BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                 UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 458
          Author:   Wright (D), et al.
          Amended:  9/6/13
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 4/9/13
          AYES:  Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 5/6/13
          AYES:  De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg

           SENATE FLOOR  :  37-0, 5/16/13
          AYES:  Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella,  
            Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller,  
            Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff,  
            Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Nielsen,  
            Padilla, Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Walters, Wolk, Wright,  
            Wyland, Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Price, Vacancy, Vacancy

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  66-10, 9/10/13 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Gangs:  statewide database

          SOURCE  :     Youth Justice Coalition


           DIGEST  :      This bill requires a local law enforcement agency  
          to provide written notice to a minor and his/ her parent or  
          guardian prior to designating that minor as a suspected gang  
          member, associate, or affiliate in a shared gang database, as  
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          specified. 

           Assembly Amendments  (1) authorize the person or his/her parent  
          or guardian to submit written documentation contesting a  
          designation and requires the local law enforcement agency to  
          provide written verification, as specified, of its decision  
          within 60 days; (2) require a shared gang database to retain  
          records consistent with specified federal criminal intelligence  
          systems; and (3) add a number of technical and clarifying  
          amendments.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1. Defines a "criminal street gang" as any ongoing organization,  
             association, or group of three or more persons having as one  
             of its primary activities the commission of one or more  
             enumerated offenses, having a common name or identifying sign  
             or symbol, and whose members engage in a pattern of gang  
             activity.  

          2. Provides that any person who actively participates in a  
             criminal street gang with knowledge that its members engage  
             in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity and  
             who promotes, furthers, or assists in any felonious conduct  
             by members of the gang, is guilty of an alternate  
             felony-misdemeanor.

          3  Provides that any person who is convicted of a felony  
             committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in  
             association with any criminal street gang, with the specific  
             intent to promote, further, or assist in criminal conduct by  
             gang members, shall receive a sentence enhancement.

          This bill:

          1. Defines, for the purposes of this bill, "shared gang  
             database" to mean any database that:

             A.    Allows access for any local law enforcement agency.

             B.    Contains personal, identifying information in which a  
                person may be designated as a suspected gang member,  

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                associate, or affiliate or for which entry of a person in  
                the database reflects a designation of that person as  
                suspected gang member, associate or affiliate. 

             C.    Is subject to federal criminal intelligence system  
                operating policies.

          2. Requires a local law enforcement agency, to the extent it  
             chooses to use a shared gang database, prior to the agency  
             designating a minor as a gang member, associate, or affiliate  
             in a shared gang database or submitting a document to the  
             Attorney General's office for the purpose of designating a  
             minor in a shared gang database, to provide written notice to  
             the minor and his/her parent or guardian of the designation  
             and its basis, except when providing notification would  
             compromise an active criminal investigation or compromise the  
             health and safety of the minor.

          3. Authorizes a person designated as a suspected gang member,  
             associate, or affiliate, or his/her parent or guardian,  
             subsequent to the notice described above, to submit written  
             documentation to the local law enforcement agency contesting  
             the designation.  Requires the local law enforcement agency  
             to review the documentation and to remove the person from the  
             database if the agency determines that the person is not a  
             suspected gang member, associate, or affiliate and to provide  
             the person and his/her parent or guardian with written  
             verification of the agency's decision within 60 days of the  
             submission of the document contesting the designation.

          4. Provides that the person designated as a suspected gang  
             member, associate, or affiliate, or his/her parent or  
             guardian, is able to request information as to whether the  
             person has been designated as a suspected gang member,  
             associate, or affiliate; and requires the local law  
             enforcement agency to provide that information unless doing  
             so would compromise an active criminal investigation or  
             compromise the health or safety of the minor.

          5. Prohibits the local law enforcement agency from disclosing  
             the location of the person designated as a suspected gang  
             member, associate, or affiliate to his/her parent or guardian  
             if the agency determines there is credible evidence that the  
             information would endanger the health or safety of the minor.

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          6. Requires a shared gang database to retain records related to  
             the gang activity of the individuals in the database  
             consistent with specified federal criminal intelligence  
             system operating policies.

          7. Provides that nothing in this bill requires a local law  
             enforcement agency to disclose any protected information, as  
             specified.

           Background
           
          The CalGang database, which is housed by the Department of  
          Justice (DOJ), is accessed by law enforcement officers in 58  
          counties, and contains personal, identifying information such as  
          age, race, photographs, tattoos, criminal associates, addresses,  
          vehicles, criminal histories, and activities.  According to the  
          Youth Justice Coalition report, Tracked and Trapped:  Youth of  
          Color, Gang Databases and Gang Injunctions (December 2012),  
          approximately 200,000 persons are listed on the CalGang  
          database, with approximately 12% of those listed aged 19 years  
          or younger.

          In addition to the CalGang database, the DOJ's Web site  
          indicates 11 regional databases maintained by local law  
          enforcement agencies in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside,  
          Sonoma, San Diego, Kern, Fresno, San Jose, Santa Barbara, and  
          Orange County.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, potentially  
          state-reimbursable ongoing local law enforcement costs in excess  
          of $150,000 (General Fund) per year to notify minors and parents  
          prior to designation in a shared gang database.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  9/10/13)

          Youth Justice Coalition (source)
          Advancement Project
          All of Us or None
          American Civil Liberties Union
          American Friends Service Committee

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          Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
          California Catholic Conference
          California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement 
          California Public Defenders Association
          Californians United for a Responsible Budget 
          Children's Defense Fund - California
          Coalition Against Gun Violence
          Congress of Racial Equality of California
          Friends Committee on Legislation of California
          Gay-Straight Alliance Network
          Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
          National Juvenile Justice Network
          The W. Haywood Burns Institute

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office, this  
          bill is a modest step to require local law enforcement  
          departments to notify parents/guardians when youth under the age  
          of 18 are added to a gang database.  It also provides for a  
          process to inquire if a juvenile is on the databases, to ensure  
          accuracy and to remove a name.  It adopts the current DOJH  
          guidelines to clean out the data base every five years with  
          appropriate exceptions.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  66-10, 9/10/13
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Daly,  
            Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez,  
            Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Hagman, Hall, Roger Hernández,  
            Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,  
            Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin,  
            Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea,  
            V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Skinner, Stone,  
            Ting, Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada
          NOES:  Dahle, Donnelly, Gray, Grove, Harkey, Jones, Mansoor,  
            Salas, Waldron, Wilk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Beth Gaines, John A. Pérez, Vacancy, Vacancy


          JG:d  9/11/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE


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