BILL NUMBER: AB 2505	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 8, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Audra Strickland

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

    An act relating to school districts.   An
act to amend Section 1526 of the Penal Code, relating to warrants.




	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2505, as amended, Audra Strickland.  School districts:
unification.   Warrants: electronic signature: computer
server transmission.  
   Existing law establishes various grounds for the issuance of a
search warrant. Existing law requires a search warrant to be issued
upon probable cause, supported by affidavit, naming or describing the
person to be searched or searched for, and particularly describing
the property, thing, or things and the place to be searched. 

   Under existing law, a magistrate may examine a person seeking a
warrant under oath and is required to take a signed affidavit or
affidavits. Under existing law, an oath may be made to a magistrate
using a telephone and facsimile transmission equipment or by using a
telephone and electronic mail and the affiant may sign the affidavit
using a digital signature. Existing law requires the magistrate to
cause the warrant, supporting affidavit, and attachments to be
printed if received by electronic mail, and to return them to the
court to be open to the public once the warrant is executed and
returned. Existing law also provides that a magistrate may authorize
a "duplicate original" for a remote affiant which, after its
execution, is also required to be returned.  
   This bill would allow an oath to be made using, in addition, a
telephone and computer server, and would allow the affiant's
signature to be in the form of an electronic signature. This bill
would delete the requirement that the magistrate cause the warrant,
supporting affidavit, and attachments to be printed if received by
electronic mail or computer server, and would, in cases with fax,
electronic mail, or server affidavits, delete the requirement that
the magistrate return the printed documents to the court, leaving
only the "duplicate original" to be returned by the remote affiant.
This bill would allow the magistrate to sign the warrant using a
digital signature or electronic signature if electronic mail or
computer server is used.  
   Existing law defines an "action to reorganize districts" as either
an action to form a new school district or an action to transfer
territory. Existing law provides that the creation of a new school
district for purposes of that definition includes, among other
actions, the unification of school districts, including the
consolidation of all or part of one or more high school districts
with all or part of one or more component school districts into one
or more new unified school districts.  
   This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would encourage the unification of school districts
in order to promote cost savings. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 1526 of the   Penal
Code   is amended to read: 
   1526.  (a) The magistrate, before issuing the warrant, may examine
on oath the person seeking the warrant and any witnesses the person
may produce, and shall take his or her affidavit or their affidavits
in writing, and cause the affidavit or affidavits to be subscribed by
the party or parties making them.
   (b) In lieu of the written affidavit required in subdivision (a),
the magistrate may take an oral statement under oath under one of the
following conditions:
   (1) The oath shall be made under penalty of perjury and recorded
and transcribed. The transcribed statement shall be deemed to be an
affidavit for the purposes of this chapter. In these cases, the
recording of the sworn oral statement and the transcribed statement
shall be certified by the magistrate receiving it and shall be filed
with the clerk of the court. In the alternative in these cases, the
sworn oral statement shall be recorded by a certified court reporter
and the transcript of the statement shall be certified by the
reporter, after which the magistrate receiving it shall certify the
transcript which shall be filed with the clerk of the court.
   (2) The oath is made using telephone and facsimile transmission
equipment,  or made using  telephone and electronic
mail,  or telephone and computer server,  as follows:
   (A) The oath is made during a telephone conversation with the
magistrate, whereafter the affiant shall sign his or her affidavit in
support of the application for the search warrant. The affiant's
signature shall be in the form of a digital signature  or
electronic signature  if electronic mail  or computer server
 is used for transmission to the magistrate. The proposed
search warrant and all supporting affidavits and attachments shall
then be transmitted to the magistrate utilizing facsimile
transmission equipment  or   ,  electronic
mail  , or computer server  .
   (B) The magistrate shall confirm with the affiant the receipt of
the search warrant and the supporting affidavits and attachments. The
magistrate shall verify that all the pages sent have been received,
that all pages are legible, and that the affiant's signature 
or   ,  digital signature  , or electronic
signature  is acknowledged as genuine.
   (C) If the magistrate decides to issue the search warrant, he or
she shall: 
   (i) Cause the warrant, supporting affidavit, and attachments to be
printed if received by electronic mail.  
   (ii) 
    (i)  Sign the warrant.  The magistrate's signature
may be in the form of a digital signature or electronic signature if
electronic mail or computer server is used for transmission to the
magistrate.  
   (iii) 
    (ii)  Note on the warrant the exact date and time of the
issuance of the warrant. 
   (iv) 
    (iii)  Indicate on the warrant that the oath of the
affiant was administered orally over the telephone.
   The completed search warrant, as signed by the magistrate, shall
be deemed to be the original warrant.
   (D) The magistrate shall transmit via facsimile transmission
equipment,  or via  electronic mail,  or
computer server,  the signed search warrant to the affiant who
shall telephonically acknowledge its receipt. The  Magistrate
  magistrate  shall then telephonically authorize
the affiant to write the words "duplicate original" on the copy of
the completed search warrant transmitted to the affiant and this
document shall be deemed to be a duplicate original search warrant.
The  duplicate  original warrant and any affidavits or
attachments in support thereof  , and any duplicate original
warrant,  shall be returned as provided in Section 1534.

  SECTION 1.    It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation that would encourage the unification of school
districts in order to promote cost savings.