By Lindsey Holden
DEAL OR NO DEAL: Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove is teaming up with a Democrat in an attempt to undo changes to a sex trafficking bill she authored last year.
AB 379 from Grove and freshman Assemblymember Maggy Krell, a Sacramento Democrat, would — among other provisions — make 16- and 17-year-olds subject to the new law, which tightened penalties for those seeking to buy sex with minors.
That new age range is angering Democrats who voted in favor of last year’s solicitation bill only after the Senate Public Safety Committee carved out older teens as part of an agreement with Senate leadership. Lawmakers at the time argued the bill was too broad and could wrap in people not engaged in sex trafficking.
“I was just floored that Senator Grove put her name on a bill that undid a leadership deal that she was a part of on her bill just months before,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, who was among the Public Safety Committee members pushing the amendments.
Grove is now denying that there was a deal at all.
“There was no deal cut,” she told Playbook, referring to her bill from last year. “They made the decision, and we needed to make a counter decision. Do you protect 15 and below, or do you just pull everything and not protect 15 and below? That’s the option we were given.”
The proposal, which has yet to be scheduled for a first hearing, marks the latest test for Grove, who has scored repeated legislative wins in the Democratic-controlled Capitol with sex trafficking-related bills, outmaneuvering Democratic opponents and leaning into conservative outrage on the issue.
In addition to her soliciting bill from last year, she also authored legislation tightening penalties on child sex traffickers that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in 2023.
Grove told reporters last year she was so upset by the amendments that she was considering removing her name from the bill. She said today she always meant to revisit the law and expand it.
“I made a promise that we were going to go back and make sure all children were protected equally,” Grove said.
Krell, the bill’s lead author, spent much of her career as a prosecutor fighting sex trafficking. She’s known for taking on Backpage.com, a website famous for its sex work-related ads.
She didn’t directly address criticisms of the bill, saying her “goal is to get this policy right, and right now, children are being victimized.”
“It hasn’t gone to a committee hearing yet, and so we’ll see what any concerns are,” Krell said. “But I look forward to having those conversations directly with my colleagues.”
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas declined to comment on the bill, but it’s not going over well in the Senate.
“AB 379 does not reflect the compromise that was being negotiated with Senator Grove in the Senate,” a person in the chamber close to negotiations told Playbook.
Assembly Public Safety Committee Chair Nick Schultz said he had an “initial conversation” about the bill with Krell in a short meeting.
Schultz said it would be premature to discuss a position on the bill or potential amendments. When asked about his philosophy on adhering to negotiated amendments, Schultz said, “in general, if parties to an agreement reach a deal, there needs to be a good faith effort to stick to that deal.”
