Sacramento – Assemblyman Mathis issued the following statement upon the passage of SB 14 in the Assembly Public Safety Committee after its initial rejection:
“I’m pleased that the Public Safety Committee has finally come to their senses and passed SB 14, designating the human trafficking of children as a serious felony, punishable with enhanced penalties. This bill should have passed the Committee on Tuesday. While it’s unfortunate that we’ll now have to wait until after the month-long summer recess to pass this bill, it’s still progress that enough of the Public Safety Committee reversed their vote and approved this important bill. What is not seen here is the tireless hours of meetings that I and others on the leadership teams have taken regarding this bill. Senator Shannon Grove and the main sponsor “3 Strands Global Foundation” need to be thanked for their tireless efforts, educating policymakers on what the bill actually does and how it will truly protect our children from being trafficked. It’s time that California, which is ranked #1 in the nation for human trafficking, takes a stand against sex traffickers and prevents future victims. We will continue our efforts through the process to get this bill to the Governor, who’s said he will sign it. I also want to thank the public and the press for continuing to push SB 14.”
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