Legislative Update: SB 1022 Passes Assembly Public Safety Committee

Sep 7

2 min read

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Today, SB 1022 successfully passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee, marking another important step forward in California's fight against human trafficking.

As a sponsor of the bill, the California Survivor Coalition was proud to stand alongside survivors, 3Strands Global Foundation, advocates, service providers, and legislative partners in support of a simple but critical principle:

Human trafficking is constantly evolving, and California's response must evolve with it.

Opponents argued that California has studied trafficking enough and a permanent task force is unnecessary...they also argued against promoting prosecution and for the expansion of the sex trade.

Our Acting President Marjorie Saylor testified that "The question is not whether California has studied trafficking before. The question is whether trafficking has stopped changing. The answer is no." Therefore...taking all sides of this issue...nuances and all, we must continue to study and adapt.

Traffickers adapt....even so far as to pretend to be willing "sex workers" testifying before the legisature in order to expand their access to volnurable populations in the sex trade. Additionally, technology changes. Online recruitment changes. And organized criminal networks change.

If exploitation continues to evolve, then California cannot afford to stop learning, coordinating, and improving its response.

SB 1022 establishes the California Multidisciplinary Alliance to Stop Trafficking (MAST) Task Force, bringing together survivor leaders, service providers, researchers, law enforcement, prosecutors, and other experts to holistically identify emerging trends, evaluate gaps, and strengthen statewide responses to trafficking.

The California Survivor Coalition is especially proud that survivor leadership remains at the center of this effort. Survivor-informed policy is not symbolic...it is essential. Those closest to the problem are often closest to the solutions.

Thank you to Senator Suzette Martinez Valladares and her team for their leadership in bringing thid forward, and to the committee members who recognized the importance of maintaining a coordinated, data-informed, and survivor-centered approach to combating ongoing and ever evolving exploitation.

The work continues, but today was an important step forward.