California lawmakers in the Public Safety Committee gave their seal of approval on Tuesday morning to a bill that would crack down on consumers of the child sex trafficking industry.
Assemblymembers Mia Bonta (D) and LaShae Sharp Collins (D) abstained from the vote.
Assembly Bill 379, which targets buyers of commercial sex, was introduced by Assemblymember Maggy Krell (D), who worked at the California Department of Justice and became known for prosecuting the operators of Backpage.com, which was shut down in 2018 for facilitating sex trafficking and prostitution. Krell was elected to the Assembly last year.
The bill proposes stricter penalties for soliciting minors and loitering to purchase sex….