Protecting Privacy in CA: Woodhull Opposition Letter CA SB 2001
July 9, 2026
Honorable Sabrina Cervantes
Chair Senate Appropriations Committee, State of California
California State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
Honorable Kelly Seyarto
Vice-Chair Senate Appropriations Committee, State of California
California State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
CC: The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Governor, State of California
California State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
July 7, 2026
RE: Woodhull Freedom Foundation OpposesAB-2001 (Stefani) (Criminal Procedure)
Dear Chair Cervantes, Vice-Chair Seyarto, and Members of the California Senate Appropriations Committee,
Woodhull Freedom Foundation is a national organization whose mission is to affirm sexual freedom as a fundamental human right. Woodhull protects individuals’ rights across the United States to enjoy sexual dignity, privacy, and consensual sexual expression without societal or governmental interference, coercion or stigmatization. It is in this capacity, as experts on sexual freedom as a fundamental human right, that we submit this letter to express our opposition to AB 2001 “Criminal procedure: state summary criminal history information” (Stefani).
AB 2001 would allow the California Department of Justice to share state summary criminal history information with City Attorneys or county counsels when such civil law enforcement authorities are seeking to prosecute certain nuisance and quality-of-life civil violations, including against “illicit massage businesses” and for “red-light abatement actions.” This criminal history information was not previously explicitly available to City Attorneys or county counsels for these specific types of actions. As an organization committed to defending sexual freedom, which includes protecting the rights of adults to engage in consensual sex work, we know how harmful AB 2001 could be.
In our opposition to AB 2001, we also uplift the work of Decrim Sex Work CA (DSWCA), a sex worker-led coalition that centers queer and trans sex workers of color and immigrant sex workers throughout California. As a community-based coalition in the state, DSWCA has seen first-hand how dangerous a bill like this could be. DSWCA has witnessed City Attorneys use abusive civil actions to scapegoat local immigrant-owned businesses as described below.
Throughout California, local prosecutors who lack the authority to investigate or prosecute serious criminal matters seek to appear “tough on crime” by enforcing minor city ordinances under the guise of “anti-trafficking” operations. Motels, massage parlors, and other businesses in areas that are associated with sex work become targeted with ruinous fees and citations based on a civil liability that requires no evidence of wrongdoing. City Attorneys such as Hydee Feldstein-Soto have argued that motels are liable under the Red-Light Abatement Act for every crime that the police can associate with that physical address, regardless of whether the crime actually occurred on the premises of the motel or could have been prevented by the motel. Massage businesses are also routinely shut down with severe fines and fees as “illicit massage businesses”, frequently for violations of city regulations that are the reason these businesses are categorized as “illicit” when other industries may only receive a nominal penalty for a similar violation.
Here we uplift once more the community-based experience from DSWCA whose members have witnessed repeated attempts by municipalities to blame violence in the sex trade on the mere existence of a certain type of businesses associated with adult industries and sex work. This perpetuates harmful myths about violence in the sex trade. There are many causes of violence in the sex trade, but the biggest cause of violence that DSWCA has identified in California is the criminalization of sex work and the stigma that puts onto sex workers. At Woodhull, we also address the harms of criminalizing sex work in our Fact Checked by Woodhull series.
For workers or businesses to be labeled “illegal” paints a target on the backs of sex workers and adult businesses that make them vulnerable to police abuse and misconduct. In our Fact Checked series we specifically address police violence against sex workers and how laws that increase sex workers interaction with police put them at risk. The stigma sex workers face contributes to increased violence and harassment from law enforcement. This stigma extends beyond law enforcement, however, and can contribute to lack of safety for sex workers when interacting with landlords and in their interpersonal relationships as well.
When businesses such as massage establishments or motels are stereotyped as ‘hotbeds of prostitution’, they are mischaracterized as sites of trafficking. The workers at that business; the individuals in that immigrant community; the local patrons at that establishment, all get caught up in the blame for sexual violence. The community then becomes vulnerable to interpersonal violence on top of the police raids and business-ending lawsuits.
Allowing the Department of Justice to share criminal records with civil authorities seeking to prosecute these types of violations that are based on minimal evidence, and significant subjective discretion will simply allow for more abusive actions by prosecutors. These types of “quality-of-life” offenses that do not require any intentional wrongdoing have historically been used in ways that disproportionately impact marginalized communities, including low-income residents, immigrants, Black and Brown communities, tenants, sex workers, and survivors of human trafficking and exploitation. Expanding access to criminal history information in these contexts puts these communities at risk for increased criminalization.
For these reasons, we strongly urge you to oppose AB 2001. Thank you for consideration of this very important matter.
Sincerely,
Ricci Joy Levy
President & CEO
Woodhull Freedom Foundation