California State Senator Scott Wiener, the Democratic frontrunner to replace outgoing U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi in Congress, has killed a bill that would have prohibited registered sex offenders from running for public office.
The legislation, AB 2753, passed unanimously in the California State Assembly before being referred to the Senate Elections Committee. On Tuesday, the committee rejected the measure by a vote of 2-1-2.
Democratic State Senator Sabrina Cervantes and Republican State Senator Steven Choi voted in favor of the bill, while Wiener, who chairs the committee, cast his vote against it. Democratic State Senators Tom Umberg and Ben Allen abstained from the vote.
The proposal was authored by Fresno Democratic Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria following an incident in which registered sex offender Rene Campos attempted to run for the Fresno City Council. Campos pleaded no contest in 2018 to a misdemeanor charge of possessing child sexual abuse material.
AB 2753 aimed to bar individuals listed in California’s three-tiered sex offender registration system from seeking public office: Tier One offenders remain on the registry for up to 10 years, Tier Two for up to 20 years, and Tier Three for life.
During committee deliberations, Wiener expressed concerns about the bill’s broad scope. He indicated he would only support it if it applied exclusively to Tier Three offenders. Soria declined to accept the amendment, leading to the bill’s failure.
Wiener has faced criticism for modifying previous proposed text (AB 2691) to exclude certain child sexual abuse cases. The revised language in AB 2691 would not bar individuals convicted of felony sexual assault or human trafficking from office but would include specific exceptions for acts involving minors under 18.
A California Family Council official described the bill’s revisions as “shocking” and stated: “Our honest reaction was that it could not be real. We assume we’ve misread it.”
The legislation is part of a broader effort to address concerns following Rene Campos’s campaign for city council and allegations against former Rep. Eric Swalwell.