A child sex trafficking bill is finally moving forward in California.
An Assembly committee passed it yesterday after voting for a second time. The measure passed 6-0, with two Democrats, Assemblymembers Mia Bonta and Isaac Bryan, not voting.
Assemblymember Liz Ortega, whose district includes the southern East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, joined five other Democrats on the Public Safety Committee in halting the measure that aims to prevent repeat child sex traffickers from getting released from prison early.
The bill by Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove would add child trafficking to a list of serious felonies in California. Those convicted of at least three serious felonies face a prison sentence of between 25 years to life in prison under the state’s three strikes law.