BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 47| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 47 Author: Gatto (D) Amended: 7/1/14 in Senate Vote: 21 PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-1, 6/24/14 AYES: Hancock, De León, Knight, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg NOES: Anderson SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14 AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines SUBJECT : Emergency services: hit-and-run incidents SOURCE : City of Los Angeles DIGEST : This bill creates a Yellow Alert system similar to the Silver Alert system to notify the public when a hit and run incident has occurred to aid in the apprehension of the suspect, as specified. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Provides that if a law enforcement agency determines that a child, 17 years of age or younger, or an individual with a CONTINUED AB 47 Page 2 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 shall request the activation of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) within the appropriate local area, commonly known as the "Amber Alert." 2. Provides that the California Highway Patrol (CHP) in consultation with the Department of Justice (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 EAS, and where appropriate, other supplemental warning systems, shall proceed after a qualifying abduction has been reported to a law enforcement agency. 3. Defines "Blue Alert" to mean a quick response system designed to issue and coordinate alerts following an attack upon a law enforcement officer. 4. Provides that upon the request of an authorized person at a law enforcement agency that is investigating an offense where a law enforcement officers has been killed, suffers serious bodily injury, or is assaulted with a deadly weapon; the suspect has fled the scene of the offense and is determined an imminent threat to the public or others; a detailed description of the suspect's vehicle or license plate is available; and public dissemination of available information may help avert further harm or accelerate apprehension of the suspect, then CHP shall activate the EAS and issue a Blue Alert, as specified. 5. Provides that the Blue Alert incorporate a variety of notification resources and developing technologies that may be tailored to the circumstances and geography of the underlying attacking. The Blue Alert system must utilize the state-controlled Emergency Digital Information System (EDIS), local digital signs, focused text, or other technologies, as appropriate. 6. Defines "Silver Alert" to mean a notification system CONTINUED AB 47 Page 3 designed to issue and coordinate alerts with respect to a person reported missing who is 65 years of age or older. 7. Provides that when a person 65 years of age or older is reported missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances and the investigating law enforcement agency determines that person is in potential danger, as specified, the law enforcement agency must request that CHP activate a Silver Alert if disseminating information to the public could assist in the safe recovery of the missing person. This bill: 1. Defines "Yellow Alert" to mean "a notification system ? designed to issue and coordinate alerts with respect to a hit and run incident resulting in the death or injury of a person." 2. Authorizes an investigating law enforcement agency to request that CHP activate a Yellow Alert if the law enforcement agency determines that the following conditions are met: A. A person has been killed or has suffered serious bodily injury due to a hit and run incident. B. The investigating law enforcement agency has additional information concerning the suspect or the suspect's vehicle, including, but not limited to, any of the following: (1) The complete license plate number of the suspect's vehicle. (2) A partial license plate number and the make, model, and color of the suspect's vehicle. (3) The identity of the suspect. A. Public dissemination of available information could either help avert further harm or accelerate apprehension CONTINUED AB 47 Page 4 of the suspect. 1. Requires CHP, if CHP concurs that the requirements above are met, to activate a Yellow Alert within the geographic area requested by the investigating law enforcement agency. CHP will issue a Yellow Alert via a be-on-the-lookout alert, an Emergency Digital Information Service message, local digital sign, or an electronic flyer to assist the investigating law enforcement agency. 2. Encourages radio, television, and cable and satellite systems to cooperate in disseminating information contained in a Yellow Alert. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Potential one-time costs of about $100,000 (Special Fund*) to the CHP to develop policies and procedures, provide training, and develop resource materials for staff and law enforcement agencies for the new alert. Potential first-year costs of $500,000 (Special Fund*) and ongoing costs of $340,000 to the CHP to confirm information, as well as activate and staff Yellow Alerts upon request of local law enforcement agencies. Costs will be dependent on the volume of hit and run accidents triggering Yellow Alert activation requests. Non-reimbursable local law enforcement costs to determine whether to request activation of a Yellow Alert. Unknown, potential indirect cost pressure on EDIS message system to the extent there are a significant number of Yellow Alert activations, thereby increasing the volume of EDIS messages generated. *Motor Vehicle Account CONTINUED AB 47 Page 5 SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/14) City of Los Angeles (source) AFSCME Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs Bike Bakersfield Bike East Bay California Bicycle Coalition California Council of the Blind California State Firefighters' Association California Walks City of Los Angeles Coalition for Sustainable Transportation Conor Lynch Foundation Inland Empire Biking Alliance L.A. Bike Trains Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition Los Angles Walks Marin County Bicycle Coalition People Power Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates Safe Routes to School National Partnership San Diego County Bicycle Coalition San Francisco Bicycle Coalition San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition Shasta Living Streets Transportation Authority of Marin Walk and Bike Mendocino Wolfpack Hustle Women on Bikes Initiative OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/15/14) Department of Finance ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author: Hit and run accidents have risen dramatically in recent years with law enforcement as well as biking and walking advocates looking for ways to hold the cowards who commit these crimes more accountable for their actions. In the City of Los Angeles, known as the epicenter of this horrible epidemic, L.A.P.D. Chief Charlie Beck thought that a combination of new laws, stiffer penalties, and increased CONTINUED AB 47 Page 6 awareness would lead drivers to take greater responsibility for their actions. AB 47 falls into the category of new laws Chief Beck calls for. The measure would create a "Yellow Alert" that would allow local law enforcement to ask the California Highway Patrol to access to their emergency notification systems, on a regional level, when there is a hit and run accident only if certain criteria are met. This measure is based on legislation that was recently enacted in the state of Colorado, where a rise in tragic hit and runs, as well as the tragic hit and run death of Denver valet Jose Medina just days before his wedding, prompted the creation of the Medina Alert for hit and run accidents for all of Colorado. In the period of time these alerts were used in the city of Denver, before statewide enactment, 13 of 17 hit and runs that triggered these alerts were solved-a nearly 76% success rate. ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Department of Finance states, this bill is duplicative of current systems (e.g. BOLO "Be On the Look Out" and APBnet") that already provide notification of an incident, which does not necessarily have to be as a result of death or serious injury, to assist in apprehending a suspected hit-and run driver. The costs are unjustified for the marginal benefit. JG:d 8/15/14 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED