A California Assembly leader defends controversial sex trafficking bill | Opinion

The legislative process can be messy. It’s complicated and emotional. In today’s environment, it’s often drowned out by loud voices looking to score political points rather than get the policy right.

But the process worked in California’s Capitol, and strong, smart policy prevailed.

That’s the story of what happened with Assembly Bill 379, which will strengthen existing California law and provide criminal prosecutors with new tools to charge sexual predators with a felony for soliciting a minor for sexual activity.

Human trafficking and child exploitation are serious problems in California deserving of tough, nuanced legislative solutions, and that’s the path that Assembly Democrats have taken with AB 379.

Unfortunately, there has been a lot of noise and outrage from fringe right-wing media outlets. So let’s be clear: soliciting a minor has always been a crime in the State of California, with one example being the provisions of Penal Code section 288.3 which makes it a felony to contact or communicate with (or attempt to contact or communicate with) a person under the age of 18, knowing they are a minor, with the intent to commit any number of sex crimes.

With the passage of AB 379 out of the California State Assembly, our laws protecting minors will be stronger, more precise and more enforceable, while preserving judicial and prosecutorial discretion.

The assembly’s bipartisan vote shows that we can cut through the politics and misinformation and pass meaningful reforms with stronger penalties to lock up predators and punish those that look the other way on trafficking in our communities, with new tools for prosecutors and support for survivors.

Assembly Democrats promised a solution that’s tough and nuanced — and we’re delivering.

Led by Speaker Robert Rivas, Assembly Democrats fast-tracked AB 379 and acted with urgency. In addition to expanding the scope of conduct that can be penalized under Penal Code section 647 with a felony, this new version of the legislation also provides more support for survivors of human trafficking.

Specifically, Assembly Democrats have delivered a better version of the bill that accomplishes four major changes to our existing criminal laws:

• It allows prosecutors to charge felonies against adult predators who solicit 16- and 17-year-olds. If the age of the adult offender is within three years of the minor (for instance, if an 18-year-old solicits a 17-year-old), this solicitation remains illegal and can be charged as a misdemeanor;
• It gives law enforcement new tools to crack down on businesses that abet or outright ignore human trafficking on their property;
• It creates a grant program through the California Office of Emergency Services to support district attorneys that create specialized units for the vertical prosecution of human trafficking, which streamlines prosecutions and allows more personalized support for victims;
• And, finally, AB 379 bolsters the originally contemplated Survivor Support Fund to provide grants to community-based organizations that provide direct services and outreach to victims of sex trafficking and exploitation. It does so by increasing the fines on buyers of commercial sex and businesses that ignore or abet human trafficking, with revenue directed to the Survivor Support Fund.

As a result, we have a stronger and more comprehensive bill that passed the Assembly with unanimous support. It now awaits review in the senate.