MW: Midwest Health of Sex Workers Act

[Representative Joe Mad]

So I originally meant to post this way earlier, but anyway.

The thing the gives me pause are the rather lengthy prison sentences and fines.  Obviously attempting to sell sex without getting the proper checkups and/or while having an STD is very bad, and should be punished in some form.  However, it must be noted that sex workers are often very disadvantaged individuals, simply attempting to make ends meet.  Leveling massive fines and including jail time can hurt more than it helps.  So I guess my question is: is there a way we could look more at rehabilitation than punishment in this case?

I've looked over the Midwest Prostitution Act, and while it certainly lays down some good rules regarding sex work, there are some issues it has.  Employers at brothels are allowed to take a chunk of the profits earned by the sex workers, and with sex work itself being taxed at 50%, it would hardly surprise me if workers decided to attempt to earn their money on the streets, away from the high taxes.  Which could lead them to violence, exploitation, and disease.  So I'd be willing to vote on a modified version of this bill, but sincerely think we need to tool with the other one as well.

[Representative Joe Mad]

Oh I'm fine with sex workers not being allowed to continue their work if they have an incurable STD.  And the overall purpose of the bill is going in the right direction.  I guess I'd just do it a bit differently.  $10,000 is a whole hell of a lot of money for the average individual.  So, I'd rather that were a worker to miss a visit, they'd simply not be able to legally perform sex work until they made that visit up.  Fines could come in if they were caught attempting to do so without making the proper visits, with increasingly severe penalties in the cases of 1.3 or (especially) 1.4.

In regards to the original legislation I'd love to work on that.  And you not being able to reach me explains a lot, as I figured I'd get some sort of response.  Not sure exactly what the issue is though, as I've gotten PMs within the last few days with no problems.