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The California State Legislature on Monday sent a child protection bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, aiming to increase protections for teens being targeted for sex trafficking.
California Family Council reported that the bill, AB 379, makes it a felony for an adult to solicit or buy sex from a 16- or 17-year-old if the adult is more than three years older than the minor. Previous California law had only applied to minors under 16 years old, or – if sex trafficking was proven – older teens. Under the new law, prosecutors do not need to prove that the 16- or 17-year-old was trafficked.
The California Family Council is a proponent of the bill and has called on Newsom to sign the bill quickly to protect minors.
The bill additionally makes it a crime to loiter with the intent to buy sex, local NBC affiliate KCRA reported. The loitering provision made the legislation controversial in the Senate, where several Democrats objected that the intent behind loitering can be misunderstood.
“The problem with loitering laws, it’s not about what you’re doing, it’s all about how you look,” State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat, said.
According to KCRA, Wiener was responsible for a law that passed in the state in 2021 that decriminalized loitering for prostitution.
However, State Sen. Jesse Arreguin, another Democrat, supported the legislation during the final floor debate, calling it “a step forward to provide justice and protect victims of child sex trafficking.”
Republican State Sen. Shannon Grove added, “California must take action and hold buyers accountable; we have to reduce demand… We have to take a bold stand, and that’s exactly what AB 379 does.”
The legislation ultimately passed in the Senate 33-2 on July 14. Two Democrats voted no, while three Democrat senators abstained.
The bill now heads to Newsom, who has already shown that he supports many major provisions of the bill. According to the council, he had pressured lawmakers to add harsher penalties to the bill.
California Family Council Vice President Greg Burt supported the bill, dismissing the loitering provision as uncontroversial.
“This isn’t about how someone looks standing on a corner. It’s about giving law enforcement tools to stop predators prowling for minors,” he said. “Protecting 17-year-olds should not be controversial.”
