As the representatives of Tulare County's first and fifth supervisorial districts, we write in support of your
legislation, Senate Bill 14 (SB 14). This important bill will include human trafficking in the lists of crimes that
are defined as serious and violent under California law, making the crime a strike under the Three Strikes law.
It will also help strengthen protections for the millions of victims of sex and labor trafficking.
California consistently ranks number one in the nation in the number of human trafficking cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. The California Attorney General notes that California is one of the
largest sites for human trafficking in the United States, recognizes the serious nature of this crime, and has
defined it as "modern day slavery." Human trafficking is among the world's fastest growing criminal
enterprises and is estimated to be a $150 billion-a-year global industry. It is a form of modern day slavery that
profits from the exploitation of our most vulnerable populations.
SB 14 will give a voice to the millions of victims that have suffered from this horrific abuse. This bill will fight
to protect victims, strengthen prevention efforts, and increase the prosecution of those who buy and sell human beings. It is about time that California begin prosecuting these horrendous acts as serious and violent crimes.
For these reasons, we strongly support SB 14.
Sincerely,
Larry Micari, Supervisor
District One
Dennis Townsend, Supervisor
District Five
cc: Senator Grove, Tulare County State Delegation, Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange