(The Center Square) – A bill that would place human trafficking trials in the same category as murder and domestic violence passed the California Assembly unanimously with bipartisan support Thursday morning.
Legislators voted 58-0 in favor of Assembly Bill 1656 on the third reading. Twenty-two legislators, a mix of Democrats and Republicans, abstained from voting.
The bill now moves to its final debate and a fourth reading and vote in the Assembly at a later date. If passed at that time, it would go to the Senate for consideration.
The author of the legislation – Assemblymember Laurie Davies, R-Oceanside – said AB 1656 would make cases easier for human trafficking victims.
The bill expands the definition of “good cause” for trial continuances, allowing trials involving human trafficking charges to receive the same scheduling and flexibility considerations as trials involving other heinous crimes. The bill aims to allow more time for prosecutors to prepare for complex human trafficking litigation, coordinate testimony from witnesses scheduled to take the stand and properly handle sensitive evidence, according to a legislative analysis.
Davies said on the Assembly floor on Thursday that the bill is a common-sense law that protects victims of human trafficking.
The bill allows prosecution and defense attorneys more time to prepare for trial and gather witnesses, Davies said.
She also noted the legislation is designed to decrease anxiety for victims.
“Survivors of human trafficking frequently experience severe trauma,” Davies said on the Assembly floor. “It’s very hard for survivors to trust persons with authority.”
Davies wrote in the legislative analysis that AB 1656 is a critical step in modernizing California’s approach to the most heinous crimes. She added the legislation reduces the chances of procedural dismissals of human trafficking cases – a move in court that could re-traumatize victims.
Those who have testified against the bill, according to the legislative analysis, said AB 1656, if passed, would cause criminal courts to be congested with cases that have been the subject of excessive continuances. The San Francisco Examiner’s Office said that delayed proceedings could cause longer pre-sentence holding times in jail while defendants wait for the conclusion of their trial and sentencing date, among other issues.
“Excessive continuances contribute substantially to this congestion and cause substantial hardship to victims and other witnesses, and lead to longer periods of pre-sentence confinement for those defendants in custody and the concomitant overcrowding and increased expenses of local jails,” the San Francisco Examiner’s Office wrote in opposition to the bill.
According to anti-human trafficking organization Cast, the California Legislature passed $30 million to combat human trafficking in the 2021-22 budget. A year later, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services allocated $20 million worth of state grants to organizations across the state that provide victims services to survivors of human trafficking – just part of the state’s $280.1 million expenditure cracking down on the crime since 2019.
The California Victims Compensation Board, which helps victims of violent crime, paid out roughly $4.4 million in lost wages to human trafficking victims between 2020 and 2023, which was authorized by a successful 2020 bill, Assembly Bill 629
