Bill to Prohibit Sex Offenders and Human Traffickers from Elected Office Amended to Exempt Pedophiles

Editors Note: This article has been updated with legislative action on Assembly Bill 2753 as of 7/1/26, 11:39 AM.

AB 2691 by Assemblywoman Dawn Addis (D-San Luis Obispo) prohibits persons convicted of “sexual assault” and “human trafficking” from running for any state or local elective office in California. It’s a good bill, with good intent… or was.

Recent amendments made on June 24, 2026, added in exemptions for pedophile adults who target children for sex.

The bill was heard in the Senate Elections Committee Tuesday morning (see below).

What no longer counts as “sexual assault” under this Elections code was amended in the bill above (AB 2691). Prior to Tuesday’s Senate hearing, the amendments were made at the request of Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) who is the Committee Chairman of the Senate Elections Committee, according to the California Family Council.

In Elections Code §20(b)(3):

• “Sexual assault” means a violation of Penal Code Sections 261 (rape), 286 (sodomy), 287 (oral copulation), 288 (lewd acts with minor), 288.5 (continuous sexual abuse of child), 289 (sexual penetration), or former related sections.
• However, it explicitly excludes:
  • Subdivision (b) of Section 286 (sodomy with a minor under certain conditions).
  • Subdivision (b) of Section 287 (oral copulation with a minor under certain conditions).
  • Subdivisions (h) or (i) of Section 289 (sexual penetration with a minor under certain conditions).

If any of this is ringing a bell, Sen. Wiener, in 2019, authored Senate Bill 145 which at the time of its introduction would allow a sex offender who lures a minor with the intent to commit a felony sex act, the ability to escape registering as a sex offender as long as the offender is within 10 years of age of the minor. As we reported in 2020, SB 145  allows a 24 year old to have sex with a 14 year old, relaxing the penalties for having “non-forcible sodomy, oral copulation, and sexual penetration with a minor.”

Governor Gavin Newsom signed Wiener’s SB 145 in 2020. The Globe reported: “Gov. Newsom Signs Bill to Protect Sex Offenders Who Have Homosexual Sex with Minors,” asking,  “How can this bill be legal when California’s age of consent is still 18?”

Buckle up: Sen. Wiener’s requested amendments to Assemblywoman Addis’ bill are the same as SB 145 – exempting sodomy on a minor, oral copulation on a minor, and sexual penetration of a minor. 

These sexual crimes against children would not prevent someone from running for state or local elective office in California.

These excluded acts are still serious crimes, especially as they are felonies involving minors, but they fall outside the bill’s narrowed definition of “sexual assault” for the purpose of disqualifying someone from elective office.

The only conclusion a rational person can reach from these amendments is that Assemblywoman Addis and Sen. Wiener believe that it is ethical and legal if pedophiles are elected to public office in California; or, they know what they are doing and tried to get away with the amendments.

However, and despite Sen. Wiener’s SB 145 which Gov. Newsom signed into law, these crimes are more heinous than those within the definition of sexual assault because they involve children.

As originally written, AB 2691 would have been worthy of strong bipartisan support, but now the bill is reprehensible. A bill that sought to prohibit persons convicted of “sexual assault” and “human trafficking” from running for any state or local elective office in California, now says that it is acceptable to elect pedophiles and child sexual groomers to state and local public office. 

This is the California Legislature, California Democrats, and the evil left at work–destroying the once-Golden State and putting minor children in harms way, again.

Below is some of the video from the hearing. When Senator Steven Choi (R-Irvine) raised the issue and asked both Assemblywoman Addis and Senator Wiener why these exemptions were made, they refused to answer.

However, one of the witnesses told him that this is a “first-in-the-nation” bill, as if that should suffice. The Globe will continue to report on this bill.

Sometimes it's easy to lose hope in Sacramento. Today is one of those days.

The Senate Elections Committee rejected a bill that would have prohibited registered sex offenders from running for elected office in California. Another bill would have barred individuals convicted of… pic.twitter.com/QPzNPZtiQj

— Assemblyman Tri Ta (@TriTa4CA) June 30, 2026

Update: Senator Suzette Valladares (R-SD23) weighed in on the exemptions for child-sex offenses for candidates, stating:

Right now, a registered sex offender can run for school board in California. Nothing in state law stops them.

A bill to fix that, AB 2753, passed the Assembly 60-0.

Then Senate Democrats killed it in committee, and advanced a different bill carving out an exception for people convicted of sex crimes against children.

This already almost happened. A registered sex offender tried to run for Fresno City Council this year.

Protecting kids should not be controversial.

Parents and voters deserve better.

Right now, a registered sex offender can run for school board in California. Nothing in state law stops them.

A bill to fix that, AB 2753, passed the Assembly 60-0.

Then Senate Democrats killed it in committee, and advanced a different bill carving out an exception for people… https://t.co/ZgflkzZQXF

— Senator Suzette Valladares (@SenValladares) July 1, 2026

Assemblywoman Esmerelda Soria (D-Fresno), who authored AB 2753, reacted to her bill dying in committee via a tie vote, stating to KCRA’s Ashley Zavala:

“I’m extremely disappointed and I feel like I’m still trying to process what we just saw come out of Senate Elections Committee. But I think the fight still continues. I made a promise to my community that we would try to make sure that what happened earlier in this year when Mr. Rene Campos decided to announce that he was going to run for office, a registered sex offender, that we wouldn’t see that type of thing happening in our community. And so we’ll continue this fight here in Sacramento to make sure that it is loud and clear that the community supports our efforts to ensure that no registered sex offender is able to run or get elected in state or local office.” 

She emphasized that offenses across all tiers—including Tier 1 (e.g., child molestation) and Tier 2 (e.g., incest or sodomy with a minor)—should disqualify candidates. In related comments from her office, she stated she was “not willing to make additional amendments” because doing so would have jeopardized her promise to her community. 

(Note: A separate but related bill, AB 2961 by Asm. Dawn Addis, advanced in the same committee but was significantly watered down/amended to exclude Tier 1 and Tier 2 offenses per the request of Senator Scott Wiener)