A proposed law in California to lengthen prison terms for child sex trafficking that ignited public outrage and divided Democrats this summer was changed during a critical vote on Friday to address concerns over victims potentially being prosecuted.
An amended version of Senate Bill 14, which would add the sex trafficking of minors to the list of felonies classified as serious under California’s penal code and subject people to additional time in prison under the state’s “three strikes” law, passed the powerful Assembly Appropriations Committee on Friday.
The amendments “exempt human trafficking victims from the serious felony provision,” said Pasadena Democrat Chris Holden, chair of the panel.
The changes were pushed by progressive Assembly Democrats in response to criminal justice reform advocates’ concerns that the bill could harm victims. Holden called the amendments “very narrow,” and said they were designed to ensure that trafficking victims are “not further victimized.”
Though the Republican state senator who wrote the bill had said earlier this week that she didn’t want it to undergo any changes, she said Friday that she was satisfied with the modifications.
