BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 636|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 636
Author: Medina (D)
Amended: 4/29/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 8-0, 6/10/15
AYES: Liu, Runner, Block, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 7/14/15
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/11/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: student safety
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires postsecondary education
institutions to disclose to law enforcement the identity of an
alleged assailant if the institution determines that the alleged
assailant represents a serious or ongoing threat to the safety
of the campus community and the immediate assistance of law
enforcement is necessary.
ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law requires, under Title IX and the Jeanne
Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime
Statistics Act (Clery Act), colleges and universities, as a
condition of federal student aid program participation, to:
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1)Publish annual campus security reports, maintain crime logs,
provide timely warnings of crimes that present a public safety
risk, and maintain ongoing crime statistics.
2)Establish certain rights for victims of sexual assault,
including notification to victims of legal rights,
availability of counselling, the results of disciplinary
proceedings, safety options for victims, and offering
prevention and awareness programs. (United States Code, Title
20 §1681-1688, and §1092(f))
Existing state law:
1)Requires the governing board of each community college
district, the Trustees of the California State University, the
Regents of the University of California, and the governing
boards of independent postsecondary education institutions
receiving public funds for student financial assistance to
require the appropriate officials at each campus to compile
records of all occurrences reported to the campus of, and
arrests for, crimes that are committed on campus that involve
violence, hate violence, theft, destruction of property,
illegal drugs, or alcohol intoxication. (Education Code §
67380)
2)Requires any report made by a victim or an employee regarding
specified violent crimes, sexual assault, or a hate crime
which is received by a campus security authority and has been
made by the victim for purposes of notifying the institution
or law enforcement, to be disclosed immediately, or as soon as
practicably possible, to the local law enforcement agency with
which the institution has a written agreement clarifying
operational responsibilities for investigations. (EC § 67380)
3)Prohibits the report from identifying the victim without his
or her consent, and if the victim does not consent, the
alleged assailant also shall not be identified. (EC § 67380)
This bill:
1)Adds an exception to the prohibition on the disclosure to law
enforcement of the identity of an alleged assailant in cases
where the victim does not consent to being identified, to
require postsecondary education institutions to disclose the
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identity of the alleged assailant to local law enforcement if
the institution determines both of the following:
a) The alleged assailant represents a serious or ongoing
threat to the safety of students, employees, or the
institution.
b) The immediate assistance of the local law enforcement
agency is necessary to contact or detain the assailant.
2)Requires the institution to immediately inform the victim of
the disclosure.
3)Applies to the University of California, California State
University, California Community Colleges, and any
postsecondary educational institution receiving public funds
for student financial aid.
Comments
What types of crimes? This bill applies to the following
crimes:
1)Part 1 violent crimes, which includes willful homicide,
forcible rape, robbery, or aggravated assault.
2)Sexual assault, including but not be limited to, rape, forced
sodomy, forced oral copulation, rape by a foreign object,
sexual battery, or the threat of any of these.
3)Hate crimes, as described in Penal Code § 422.55.
Confidentiality. The United States Department of Education's
Office for Civil Rights issued questions and answers relative to
Title IX and sexual assault. This document states:
"For Title IX purposes, if a student requests that his or her
name not be revealed to the alleged perpetrator or asks that the
school not investigate or seek action against the alleged
perpetrator, the school should inform the student that honoring
the request may limit its ability to respond fully to the
incident, including pursuing disciplinary action against the
alleged perpetrator. The school should also explain that Title
IX includes protections against retaliation, and that school
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officials will not only take steps to prevent retaliation but
also take strong responsive action if it occurs.
"If the student still requests that his or her name not be
disclosed to the alleged perpetrator or that the school not
investigate or seek action against the alleged perpetrator, the
school will need to determine whether or not it can honor such a
request while still providing a safe and nondiscriminatory
environment for all students, including the student who reported
[the crime]."
[http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/qa-201404-title-i
x.pdf] (pages 18-22).
Title IX allows an institution to override the confidentiality
wishes of a victim in some instances. The institution may weigh
the request for confidentiality against its obligation to
provide a safe and nondiscriminatory environment for all
students, including the victim. In contrast, existing
California law gives the victim exclusive control over whether
the alleged assailant's identify is disclosed to law
enforcement.
This bill does not require the disclosure of the victim's
identity to law enforcement.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/5/15)
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities
California Association of Code Enforcement Officers
California College and University Police Chiefs Association
California Narcotic Officers Association
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Rancho Santiago Community College District
Riverside Sheriffs Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/5/15)
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University of California Student Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the Rancho Santiago
Community College District, "under provisions currently in the
Education code, reports made to law enforcement cannot identify
an assailant unless the victim consents to being identified.
Though this provision is well intentioned, it prevents
institutions of higher education from sharing the name of an
alleged assailant even in circumstances that are dangerous to
the student body and campus community. AB 636 continues to
respect the wish for confidentiality by victims, and assists
colleges and universities in fulfilling their obligation to
prevent sexual violence and protect the broader campus community
by allowing the university to provide the necessary information
to the local police when assistance is needed."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the University of
California Student Association, "this bill opens the door for
retaliation toward a survivor in the event that an assailant
becomes upset that they were reported. While UCSA wants all
sexual violence to be reported, we continue to support a
survivor's right to privacy and right to choose as a primary
right. Additionally, retaliation has been known to come not
only from the assailant, but from friends or associates of the
individual, creating a more vulnerable atmosphere for the
reporting individual."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/11/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood
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NO VOTE RECORDED: Atkins
Prepared by:Lynn Lorber / ED. / (916) 651-4105
8/13/15 13:24:36
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