Gavin Newsom signs Sacramento Democrat’s controversial sex solicitation bill
Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 379 into law Wednesday, ending a battle that divided Democrats first in the Assembly, and then in the state Senate.
The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026, gives prosecutors new tools to crack down on people they believe are soliciting sex from minors or loitering with the intent to purchase sex.
Under the new law, adults who attempt to purchase sex with someone who is 16 or 17 years old will be charged with a felony, unless the defendant is within three years of the victim’s age. The law also reestablishes the crime of loitering with the intent to purchase sex, which the California Legislature struck from the books in 2022.
The bill had a rocky ride to the governor’s desk. AB 379 was originally authored by freshman Sacramento Assemblymember Maggy Krell, a longtime prosecutor with a history of addressing sex crimes.
Democrats didn’t want the solicitation piece, saying existing laws were enough, and unintended targets would get caught in the crossfire. Republicans capitalized on the moment, accusing their counterparts of being soft on child sex traffickers.
In a move that isolated her from her new colleagues, Krell sided with Republicans. Newsom upped the ante by weighing in on Krell’s side. Democrats scrambled to do damage control, and ended up preserving the original intent of Krell’s bill, despite assigning new authors to it.
“By signing this bill into law, California is again going on record to support survivors and victims of human trafficking, while penalizing those who solicit minors,” the Governor said in an emailed statement to The Bee Wednesday.
Despite being removed as a principal author of the bill, Krell weighed in Wednesday, saying the bill was a win for the survivors who led the fight.
“This is about protecting the girls who are being bought and sold for sex on street corners in cities throughout California and going after the sleazy men who are buying them.”
Loitering revisited
After the bill passed the Assembly, it received additional Democratic opposition in the Senate — this time focused on renewed penalties for loitering.
“I support the solicitation piece, and I’m so appreciative of the work that went on in the Assembly to make this a better bill,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. “But I just can’t get there with loitering in there.”
Wiener authored the 2022 bill that repealed a law that made loitering a misdemeanor. The new law renews loitering as a misdemeanor crime.
He was one of seven Senate Democrats who did not support the bill. Dozens of criminal justice organizations, including the California Public Defenders Association, also urged lawmakers to vote against the bill.
This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 6:15 PM.
