State Headlines: Newsom legalizes prostitution-related loitering

Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law over the weekend that bans arrests for "loitering with the intent of prostitution." 

Senate Bill 357, which was written by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), will get rid of all laws that make it illegal to hang out in a public place with the intention of prostitution or to direct, supervise, recruit, or help someone who is loitering with the intention of prostitution, or to collect or receive all or part of the money from a prostitution act. Also, people who have been found guilty of loitering with the intent to prostitute can now ask the court to dismiss and seal their case or give them a new sentence.

Last year, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers were very against the bill, but it barely passed both the Senate and the Assembly. Senator Wiener stopped sending the bill to the Governor's desk last year because so many people were worried about it. 

Senator Wiener moved the bill up last month in the hopes that the time was right, even though there were still worries that passing the bill would cause a big rise in human trafficking. The fact that the bill was ready to be signed so soon after the election led to rumors that it would be easier to pass since San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was being recalled and would be leaving office soon.

“To be clear, this bill does not legalize prostitution,” said Newsom after signing SB 357 into law. “It simply revokes provisions of the law that have led to disproportionate harassment of women and transgender adults. Black and Latino women are particularly affected.”