A bill in the California legislature which would have made child trafficking a “serious felony” was blocked in an Assembly Tuesday.
The Assembly Public Safety Committee blocked Senate Bill 14, sponsored by state Sen. Shannon Grove, according to the senator’s tweet. (RELATED:Sarah Sanders Signs Bill To Ban Parole For Rapists And Human Traffickers)
SB 14 Update—After passing the Senate with a unanimous, bipartisan vote, I had hoped Democrats on the Assembly Public Safety Committee, led by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, would agree to make sex trafficking of a minor a serious felony. I am profoundly disappointed that… pic.twitter.com/al3KoD1qw6
— Senator Shannon Grove (@ShannonGroveCA) July 11, 2023
She said she was “profoundly disappointed that committee Democrats couldn’t bring themselves to support the bill, with their stubborn and misguided objection to any penalty increase regardless of how heinous the crime.”
State law currently defines “serious felony” as “murder or voluntary manslaughter, mayhem, rape,” and other crimes which may lead to the “death penalty” or “state prison for life.” SB 14 would have amended the law to include “human trafficking of a minor,” according to the bill.
The bill previously passed in the Senate with unanimous and bipartisan support, according to the California legislature’s website.
“HORRIBLE,” a victim yelled, according to a tweet by Ashley Zavala, the California Capitol Correspondent for KCRA News.
JUST IN: The Assembly Public Safety Committee blocks SB 14, which would have made human trafficking of a minor a serious felony in California.
“HORRIBLE” was yelled at the dais as victim sobs.
The bill had cleared the Senate with bipartisan support. https://t.co/2xIsoV7vhi
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) July 11, 2023
Sen. Grove shared more information about the legislation on her webpage, including a video about human trafficking in California.
The legislation has been supported by Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped as a teenager, Concerned Women for America and other organizations, according to Sen. Grove’s page. Operation Underground Railroad, whose founder Tim Ballard recently had the box office movie hit called Sound of Freedom, also supported the legislation, per Grove’s webpage.