California Democrats did an about-face and restored felony charges for clients of older teenage prostitutes in a new proposal after Gov. Gavin Newsom and Republicans criticized a lack of tough penalties in earlier legislation.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Assembly Public Safety Committee Chairman Nick Schultz announced the revised legislation in statements obtained by Sacramento’s KCRA-TV.
The updated bill’s exact language has not been published online, but proposed changes would include making it a felony for someone to buy a 16- or 17-year-old prostitute who can also prove they are a victim of human trafficking.
The bill broadly aims to crack down on clients, or “johns,” who loiter in prostitution hotspots.
“Goal has always been to hammer the creeps who are buying teens for sex and create more support for victims,” Assemblywoman Maggy Krell, the Sacramento Democrat who wrote the bill, posted on X. “New version accomplishes these goals, and makes it a felony for a grown man to buy a child for sex. I appreciate everyone’s work on this bill, especially the survivor coalition for never giving up.”
The amended bill that Mr. Schultz, Burbank Democrat, brought before the whole Assembly last week kept Ms. Krell’s original provision about protecting the older teens out of the text. It passed by a 55-21 margin.
Opponents of the felony charges feared that 18- and 19-year-olds who are romantically involved with the legal minors could be wrongly accused of a crime, especially if they are LGBT or interracial relationships.
But victims’ rights advocates said no prosecutors would take on a human trafficking case when two people are in a consensual relationship.
An impassioned debate on the Assembly floor erupted prior to the vote, with some Republicans accusing Democrats of trying to normalize having sex with minors.
Mr. Schultz said there are already laws on the books that protect children from abusers, such as statutory rape and other child sex crimes.
He took a swipe at Mr. Newsom and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, both Democrats, at the time for spreading “misinformation” about the bill after both top executives spoke out against the lack of felony penalties.
But Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper said Tuesday that people arrested for purchasing sex from older teens are currently given “the equivalent of a traffic ticket.”
The Public Safety Chair’s decision to add the charges back into the legislation’s text was seen as a retreat by conservative lawmakers.
“I want to thank every Californian who was outraged by last week’s vote and contacted their representative for forcing Democrats to do the right thing and bring the bill back for a vote,” Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, San Diego Republican, said in a statement. “Because of public pressure, purchasing all minors for sex can be treated as a felony crime.”
Assembly Bill 379 now goes back to the Appropriations Committee for review.
