Be sure to keep Senate Bill 851, Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Youth, on your radar.
The bill was introduced by Senator Greenleaf and Senator Leach last May. Since then, the Senate Judiciary Committee has held numerous public hearings on several aspects of the bill. Currently, the bill is pending before the Appropriations Committee, where it has been since November. While the time-lapse may support the notion that SB851 has “stalled,” activity and negotiations have been ongoing. In fact, amendment proposals are imminent.
So what’s the hold up? Specifically, there is a disagreement over whether to extend immunity to minors for prostitution-related charges, or crimes that are routinely charged in place of or in addition to prostitution. These so-called “masking crimes” are some of the consequential manifestations of commercial sexual exploitation. The “masking charges” in the current language of SB851 include: criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, loitering and prowling at night time, obstruction of the highway, providing false identification to law enforcement, and simple possession of a controlled substance. The bill further states that a victim can only be immune from charges for those crimes if the offense was committed as a direct result of being trafficked.
Shea Rhodes, Director of the CSE Institute recently shared her opinion on extending immunity to these crimes. Read her statements and learn more about the timeline of SB851.