BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1195
Author: Eggman (D), et al.
Amended: 4/9/13 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-1, 6/4/13
AYES: Hancock, Block, De Le�n, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
NOES: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 4/22/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Public records: crime victims
SOURCE : El Concilio
DIGEST : This bill prohibits law enforcement agencies from
requiring proof of legal presence in the United States and
refusing to accept certain forms of identification, if
identification is required, for the disclosure of crime reports
and other related records required to be disclosed under the
California Public Records Act (PRA).
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.The PRA requires public records to be open to inspection by
the public except as specifically exempted from disclosure.
CONTINUED
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2.Requires each state or local agency, upon a request for a copy
of records that reasonably describes an identifiable record or
records (except for those exempt from disclosure), to make the
records promptly available to any person upon payment of fees
covering direct costs of duplication, or a statutory fee if
applicable.
3.Exempts from disclosure, among many other things,
investigatory and security files compiled by any state or
local law enforcement agency. However, certain items of
information contained in such records are permitted to be
disclosed unless disclosure would endanger the successful
completion of the investigation or endanger the safety of a
witness or the victim or other persons involved in the
investigation.
This bill:
1.Provides that a state or local law enforcement agency shall
not require a victim of an incident, or an authorized
representative thereof, to show proof of the victim's legal
presence in the United States in order to obtain the
information required to be disclosed by that law enforcement
agency, as specified.
2.Provides however, if, for identification purposes, a state or
local law enforcement agency requires identification in order
for a victim of an incident, or an authorized representative
thereof, to obtain that information, the agency shall, at a
minimum, accept a current driver's license or identification
card issued by any state in the United States, a current
passport issued by the United States or a foreign government
with which the United States has a diplomatic relationship, or
a current Matricula Consular card.
Background
Under the PRA, information associated with a particular crime
includes, but is not limited to, the following: (1) the time,
substance, and location of all complaints or requests for
assistance received by the agency; (2) the time and nature of
the response thereto; (3) the time, date, and location of the
occurrence; (4) the time and date of the report; (5) the name
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and age of the victim; (6) the factual circumstances surrounding
the crime or incident; and (7) a general description of any
injuries, property, or weapons involved.
According to the California Immigrant Policy Center there are
many legitimate reasons why a crime victim would seek a copy of
the crime report that he or she is entitled to access under the
PRA. For example, victims of human trafficking or other crimes
who apply for a U-visa or T-visa under the Violence Against
Women's Act would largely benefit from accessing their crime
records to support their applications. A crime report can help
a victim of domestic violence obtain a restraining order or
initiate divorce proceedings in an expedient matter. In
addition, a victim of identity theft needs to obtain a crime
report in order to create an Identity Theft Report with the
Federal Trade Commission.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/24/13)
El Concilio (source)
American Civil Liberties Union
Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Catholic Conference
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Labor Federation
California Labor Federation
California Latino Legislative Caucus
California Partnership
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
Californians for Safety and Justice
Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking
Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto
Council for the Spanish Speaking
Crime Victims Action Alliance
Crime Victims United of California
East Bay Sanctuary Convenant
Haven Women's Center of Stanislaus
Hunger Action Los Angeles
Immigration Center for Women and Children
Improving Dreams, Equity, Access and Success-IDEAS at SF State
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Long Beach Immigration Rights Coalition
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Mujeres Unidas y Activas
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza
North Valley Federation
Pangea Legal Services
Service Employees International Union California
The Greenlining Institute
United Farm Workers
Women's Center-Youth and Family Services
Women's Crisis Support-Defensa de Mujeres
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
This bill ensures that crime victims have access to their
crime report as required by the California Public Records
Act. There are reports of some victims of crime being
denied their crime report due to their residency status.
Current law does not require proof of identification or
spell out what forms of identification are acceptable if a
victim wishes to access their crime report. In practice,
most law enforcement agencies require proof of
identification to support a request for a crime report.
Some jurisdictions, however, are denying specific
categories of identification, such as the Matricula
Consular card or foreign passports without supporting
documentation proving the holder's legal presence within
the United States.
This bill will remedy the problem by prescribing what
acceptable forms of identification are without actually
mandating that a law enforcement agency require
identification in order to access a crime report.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 4/22/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Grove, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Medina,
Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
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Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Torres, Wagner, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Hagman, Lowenthal, Mansoor,
Waldron, Weber, Vacancy
JG:nl 6/25/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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