Assembly passes tougher penalties, business fines and survivor fund in AB 379 on human trafficking

SACRAMENTO — The California State Assembly on Thursday passed AB 379, a package of changes to the state's anti‑human trafficking laws that increases criminal penalties for adults who solicit minors, raises civil and administrative fines for businesses that enable trafficking, and creates a fund to support survivors.

The measure, introduced on the floor by Assemblymember Schultz and carried by multiple coauthors, passed on a roll call vote of Aye 72, No 0. The bill now proceeds to the Senate.

AB 379 tightens sentencing for solicitation and related conduct. The bill authorizes felony punishment for solicitation of any minor by an adult more than three years older than the minor; a second or subsequent violation is punishable as a felony. It creates a misdemeanor for loitering with intent to purchase commercial sex and requires persons convicted of solicitation who are granted probation to attend a mandatory educational program on human trafficking and child exploitation. "If we can set aside the rhetoric, every child in California deserves protection," Assemblymember…