This past week, a state bill aimed at increasing child-trafficking penalties has been the subject of controversy in Sacramento.
If California Senate Bill 14 (SB 14) passes in the coming months, child trafficking crimes would become categorized as “serious felonies,” upping the potential prison sentences for third-time offenders.
Last Tuesday, Democrats on the California Assembly’s Public Safety Committee struck down SB 14 over concerns that longer prison sentences could surge incarceration rates.
But as Gov. Gavin Newsom has since stepped in to revive the bill, the measure remains on the table.
“Senate Bill 14 just passed out of the Policy and Public Safety Committee, and it is going to come back to the Assembly floor where I expect to support it on the floor,” said Dawn Addis, state assemblywoman for California's District 30, which covers San Luis Obispo County and portions of Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
“It is really an important issue," added Assemblyman Gregg Hart, who represents District 37 of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. "It is a critical challenge to find the right balance between protecting the victims and providing the tools that law enforcement needs to go after repeat offenders."
Hart, who sits on the California State Assembly’s Appropriations Committee, says he and fellow members will spend the coming weeks reviewing SB 14 before it is brought to the Assembly floor for a vote.
“I am going to be working with the leadership team and with the author to make sure this bill is in the best shape possible to get the broadest support in the State Assembly that we can,” he told KSBY.
If SB 14 passes through the Assembly floor, those facing third convictions for child trafficking crimes could see their sentences rise from 12 years to 25 years to life behind bars.
Dawn Addis tells KSBY she plans to back the bill.
“I am a classroom teacher, and I am a mom and I have worked with kids all my life,” Addis said. “On the Central Coast and in California, society’s greatest asset is our children — and we want to do everything we possibly can to make sure they are protected.”
But in light of the controversy surrounding SB 14 that resulted in its failure to pass through the Public Safety Committee last week, Gregg Hart says he, too, is devoted to moving the bill forward through the State Assembly.
“I am committed personally to making sure we do the best job we can as we go through the legislative process," Hart explained. "And I just want people to know that the locally elected officials here in our local jurisdiction from the district attorney to the sheriff, to the members of the board of supervisors and the city councils, are all committed to making the impact that we need to protect victims."
He says the State Assembly will likely take up a vote on SB 14 in August.
Last year, as part of the annual state budget, Governor Newsom allocated $25 million that would go toward providing services for child victims of sex trafficking.
