Republicans put Democrats on the Assembly public safety committee on full blast for blocking a bill to make human trafficking of a child a serious felony, opening repeat offenders up to longer sentences.
In the aftermath, committee Chairperson Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a Los Angeles Democrat, met Wednesday with the bill’s author, Republican Sen. Shannon Grove of Bakersfield. Afterwards, both legislators called the meeting “productive.” Grove told reporters, “we’re still waiting for results,” while Jones-Sawyer said there “is a pathway forward” for Senate Bill 14.
But it wasn’t at all clear what that pathway might be.
Assembly Republicans aren’t waiting: They tried to force a vote today of the full Assembly in its last floor session before a month-long summer break. The Democratic-controlled chamber didn’t go along, but did send the bill back to the committee, which quickly reversed itself and voted to move it on to the appropriations committee. This morning, one Democrat on the committee, Assemblymember Liz Ortega of Hayward, said she “made a bad decision” and will try to move the bill forward.
While Republicans accuse Democrats of putting criminals over victims and survivors, Jones-Sawyer said in a statement that child sex traffickers already face long sentences and that the three-strikes model in SB 14 “focuses only on punitive actions and does nothing for victims.”
The back-and-forth came after two top Democrats, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, said they had reached out to Grove to find a path forward.
Newsom distanced himself from the committee’s vote on Tuesday, which he said surprised him, particularly since in May, the Senate approved the measure 40-0.
“It’s an area I care deeply about,” Newsom told reporters at an event to promote his new mental health courts, going back to his time as San Francisco mayor working with then-District Attorney and now Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We put $25 million additional dollars in the budget last year in this space, and I take it very seriously,” Newsom added. “So I appreciate Sen. Grove’s efforts on this, and wanted to make sure she knew that today.”
During the interview with the Sacramento Press Club on Wednesday, Rivas said child trafficking is a “serious problem” and that he was “very much engaged” in trying to find a resolution to the standoff over the bill. He said he had been in touch with Grove and his colleagues on the committee, though he declined to discuss the nature of those conversations.
“It’s something that we are addressing, and it’s something that we are going to get right,” Rivas said.
As leader of the Assembly, Rivas has the power to change committee assignments, and likely will as he settles in the speakership over the coming months. He declined to discuss whether he might remove Jones-Sawyer or other members of the public safety committee.
“I respect everyone I serve with, but there’s a certain way to do things and I always try to do things the right way. So if I’m going to make changes, I have those discussions with my colleagues first. I don’t want to surprise anybody,” Rivas said. “You’ll know when the timing is right.”
“Democrats on the Assembly Public Safety Committee today reconsidered the merits of Senate Bill 14 and voted to let it out of committee,” said Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), the bill author and champion of this issue. “This is a bill with strong bipartisan support, and protecting victims of child sex trafficking should not be a partisan issue. Today is a victory for every survivor. However, the battle is not over—SB 14 must still go through the Assembly Appropriations Committee when legislators return from Summer recess. I believe most Assembly Democrats want to vote for this bill if they are given a chance, and I am hopeful we can succeed in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. I urge every Californian to stay engaged until the bill is signed into law.”
“Bipartisan outrage has finally forced Democrats to act,” said Assemblyman Joe Patterson (R-Rocklin). “This is a victory for regular Californians, but it doesn’t excuse Democrats’ repeated votes to kill common-sense legislation, including my AB 229, to hold traffickers accountable.”
Republicans noted that SB 14 was carefully crafted to meet concerns of previous legislative efforts and received unanimous support in the State Senate as it passed 40 to 0 out of the upper house of the Legislature.
“In the end, my Democrat colleagues in the Assembly Public Safety Committee did the right thing and passed SB 14 that will make sure repeat offenders of child sex trafficking are held accountable,” said Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego). “If it were not for the extraordinary pushback from figures around the state and nation, I fear the Democrats’ one-party rule and some of their radical ideologies would have prevailed. I’m grateful for the efforts of Senator Grove who has been a fearless leader on this issue and to my Senate Democrat colleagues who saw the need for this measure.”
“It’s taken days of public shaming for Democrats to do the right thing, but thanks to Republican pressure, we’re seeing progress,” said Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (Yuba City). “The choice here is clear: child sex traffickers or victims. Anyone who fails to support SB 14 is choosing the traffickers.”
“A child’s vulnerability is not meant to be a profitable transaction. I’m proud I was able to witness this bill passing the legislature today and hope that this will save children’s lives,” says Dominique Brown, human trafficking victim, present Thursday in the Assembly gallery.
From CalMatters politics intern Rya Jetha and politics reporter Alexei Koseff:
