REGION — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is supporting proposed state legislation aimed at protecting teenage sex trafficking victims that is headed to the Assembly next week.
Supervisor Jim Desmond proposed the motion to back Assembly Bill 379, co-authored by Assemblywoman Maggy Krell, D-Sacramento.
The bill would fix a loophole “by extending that protection to include 16- and 17-year-olds — ensuring that no child is for sale in California,” according to Desmond’s office.
Current law states that children up to age 15 are protected as minors in felony sex trafficking cases.
“The legislation also expands services for survivors and increases law enforcement support for trafficking cases,” according to Desmond.
AB 379 “reverses dangerous loopholes created by past legislation that enabled traffickers and punished victims,” Desmond said in a statement Wednesday.
“This is more than just legislation,” he said. ”It’s a statement of our values and a promise to protect the most vulnerable in our community.”
Supervisor Joel Anderson, who had been participating in Wednesday’s board meeting via teleconference, left the meeting and didn’t vote on the item.
Before he and colleagues voted, Desmond said AB 379 has “widespread bipartisan support,” including from San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, District Attorney Summer Stephan, the People’s Association of Justice Advocates and principal co-author state Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield.
“This bill does not criminalize the men, women and children caught up in the exploitation,” but “instead rightfully focuses on the trafficker and buyers,” Desmond said.
He added that the bill would also establish a survivors’ support fund, using fees and fines paid by offenders, to assist victims with job training, recovery, and other essential needs.
“We know San Diego is a hot spot, unfortunately, for human trafficking, and we need to do everything we can to protect vulnerable people, especially minors, from becoming victims,” Desmond said.
The bill will be heard before the Assembly Public Safety Committee on April 29, according to Krell’s office.
Those who spoke during the public comment period were supportive, including Shane Harris, president of the People’s Association of Justice Advocates; Marjorie Saylor, a survivor sponsor of AB 379; and a representative of Chula Vista Mayor John McCann.
One caller told supervisors the bill needs to pass, “because it’s the right thing to do.”
“We need to protect minors, we need to protect children, we need to protect victims,” the man added.
Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe said she is in favor of the bill, but took issue with one section that featured language making it a crime for someone who may simply be talking to a person with no ill intentions, or just driving down a street because they’re lost.
Desmond said he supported Montgomery Steppe’s amendment asking the chief administrative officer to urge the Legislature to “redraft this language such that the elements of the offense are defined with clarity and specificity as to the proscribed conduct.”
Montgomery Steppe thanked Desmond for his proposal and commended advocates for speaking out.
“I don’t take folks who come here with lived experience for granted,” she added.
Desmond introduced his proposal during a Monday news conference that also featured Harris, Carolyn Matzger, a county deputy district attorney with the Sex Crimes & Human Trafficking Division, McCann, Susan Munsey, a sex trafficking survivor, and Marisa Ugarte, founder of the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition.
Voter ID
During the same meeting, the Board of Supervisors rejected a proposal for the county to issue a formal statement in support of voter ID requirements.
Desmond had proposed that the county add support for voter ID laws to the county’s legislative platform, along with urging the state to reverse SB 1174, which was signed into law last year and bars local governments from requiring people to present identification to vote.
Desmond and Anderson voted in favor of the proposal, while Montgomery Steppe was opposed, and Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer abstained. The proposal required a minimum of three positive votes to pass.
According to Desmond, SB 1174 “strips local control and opens our elections to potential abuse, undermining confidence in the democratic process.”
“If you need an ID to board a plane or buy a beer, you should need one to vote,” Desmond said.
Desmond’s office contended this week that there is strong national support for voter ID requirements, saying:
— 81% of Americans support requiring a photo ID to vote, according to the Pew Research Center;
— 38 U.S. states have implemented some form of voter ID, and
— Dozens of nations require a voter ID.
In a statement after Tuesday’s vote, Desmond said the board “had a chance to take a stand for election integrity,” but failed.
Desmond said he will “make sure the people of San Diego County know exactly who stood up for secure, trustworthy elections — and who voted to keep the door wide open to abuse.”
Before Wednesday’s vote, Desmond said his proposal was needed “because public trust in elections is at an all-time low, on both sides of the political aisle.”
With SB 1174, “there’s nothing stopping someone from going in person to a voting booth, using someone else’s name,” Desmond said. “This raises questions and concerns about our election system. This is why we should adopt voter ID laws, which can alleviate vulnerabilities in our election process.”
He added that he would amend his proposal to support any laws that would allow easier access to ID cards, including by making them free of charge.
During public comment, supporters said Desmond’s proposal was necessary to stop fraudulent voting, while others were concerned about voter suppression.
Montgomery Steppe said she appreciated Desmond mentioning that voter fraud is rare, with between one and 11 convictions for fraud in California every year in recent history.
However, “there’s just not enough for me here to support this at this time,” she said.
“We don’t need any kind of voter ID requirement to prevent mass voter fraud,” Montgomery Steppe said. “The data does tell us that.”
Montgomery Steppe noted that there are studies showing that certain communities of color are disproportionately affected by ID requirements.
She also said that too often in recent national history, lawmakers have put forward voter ID laws in bad faith, and with the intent to disenfranchise voters because “they don’t like who those voters are likely to vote for.”
As one example, Montgomery Steppe said Republican lawmakers in Florida, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in 2016 bragged privately that their voter ID laws would suppress turnout and help their candidates win.
Critics of voter ID laws have argued that a significant percentage of Americans do not have any form of photo identification, and many of them would face financial or logistical difficulties in obtaining one.
