SACRAMENTO – Today, Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) offered an amendment to repeal Senate Bill 357 (2022, Wiener), which legalizes loitering for prostitution. This dangerous measure removes a critical resource for law enforcement officers to help victims of sex trafficking. Senate Democrats defeated the amendment by voting 29 to 8 to table all discussion on the effort to repeal SB 357.
“Democrat lawmakers once again are all talk and no action when it comes to protecting women. California Senate Republicans gave them an opportunity to reverse the unintended consequences of a bad law that empowers pimps and hurts human trafficking victims. Sadly, Senate Democrats wouldn’t even allow a vote or debate on the measure with no explanation,” said Leader Jones. “The proof of this law’s failures is clear. This is just another example of California Democrat politicians putting criminals before victims with their failed public safety agenda.”
SB 357 took nine months for Governor Newsom to sign into law after it was passed in 2021. When the governor finally signed SB 357 into law in 2022, he did so with a warning that his administration would “monitor crime and prosecution trends for any possible unintended consequences and will act to mitigate any such impacts.”
Media outlets in the Bay Area and San Diego have been reporting on the unintended consequences of SB 357. A civil rights activist told one media outlet, “I saw what happened in Oakland, this problem is showing its head across the state,” said Shane Harris, the president of a California-based civil rights organization. “We are very concerned that children’s lives are at stake.”
