California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Department of Finance has pushed back on a proposed bill to crack down on those who solicit a minor for sex over the cost of the proposal and how it could hamper the state’s progress on reducing prison populations.
The proposed bill, SB 1414, would make it a felony to solicit or purchase a minor for sex in California, which currently classes it as a misdemeanor with a minimum of two days in jail.
In a hearing on Wednesday, a representative for the Department of Finance said: “While we appreciate the intent behind the Bill, Department of Finance is opposed to it because of CDCR (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) potential costs.
“California has successfully remained below the court-ordered prison population, cap and has even made strides towards closing prisons, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars of annual savings.
“However, increases to the population threaten the state’s ability to continue making progress in rightsizing California’s prison system.”
She went on to note that “similar legislation that expands the list of individuals required to register as sex offenders has estimated to result in costs to the Department of Justice in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Republican state Senate Minority Leader Shannon Grove responded to the Finance Department argument by pointing out the cost of treating “these individuals who the state is responsible for” and victim services.
She said: “The bottom line is we’re talking about those who are buying children for sex. And if we can’t lock those people up in prison, then we seriously have a problem.”
Grove, the author of the bill, told a local news broadcaster the finance department’s reasons for opposing the bill were “absurd.”
She said: “It is disappointing that it is this difficult to protect children from being bought for sex. I am glad it’s moving forward; it hasn’t died yet.”
It is difficult to understand that California’s budget crisis is going prohibit the state’s ability to protect its own citizens.