A bill that would make sex trafficking of minors a strike under California’s three-strikes law is heading to the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Friday, Sept. 1, for a decision whether it lives or dies, is put on hold or put to a vote by the entire Assembly.
Senate Bill 14, the creation of Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), has continued to gather steam for passage, the senator said during a press conference Wednesday.
It now has 64 co-authors, including 46 Assembly members and nine members of the 16-member Appropriations Committee, she said.
“We all know that sex trafficking in the state of California is a hotbed,” Grove said. “And it’s actually the number-two most illicit crime in the United States, only second behind the drug trade.”
The bill would increase fines and time behind bars for repeat offenders.
In a rare unanimous vote, the state Senate passed the legislation in June. SB-14 ran into trouble on the Assembly side, however, when the Public Safety Committee first rejected the legislation.
Grove said she was “shocked” by the decision given all the support the bill had been receiving.
But a loud and very public reaction to the decision quickly forced the committee to rethink its vote. Critics of the no vote included Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsome and hundreds of activist organizations and law enforcement members involved in anti-trafficking efforts across California.
After one day, SB-14 cleared the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee 6-0, with two abstentions, on July 13. Now it sits in the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file awaiting Friday’s vote.
The senator was asked if in next year’s session she’ll try to expand the three-strikes effort to all victims of trafficking, not just minors.
First things first, she said, “we’re hoping that we will get this bill out of appropriations and on the Assembly floor for a full vote and to the governor’s desk.” But, noting the bill’s success to date, she said “we learned very quickly that you move legislation in California incrementally.”
As for expanding the three-strikes effort to all trafficking, Grove said it’s “something that we are considering, but we haven’t made our legislative decision on that yet.”
J.W. August is a longtime San Diego broadcast and digital journalist.