal laws and state laws that protect children in this arena, I don’t want to conflate the issue that has been conflated,” Wahab said, who said the law needs to strike the right balance noting solicitation can be delicate. “Solicitation is not trafficking. Solicitation is not prostitution. Solicitation is a verbal request of an action in exchange for money that is usually sexual in nature.” Wahab and Democratic Senators Nancy Skinner and Scott Wiener had concerns about how broad the bill had been written, with concerns it could criminalize older teens and young adults for potentially consensual relationships. “I think this is an important bill to continue moving forward through the legislature.” Skinner was unavailable for an interview on Wednesday and Thursday. In a prepared statement she said, “Last year, the Senate Public Safety Committee passed, and the governor signed into law, new felony, three-strikes penalties for anyone who sex traffics a child. Senator Grove’s current bill deals with verbal exchanges, not sexual acts.” “It is already a crime for any adult to solicit sex with a minor; the amended bill we adopted includes stronger criminal penalties if the minor is under 16. Every legislator knows that amendments are part of the process. California has and will continue to enforce severe penalties for sexual acts against children, and of course, human trafficking,” Skinner said. The proposal still faces several steps in the legislative process. Its next stop is in the Senate Appropriations Committee. A hearing is not yet scheduled.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signaled his support for a proposal targeting the consumers of child sex trafficking in California, but he suggested he has concerns about changes that were abruptly made to the proposal this week.
“I look forward to getting this bill on my desk in a way that I’ll sign it, but we have some work to do,” Newsom said in response to a KCRA 3 question on the proposal.
Republican State Senator Shannon Grove introduced the proposal, SB 1414 this year after successfully passing legislation that made child sex trafficking a serious felony in the state last year. The governor intervened when a committee in the Assembly tried to block that bill, SB 14, last summer.
Grove said the work last year, she learned buyers typically face lesser, misdemeanor penalties, which prompted her to propose SB 1414, which would make the purchase of a child for sex a felony.
Grove’s original proposal also required those convicted to register as sex offenders for a decade and would have removed the requirement in state law that those convicted of soliciting a minor knew or should have known that person was a minor.
During negotiations ahead of the bill’s first hearing in the Senate Public Safety committee, Grove agreed to require sex offender registration once someone has committed the crime twice and leave the requirement in state law that those convicted knew or should have known the person they were soliciting was a minor. The one change she refused to agree to was to allow the crime to remain a felony for the purchase of 16- and 17-year-olds.
On Tuesday, against her will, the Senate Public Safety committee publicly made the change, excluding 16- and 17-year-olds in the bill’s definition of a child. Legislative observers note these are considered “hostile amendments,” a rare move made by committees to forcibly change proposals when the author of the bill does not want them.
“I deeply appreciate the direction that Senator Grove is going and I’m mindful that those three amendments, one in particular that there’s some work to do,” Newsom told reporters on Thursday.
“I’m going to continue to fight for California’s children,” Grove told KCRA 3 on Thursday.
She had been weighing her options on how or even if she would move forward with the proposal that she said now includes language she does not support.
“We are regrouped now; we are focusing on how we can try to undo something that they did to us that was horrific to us in public safety, ” said Grove.
Democratic State Senator Aisha Wahab stood by the changes and said they were key to keeping the bill alive. Wahab noted that previous, similar proposals have failed in the state’s Democratic-led Legislature since 2014.
“We have to have harsh penalties against anybody who violates a child first and foremost,” Wahab said, noting she supported Grove’s proposal last year to ramp up penalties for child sex trafficking.
“There are already current federal laws and state laws that protect children in this arena, I don’t want to conflate the issue that has been conflated,” Wahab said, who said the law needs to strike the right balance noting solicitation can be delicate. “Solicitation is not trafficking. Solicitation is not prostitution. Solicitation is a verbal request of an action in exchange for money that is usually sexual in nature.”
Wahab and Democratic Senators Nancy Skinner and Scott Wiener had concerns about how broad the bill had been written, with concerns it could criminalize older teens and young adults for potentially consensual relationships.
“I think this is an important bill to continue moving forward through the legislature.”
Skinner was unavailable for an interview on Wednesday and Thursday. In a prepared statement she said, “Last year, the Senate Public Safety Committee passed, and the governor signed into law, new felony, three-strikes penalties for anyone who sex traffics a child. Senator Grove’s current bill deals with verbal exchanges, not sexual acts.”
“It is already a crime for any adult to solicit sex with a minor; the amended bill we adopted includes stronger criminal penalties if the minor is under 16. Every legislator knows that amendments are part of the process. California has and will continue to enforce severe penalties for sexual acts against children, and of course, human trafficking,” Skinner said.
The proposal still faces several steps in the legislative process. Its next stop is in the Senate Appropriations Committee. A hearing is not yet scheduled.
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