BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1955| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1955 Author: Block (D) Amended: 6/21/12 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/13/12 AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price, Simitian NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Blakeslee, Huff, Vargas, Vacancy SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/26/12 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Campus law enforcement and student liaison SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill requires the California State University (CSU) Trustees, and requests the University of California (UC) Regents, to designate an individual at each of its respective campuses to serve as a liaison between campus law enforcement agencies and students exercising constitutionally guaranteed rights. ANALYSIS : Existing law prohibits the Regents of the UC, the Trustees of the CSU, local community college governing boards, or administrators of any campus of these institutions from subjecting a student to disciplinary action solely on the basis of speech or communication CONTINUED AB 1955 Page 2 which, if it were engaged in outside of campus, is protected from governmental restriction by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution or by specified provisions of the California Constitution. Existing law also provides that these provisions do not prohibit the imposition of discipline for harassment, threats, or intimidation, unless constitutionally protected, nor do they prohibit an institution from adopting rules and regulations designed to prevent hate violence, as defined. (Education Code Section 66301) This bill: 1. Requires the Trustees of the CSU to designate an individual at each of its campuses to serve as a liaison between campus law enforcement agencies and students exercising rights guaranteed by the U.S. and California Constitutions. 2. Requests the Regents of the UC to comply with these same requirements. Comments Related informational hearings . In December 2011 and March 2012, the Senate Education Committee and Assembly Higher Education Committee held joint informational and oversight hearings related to campus protest incidents on public university campuses. In December, the committees held an informational hearing on UC and CSU Policies, Procedures and Responses to Campus Police and On-campus Demonstrations. In May the committees held an oversight hearing, Follow-up on UC/CSU Reports and Investigations: Policies, and Procedures and Responses for On-campus Demonstrations. These entities reported upon progress in implementing recommendations, outlined additional steps being taken in response to the report findings and highlighted additional concerns needing to be addressed. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 7/2/12) AB 1955 Page 3 AFSCME, AFL-CIO National Association of Social Workers ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, several protests in the fall of 2011 highlighted the need for effective communication between police, students, and university administration. This bill is intended to respond to recommendations from reports and reviews which were initiated after protest incidents occurred at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and at a meeting of the CSU Trustees in Long Beach, CA: 1. Reynoso Task Force Report . At the request of the President of the UC, an independent review of campus protest incidents at UC Davis was conducted and completed in March 2012. Among its various findings and recommendations, the Task Force recommended that the leadership team at the UC Davis campus engage in proactive communication and consultation with various groups, including the Graduate Student Association and the Associated Students of UC Davis. 2. Response to Protests on UC Campuses: A Report to President Mark G. Yudof, May 2012 . As requested by the President of the UC, the General Counsel for the UC and the Dean of the law school at UC Berkeley initiated a review of policies and practices regarding the UC's response to demonstrations and civil disobedience with the intent to identify best practices to inform the response to future demonstrations. The draft report, issued in May 2012, includes recommendations that campus officials communicate with protestors in advance of a planned demonstration. Generally, the UC recommended outreach occur by a member of the campus administration, selected on a case-by-case basis after considering skills and experience and existing relationships with the specific protestors. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/26/12 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, AB 1955 Page 4 Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Furutani, Halderman, Harkey, Jones, Smyth PQ:k 7/3/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****