SAN FRANCISCO — The Erotic Service Providers Legal Education and Research Project (ESPLERP) is applauding the passage of California Senate Bill 233 out of the State Assembly.
SB233 is Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) legislation to protect people from arrest for prostitution offenses when they report serious crimes, such as rape. The bill also prohibits police from using the possession of condoms as evidence of prostitution. It will now go before the Senate before heading to the governor’s desk.
SB233 picked up several more endorsements, including from the Los Angeles County District Attorney and the City of Berkeley Police Review Commission, which added their voices to what is now best practice and policy, having originally come from the San Francisco Police Department and District Attorney’s office. SB233 picked up sponsorships from Members Wick and Kamlager-Dove during the June 11 Assembly Public Safety Committee hearing. Assembly Public Safety Committee Member Tom Lackey also provided the first bipartisan vote in support.
“It was clear to the Assembly Public Safety Committee members that law enforcement needs to prioritize public safety and public health and stop their current practice of taking condoms as evidence of prostitution,” said ESPLERP’s Maxine Doogan, noting that the legislation will also enable police to take reports from sex workers “by granting immunity to us from prostitution arrests when we’re victims and witnesses to crime.”
SB233 received the two-thirds vote from the Assembly (54-13) required to pass, altering the evidentiary code to now remove condoms as evidence of prostitution, a misdemeanor.
SB233 is supported by St. James Infirmary, U.S. Prostitutes Collective, the Sex Worker Outreach Project of Sacramento, ESPLERP and a number of other LGTBQ, public health and social justice organizations. It is co-authored by Assembly Members Bill Quirk (D-Hayward), Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles) and Laura Freidman (D-Glendale).
The full text of the legislation can be found here.
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