California Assembly committee blocks bill that could have sent human traffickers of kids to prison for life

FIRST ON FOX: The California Assembly committee on public safety blocked a bill that would increase the charges for human trafficking.

The Golden State lower house committee considered Senate Bill 14, which would make the human trafficking of children a “serious felony.” Serious felony charges under California law currently include murder, rape, and any other crime which may incur the death penalty or life sentence in state prison. 

However, instead of upping the ante on child traffickers, the California Assembly Public Safety Committee nuked the measure on Tuesday.

FLORIDA AG CALLS ON MARK ZUCKERBERG TO STOP CHILD TRAFFICKERS EXPLOITING KIDS ONLINE: ‘PUBLIC SAFETY THREAT’

“Horrible!” someone yelled as victims sobbed at the dais.

According to local news, no Democrats on the committee voted for the bill. Only one Republican assemblyman — Assemblyman Tom Lackey — voted yes on the bill while the GOP vice chair of the committee, Assemblyman Juan Alanis, was out of the committee room at the time of the vote.

S.B. 14 was given reconsideration, meaning it could be taken up again by the California Assembly next year.

S.B. 14 cleared the California Senate unanimously with bipartisan support in May.

Meanwhile, in Florida, Attorney General Ashley Moody is demanding Mark Zuckerberg explain the high volume of human trafficking across Meta platforms after an eerie report revealed pedophiles are using the metaverse to sexually exploit children.

Moody sent a letter to Zuckerberg Monday, inviting the CEO to speak with Florida’s Statewide Council on Human Trafficking on what preventative measures, if any, the tech giant is taking to end human trafficking on sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.

Facebook was reportedly the top platform used for the recruitment of human trafficking victims from 2019 to 2022, according to the 2022 Federal Human Trafficking report that also found 53% of traffickers use the internet to solicit buyers of commercial sex.

Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed reporting.