Left: Public Safety Committee Chairman Rep. Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D); Right: State Sen. Shannon Grove (R).(screengrab via YouTube)
California Democrats are facing a barrage of criticism after the Public Safety Committee of the California State Assembly rejected a bill that would have made child sex trafficking a serious felony. Although the years-long legislative effort passed unanimously in the Democratic-majority state Senate earlier in 2023, it was blocked Tuesday when all six Democrats on the Assembly committee abstained from voting, reasoning that the bill still requires “considerable work.”
Following the failed vote, shouts of “You’re horrible!” and “You should be ashamed of yourselves” were audible from the gallery as some onlookers sobbed.
The bill in question is SB14, authored by Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove. It would amend a prior law to specify that trafficking a minor is a “serious felony” in California — a state with a “three strikes law.” Anyone in California convicted of at least three serious felonies is punished by a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Grove said she was “profoundly disappointed” at the outcome of the vote and blamed Democrats for “their stubborn and misguided objection to any penalty increase regardless of how heinous the crime.”
Many who oppose the bill say that increased penalties for child traffickers would not make a meaningful difference to the underlying problem. Although “three strikes laws” often have broad bipartisan support, studies have shown that adopting such statutes does not necessarily reduce crime. Further, the laws have been linked to aggravating racial disparities in sentencing.
Democratic state leaders said they would work together with the bill’s proponents and slated SB14 for reconsideration.
Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer (D), the committee’s chair, explained the Public Safety Committee’s reasoning in a statement Tuesday:
The Three Strikes model of sentencing is ineffective in preventing crime and protecting the public’s safety. We will not build on a deeply flawed sentencing system that unfairly punishes disadvantaged communities. SB 14 makes no new corrective actions or enhancements to laws already in place. Ultimately, members of the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee understood the author’s intent but recognized this bill needs considerable work and granted reconsideration.
Jones-Sawyer and Grove have since met to discuss the bill, with Grove telling reporters that she felt optimistic that the bill could eventually move forward.
“I think the meeting was very productive, there was nothing decided at that meeting, we laid out the situation, I really do feel it was productive, we’re still waiting for results,” Grove said, according to Sacramento NBC affiliate KCRA.
California Republican lawmakers have indicated that they intend to attempt to force. floor vote on the bill, KCRA reported.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a press briefing that he was “surprised” by the bill having been stalled and said he had spoken with Grove and promised to work to “see what we can do” to come to an agreement.
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