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Senate advances bill to raise penalty for buying sex and add education requirement
Summary
Senate Bill 71 would move prosecutions for buying sex out of municipal court and make the offense a level 9 person felony in district court; it also would require courts to send convicted purchasers to education programs. The bill was reported favorably by the committee.
Senate Bill 71, carried by Senator Sandra Gossage (Senator from Johnson), would increase criminal penalties for purchasing sexual relations and move prosecutions from municipal courts to district court as a level 9 person felony. The bill also directs courts to require defendants convicted of the offense to participate in court‑ordered educational programs intended to reduce recidivism. Senator Gossage said the bill focuses on the demand side of commercial sexual exploitation: "You wouldn't have the supply side of human trafficking if you didn't have the demand," she told the Senate.
The proposal drew largely supportive floor commentary. Senator Gossage said the legislation had been developed in consultation with prosecutors, law enforcement and victim‑service organizations, including YWCA and local projects that work with trafficking victims. The bill was moved out of the committee of the whole and the motion to report the committee's favorable recommendation carried by voice vote.
Practical effect: if enacted, the bill would allow prosecutors to pursue a felony charge for first‑time buyers in district court, not leave first offenses as municipal misdemeanors. The bill also adds a mandatory educational component for convicted purchasers and seeks to improve statewide prosecution coordination.
