BILL ANALYSIS
AB 33
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 33 (Nava and Cook)
As Amended August 19, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(June 1, 2009) |SENATE: |35-0 |(August 24, 2010) |
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(vote not relevant)
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |5-0 |(August 26, 2010) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
|Public Safety | | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: B. & F.
SUMMARY : Mandates the release of information related to sex
offenders when a stranger abduction occurs, as specified.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of the bill, and
instead:
1)Require the Violent Crime Information Center make available
within two hours of a reported stranger abduction of a child, a
list of persons required to register as sex offenders based on
the method of operation of the sex offenders or the specified
geographical location from which the child was taken.
2)State the intent of the Legislature is to encourage law
enforcement agencies to obtain and utilize the list of registered
sex offenders from the Violent Crime Information Center in the
event of a reported stranger abduction of a child.
3)Require the department to make accessible to law enforcement
agencies, via a department bulletin and the California Law
Enforcement Web, the commission's "Guidelines For Handling
Missing Persons Investigations" or any subsequent similar
guidelines created by the commission, relating to the
investigation of missing persons.
4)Require, by January 1, 2012, law enforcement agencies, to adopt a
AB 33
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checklist document directing peace officers on investigation
guidelines and resources available to them in the early hours of
an investigation; adopt a policy, regulations, or guidelines on
missing persons investigations that is consistent with state and
federal law; and utilize the department's missing person
reporting form, at a minimum for the initial contact with the
parent or family member reporting a missing person. Because the
bill would impose new duties on local agencies with respect to
missing person investigations, the bill would create a
state-mandated local program.
5)Specify that the Violent Crime Information Center is an
"investigative support unit."
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that the California Highway Patrol (CHP), in conjunction
with the Department of Justice (DOJ), shall develop a
comprehensive child abduction education system to educate
children in the state on the appropriate behavior to deter
abduction. The CHP shall convene a group consisting of a
representative from the California State Sheriffs' Association,
the California Police Chiefs' Association, and the California
Peace Officers' Association, representatives of advocacy groups,
and the Department of Education to assist in the development of a
plan.
2)Provides if an abduction has been reported to a law enforcement
agency and the agency determines that a child 17 years of age or
younger, or an individual with a proven mental or physical
disability, has been abducted and is in imminent danger of
serious bodily injury or death, and there is information
available that, if disseminated to the general public, could
assist in the safe recovery of the victim, the agency, through a
person authorized to activate the Emergency Alert System, shall,
absent extenuating investigative needs, request activation of the
Emergency Alert System within the appropriate local area. Law
enforcement agencies shall only request activation of the
Emergency Alert System for abduction if these requirements are
met. The Emergency Alert System is not intended to be used for
abductions resulting from custody disputes that are not
reasonably believed to endanger the life or physical health of a
child. The CHP, if requested by a law enforcement agency, shall
activate the system.
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3)Specifies that the CHP, in consultation with DOJ, as well as a
representative from the California State Sheriffs' Association,
the California Police Chiefs' Association, and the California
Peace Officers' Association, shall develop policies and
procedures providing instruction specifying how law enforcement
agencies, broadcasters participating in the Emergency Alert
System, and any other intermediate emergency agencies that may
institute activation of the Emergency Alert System, and, where
appropriate, other supplemental warning systems, shall proceed
after a qualifying abduction has been reported to a law
enforcement agency. Those policies and procedures shall include,
but not be limited to:
a) Procedures for transfer of information regarding the
abducted victim and abduction from the law enforcement agency
to the broadcasters;
b) Specification of the event code or codes that should be
used if the Emergency Alert System is activated to report a
qualifying child abduction;
c) Recommended language for an abduction alert;
d) Specification of information that must be included by the
reporting law enforcement agency, including which agency a
person with information relating to the abduction should
contact and how the person should contact the agency; and,
e) Recommendations on the extent of the geographical area to
which a child abduction emergency alert should be broadcast.
4)States that the CHP, in consultation with the DOJ, shall review
the Amber Plan as adopted by other states and Orange County's
Child Abduction Regional Emergency Alert Program for guidance in
developing appropriate policies and procedures for use of the
Emergency Alert System and, where appropriate, other supplemental
warning systems to report qualifying abductions.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill created the California
Department of Financial Services.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
DOJ notifications/information minor and absorbable workload.
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General mandate: local law enforcement; potentially significant
costs.
COMMENTS : This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and
the Assembly-approved provisions of this bill were deleted. This
bill, as amended in the Senate is inconsistent with Assembly
actions.
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0006803