Appropriations Committee advances amended human-trafficking bill that raises penalties, creates survivor fund

Assemblymember Schultz presented Assembly Bill 379 on May 7 before the Assembly Appropriations Committee, saying the bill strengthens penalties and victim supports for human trafficking and solicitation offenses. “With the amendments before you today, AB 379 makes the following changes,” Schultz said, listing expanded sentencing authority, new loitering offenses, upgraded fines for businesses, and a survivor-support grant funded by collected penalties.

The bill would: authorize felony punishment (a “wobbler,” meaning a prosecutor could charge felony or misdemeanor) for solicitation of a minor when the adult is more than three years older than the minor; create a misdemeanor loitering-with-intent offense related to commercial sex; require people convicted of solicitation who receive probation to take a required educational program; increase civil penalties available against establishments that allow trafficking from the current ranges to higher maximums (for example, raising some fines from $1,000–$10,000 to $3,000–$25,000 as stated by the author); deposit collected fines into a Survivor Support Fund administered through a new grant program at…