BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 47
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 47 (Gatto)
As Amended August 19, 2014
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 28, 2013) |SENATE: |35-1 |(August 21, 2014) |
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(vote not relevant)
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |7-0 |(August 26, 2014) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
|(Pub. S.) | | | | |
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-2 |(August 28, | | | |
| | |2014) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY : Authorizes a law enforcement agency to issue a "Yellow
Alert" if a person has been killed or has suffered serious
bodily injury due to a hit-and-run incident, and the law
enforcement agency has specified information regarding the
suspect or the suspect's vehicle.
The Senate Amendments delete the Assembly version of the bill,
and instead:
1)Provide that if a hit-and-run incident is reported to a law
enforcement agency and that agency determines that specified
requirements are met, the agency may request the California
Highway Patrol (CHP) to activate a Yellow Alert. If the CHP
concurs that the specified requirements are met, it shall
activate a Yellow Alert in the geographic area requested by
the investigating agency.
2)Define a "Yellow Alert" to mean a notification system
activated by the CHP, at the request of a local law
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enforcement agency, designed to issue and coordinate alerts
with respect to a hit-and-run incident resulting in death or
serious bodily injury to a person.
3)Authorizes a law enforcement agency to request that a Yellow
Alert be activated if the agency determines the following
conditions are met in regard to the investigation of the
hit-and-run incident:
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:
i) The complete license plate number of the suspect's
vehicle;
ii) A partial license plate number and the make, model,
and color of the suspect's vehicle; and,
iii) The identity of the suspect.
c) Public dissemination of available information could
either help avert further harm or accelerate the
apprehension of the suspect.
4)State that radio, television, and cable and satellite systems
are encouraged, but are not required, to cooperate with
disseminating the information contained in a Yellow Alert.
5)Require the CHP, upon activation of a Yellow Alert, to assist
the investigating law enforcement agency by issuing the Yellow
Alert via a local digital sign.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that if an abduction has been reported to a law
enforcement agency and the agency determines that a child 17
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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, shall request the activation of the Emergency Alert
System (EAS) within the appropriate local area.
2)Provides that California Highway Patrol (CHP) in consultation
with the Department of Justice, as well as a representative
from the California State Sheriffs' Association, the
California Police Chiefs' Association and the California
Police Officers' Association shall develop policies and
procedures providing instructions specifying how law
enforcement agencies, broadcasters participating in the EAS,
and where appropriate, other supplemental warning systems,
shall proceed after qualifying abduction has been reported to
a law enforcement agency.
3)Provides that in addition to the circumstances described under
existing law relating to "Amber Alerts", upon the request of
an authorized person at a law enforcement agency that is
investigating an offense, the CHP shall activate the EAS and
issue a blue alert if all of the following conditions are met:
a) A law enforcement officer has been killed, suffers
serious bodily injury, or is assaulted with a deadly
weapon, and the suspect has fled the scene of the offense;
b) A law enforcement agency investigating the offense has
determined that the suspect poses an imminent threat to the
public or other law enforcement personnel;
c) A detailed description of the suspect's vehicle or
license plate is available for broadcast;
d) Public dissemination of available information may help
avert further harm or accelerate apprehension of the
suspect; and,
e) The CHP has been designated to use the federally
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authorized EAS for the issuance of blue alerts.
4)Defines a "Blue Alert" as a quick response system designed to
issue and coordinate alerts following an attack upon a law
enforcement officer, as specified.
5)Provides that the blue alert system incorporates a variety of
notification resources and developing technologies that may be
tailored to the circumstances and geography of the underlying
attack. The blue alert system shall utilize the
state-controlled Emergency Digital Information System (EDIS),
local digital signs, focused text, or other technologies, as
appropriate, in addition to the federal EAS, if authorized and
under conditions permitted by the federal.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill increased the penalties for
calling the 911 telephone system with the intent to annoy or
harass another person, and service personnel are dispatched as a
result of the phone call.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)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.
2)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 would be dependent on
the volume of hit and run accidents triggering Yellow Alert
activation requests.
3)Non-reimbursable local law enforcement costs to determine
whether to request activation of a Yellow Alert.
4)Unknown, potential indirect cost pressure on the EDIS message
system to the extent there are a significant number of Yellow
Alert activations, thereby increasing the volume of EDIS
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messages generated.
*Motor Vehicle Account
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
"This bill would establish a "Yellow Alert" notification system,
which could be activated in response to a hit-and-run incident.
"I have just signed SB 1127, to add developmentally disabled
persons to the missing persons alert system. This expansion
should be tested before adding more categories of individuals
that could overload the system."
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN:
0005687