Gov. Gavin Newsom and California legislative leaders are trying to broker a deal over a Republican bill strengthening penalties for child sex traffickers after Democrats killed the measure in committee.
Senate Bill 14 from Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, on Tuesday failed in the Assembly Public Safety Committee after all six Democrats abstained from voting. The two Republican Assembly members on the committee, Juan Alanis of Modesto and Tom Lackey of Palmdale, both voted in support.
Her legislation calls for classifying the human trafficking of a minor as a serious felony under state law. A key provision of the measure would make child sex trafficking a strike under California’s Three Strikes law — a controversial sentencing strategy that significantly increases prison sentences for repeat offenders of serious felonies.
Following the vote, the committee unanimously granted Grove reconsideration, meaning she is able to bring the bill back for another hearing. But lawmakers are facing a Friday deadline for getting their bills out of policy committees, so Grove typically would have been out of time for the year.
However, the bill caught the attention of Newsom and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, both of whom told reporters they had reached out to Grove about the measure.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Newsom said he was “surprised” by the outcome of Tuesday’s committee meeting. The governor said he spoke with Grove on Wednesday morning and told her that he was working to “see what we can do.”
“We’ll be following up on that and have a lot more to say on that shortly,” he said, adding that he was still trying to understand what happened with the vote.
Rivas said on Wednesday during a Sacramento Press Club appearance that he was “very much engaged” with the bill. He said he had messaged Grove and planned to connect later in the day.
“We’re addressing it,” Rivas said. “We’ll have more to announce about that, and you’ll know as soon as I do as far as the action that we’re going to take.”
Republicans push floor vote
Grove on Wednesday told reporters she met with committee Chair Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, and called their discussion “very productive.” She said he hoped to find a way to bring SB 14 straight to the Assembly floor.
“There was nothing decided at that meeting,” Grove said. “We kind of laid out the situation, and I really do feel like it was a productive meeting. And so we’re still waiting for results of that meeting.”
Jones-Sawyer said in a statement on Wednesday that he “understood the author’s intent but recognized this bill needs considerable work.”
In the meantime, Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher of Yuba City announced his party’s members will attempt to force the entire body to vote on SB 14 on Thursday. The Assembly and Senate will each hold floor sessions in the morning before departing for a monthlong summer recess that begins Friday.
Immediately following the committee vote, the California GOP used the result to attack Democrats, saying they “(delivered) a banner day for criminals.”
“Thanks to Gavin Newsom and California Democrats, you can consider the Golden State a criminals’ paradise,” the party wrote in an emailed news release.
Republicans clash with Democrats over sentencing
Grove’s bill is hitting up against an Assembly Public Safety Committee that has spent the entire year striking down bills that would create more stringent penalties for various crimes.
The bill last month sailed through the Senate with a unanimous vote and strong bipartisan support.
However, Jones-Sawyer and other Democrats on the Assembly Public Safety Committee have consistently opposed bills that would keep people in prison longer. They cite the mass incarceration of Black and brown Californians that occurred after the state tightened its sentencing laws in the 1980s and 1990s.
Opponents of the measure, including the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, argue the Three Strikes measure disproportionately harms Black, Latino and Indigenous people and should be repealed rather than expanded.
Studies from the National Institute of Justice have found that increased punishment is generally ineffective in deterring criminals from committing offenses and may even exacerbate recidivism and public safety issues.
But Republicans say people convicted of certain crimes deserve to stay in prison longer, and they insist more stringent sentencing is needed to send a message about the heinous nature of specific acts.
In recent months, Democrats and Republicans have also clashed over bills that would add prison time for fentanyl dealers. Jones-Sawyer in March held a special hearing to consider fentanyl-related bills after protests from Republicans and some moderate Democrats. However, none of the penalty-related bills advanced from the committee.
“I want to want to be able to make sure it’s right before it leaves here,” Jones-Sawyer said of SB 14 during the committee hearing. “We’ll be able to make sure that the Three Strikes law doesn’t become a problem in the community that I represent and a lot of members on this committee represent.”
____
