Top highlights from legislative session

Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones

40th Senate District

The State Legislature is on recess until Aug. 14. I’ve enjoyed spending more time in the district and talking directly with constituents about important issues and our fight in Sacramento. While there are only five weeks left in this legislative session once we return, California Senate Republicans have scored multiple victories over the past few months. San Francisco Chronicle’s Emily Hoeven got it right in her column, “California Democrats are taking absurd positions on crime and housing – making Republicans somehow relevant again.”

As your State Senator, I’ve been successful with several measures that will help keep our community safe. In case you missed some of them, here are some top highlights:

Holding Child Sex Traffickers Accountable: As a proud coauthor of Senate Bill 14, I’m pleased to share that after heavy backlash, Assembly Democrats moved this important measure forward. SB 14 classifies child sex trafficking as a “serious crime” under California law. It’s hard to believe it’s not already a serious crime, and it’s even harder to believe that Assembly Democrats rejected the measure at first and wanted to protect sex traffickers. You can read more about our fight to get this measure passed in the Sacramento Bee’s article, California Democrats reverse course after killing bill to stiffen penalties for child sex trafficking.

Stopping Sexually Violent Predators: My request to audit Liberty Healthcare for their poor management of sexually violent predators was approved last month. This is the first step to fixing the broken SVP release program. I went on KUSI to talk about the request, you can watch my interview here. Center Square News also covered the successful audit request in their article California to audit placement service for released sexually violent predators.

Streamlining Prosecution of Human Traffickers: I’m working with San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan and the City of San Marcos to streamline prosecutions of human traffickers. This critical measure will also protect victims and help hold evil traffickers accountable. I’m pleased to share that this bill is moving through the Legislature with unanimous support. You can read more about our success with Senate Bill 236 in a Center Square News article.