California lawmakers are finally sending to Gov. Gavin Newsom a hot potato of a bill that would bar police from making arrests on a charge of loitering for prostitution, nine months after the measure passed the Legislature, the author of the bill announced Monday.
Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener and other supporters said arrests for loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution often rely on police officers’ perceptions and disproportionately target transgender, Black and Latino women.
The bill would not decriminalize soliciting or engaging in sex work. It would allow those who were previously convicted or are currently serving loitering sentences to ask a court to dismiss and seal the record of the conviction. But in the nine months since lawmakers acted, concerns about crime, homelessness and the perception that major California cities are becoming more unsafe have become more acute, providing fodder for political campaigns heading into the November election.
Burt believes lawmakers waited to send it to Newsom until after the governor defeated the recall and safely made it through the June 7 primary election. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the nation's largest such agency, and the 75,000-member Peace Officers Research Association of California are among the opponents. Both say repealing it will hinder the prosecution of those who commit crimes related to prostitution and human trafficking and make it harder to identify and assist those being victimized.