BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 636
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Date of Hearing: April 7, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 636
(Medina) - As Introduced February 24, 2015
[Note: This bill is double referred to the Assembly Committee
on Public Safety and will be heard in that committee as it
relates to issues under its jurisdiction.]
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: student safety
SUMMARY: Authorizes, if an institution determines that an
alleged assailant represents a serious or ongoing threat to the
safety of the campus and the immediate assistance of police is
necessary to contact or detain the assailant, the institution to
disclose the identity of the alleged assailant to local law
enforcement.
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EXISTING LAW: Requires the governing board of public, private,
and independent postsecondary educational institution that
receives public funds to ensure any report made by a victim to a
campus law enforcement agency, regarding a Part 1 violent crime,
sexual assault, or hate crime, is disclosed immediately, or as
soon as practicably possible, to the local law enforcement
agency where the campus is located; and, stipulates the report
shall not identify the victim without the victim's consent, and
if the victim does not consent, the alleged assailant shall not
be identified. (Education Code Section 67380)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: In response to concerns that California university
campus administrators were underreporting sexual assaults and
mishandling cases in several ways, Education Code Section 67380
was amended last year to require campuses to pass along reports
of Part 1 violent crimes, sexual assaults and hate crimes that
occur on campus to local law enforcement agencies. The goal of
the requirement was to improve the working relationship between
campuses and local police and sheriffs' departments, which could
result in more thorough investigations, better outcomes for
victims, and safer communities.
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Under the new requirement, victims were provided the authority
to have their identity withheld from the report to law
enforcement. In such cases, institutions would also be
prohibited from identifying the alleged assailant. Earlier this
year, concerns were raised that providing the victim exclusive
control over withholding the alleged assailants name from law
enforcement could inhibit the ability of university officials to
protect the campus community.
This bill provides specific circumstances under which a
university may release an alleged assailants name to local law
enforcement. This bill does not authorize release of the
victim's name to local law enforcement unless the victim has
consented to being identified. According to the author, this
bill strikes the appropriate balance to support victims and to
protect the larger campus community.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities
Association of Associated Students of CSU, Sacramento
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California College and University Police Chiefs
California District Attorneys Association
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by:Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960
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