Senate public safety committee advances AB 379 to expand penalties for solicitation of minors; loitering provision draws concern

The Senate Public Safety Committee advanced Assembly Bill 379 on June 10, a measure that restores criminal penalties for solicitation of 16- and 17-year-olds when the adult is at least three years older and adds a misdemeanor for loitering with intent to purchase sex. The committee voted to pass the bill to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The bill’s author, Assemblymember Schultz, told the committee that AB 379 “restores criminal penalties for solicitation of a minor of the ages of 16 and 17 if there's an age difference of 3 years between the victim and the perpetrator,” and that the measure is the result of years of work with victim advocates. He said the bill also “includes tougher penalties for the businesses that are complicit in human trafficking” and creates grants and fines to fund survivor services.

Schultz summarized major provisions: felony authorization for solicitation of a minor by an…