Heated testimony for and against increasing penalties for buyers in commercial sexual exploitation bill

House Bill 1265 drew sharply divided testimony to the House Community Safety Committee as prosecutors, law enforcement, advocates and people with lived experience debated whether raising penalties for buyers will reduce exploitation or increase harm.

The bill would elevate penalties for people who buy sex from a misdemeanor to a class C felony. Supporters said the change targets demand and would deter people who finance commercial sexual exploitation. Corine Schneff, criminal chief for the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office, said an active market correlates with more human trafficking and that where prostitution is tolerated demand increases. "Please support this legislation," Schneff told the committee.

King County human trafficking prosecutor Bradley McGinnis said buyers drive commercial exploitation and that current penalties are "grossly insufficient to recognize the gravity of the harm caused". Detective Maurice Washington of the Seattle Police Department vice and human trafficking unit said Washington is a destination for buyers and traffickers and described frequent operations removing minors from the street.

Local officials described neighborhood harms. Seattle City Council member Kathy Moore, whose District 5 includes large sections of Aurora Avenue North, said Aurora is an "open market" for commercial sexual exploitation and linked the activity to increased gun violence. North Seattle community member Jake Wallach described repeatedly hearing gunfire near his home and said escalating "pimp wars" have endangered neighbors.

Supporters urged more robust enforcement resources and said felony penalties would better match the harm and encourage enforcement and prosecution.

Opponents included sex‑worker rights groups, survivor‑led and public‑health organizations, and defense and defender associations. They argued increasing penalties for buyers will push the trade underground, concentrate business among more dangerous clients, and reduce safety for people who sell sex. Testimony from people who identify as current or former sex workers emphasized that criminalization increases vulnerability by reducing income, access to screening and the ability to insist on safer practices.

Toby Hill Meyer, a member of the state LGBTQ Commission, said the bill would increase violence against sex workers by reducing clients and increasing competition for fewer customers. The Cupcake Girls, representing survivor services, and several advocates said criminalizing buyers can replicate harms and disproportionately affect marginalized communities.

Other organizations, including the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Washington Defender Association, opposed the bill on sentencing‑scheme and civil‑liberties grounds and urged alternatives such as legalization and regulation. Some advocates suggested alternative policy steps — post‑conviction relief, anti‑discrimination protections, expanded social services, safe‑reporting mechanisms and housing and treatment — as ways to reduce exploitation and support exits from the trade.

The transcript excerpt contains extensive verbal testimony on both sides; no committee vote or formal action appears in the provided record.