BILL NUMBER: SB 1353	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hernandez

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to amend Section 832.7 of the Penal Code, relating to peace
officers.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1353, as introduced, Hernandez. Peace officer records.
   Existing law requires peace officer or custodial officer personnel
records and records maintained by a state or local agency, or
information obtained from these records, to be confidential and
prohibits disclosure in a criminal or civil proceeding except by
discovery. Existing law authorizes a department or agency that
employs peace or custodial officers to release factual information
concerning a disciplinary investigation if the officer who is the
subject of the disciplinary investigation, or the officer's agent or
representative, publicly makes a statement he or she knows to be
false concerning the investigation or the imposition of disciplinary
action and the false statement was published by an established medium
of communication, such as television, radio, or a newspaper.
   This bill would authorize disclosure of factual information
concerning a disciplinary investigation if the officer who is the
subject of the disciplinary investigation, or the officer's agent or
representative, makes a false statement that is published by an
Internet Web site affiliated with a newspaper.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 832.7 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   832.7.  (a) Peace officer or custodial officer personnel records
and records maintained by  any   a  state
or local agency pursuant to Section 832.5, or information obtained
from these records, are confidential and shall not be disclosed in
 any   a  criminal or civil proceeding
except by discovery pursuant to Sections 1043 and 1046 of the
Evidence Code. This section shall not apply to investigations or
proceedings concerning the conduct of peace officers or custodial
officers, or an agency or department that employs those officers,
conducted by a grand jury, a district attorney's office, or the
Attorney General's office.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a department or agency shall
release to the complaining party a copy of his or her own statements
at the time the complaint is filed.
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a department or agency that
employs peace or custodial officers may disseminate data regarding
the number, type, or disposition of complaints (sustained, not
sustained, exonerated, or unfounded) made against its officers if
that information is in a form  which   that
 does not identify the individuals involved.
   (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a department or agency that
employs peace or custodial officers may release factual information
concerning a disciplinary investigation if the officer who is the
subject of the disciplinary investigation, or the officer's agent or
representative, publicly makes a statement he or she knows to be
false concerning the investigation or the imposition of disciplinary
action. Information may not be disclosed by the peace or custodial
officer's employer unless the false statement was published by an
established medium of communication, such as television, radio, or a
newspaper  or an Internet Web site affiliated with a newspaper
 . Disclosure of factual information by the employing agency
pursuant to this subdivision is limited to facts contained in the
officer's personnel file concerning the disciplinary investigation or
imposition of disciplinary action that specifically refute the false
statements made public by the peace or custodial officer or his or
her agent or representative.
   (e) (1) The department or agency shall provide written
notification to the complaining party of the disposition of the
complaint within 30 days of the disposition.
   (2) The notification described in this subdivision shall not be
conclusive or binding or admissible as evidence in  any
  a  separate or subsequent action or proceeding
brought before an arbitrator, court, or judge of this state or the
United States.
   (f) Nothing in this section shall affect the discovery or
disclosure of information contained in a peace or custodial officer's
personnel file pursuant to Section 1043 of the Evidence Code.