BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1118
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1118 (Bonta) - As Amended April 16, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill establishes a Procedural Justice Task Force to be
administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections
(BSCC) Specifically, this bill:
AB 1118
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1)Establishes a Procedural Justice Task Force to be administered
by the BSCC and specifies that the purpose of the task force
includes the following:
a) To provide for grant funding to local law enforcement
departments for the purpose of implementing and enhancing
procedural justice training;
b) To provide for a matching grant program, whereby
philanthropic organizations may invest directly in
procedural justice training;
2)Requires the task force to manage the grant programs, monitor
implementation, and serve in an advisory capacity to sites
leading implementation, and authorizes the task force to hire
necessary staff, hold hearings, sign agreements, appoint
advisors, and accept federal funds and donations,
3)Provides that the task force shall be composed of 12 specified
members, including two representatives from specified
categories, one of whom shall be appointed by the President
Pro Tempore of the Senate and one of whom shall be appointed
by the Speaker of the Assembly.
4)Provides that the task force shall award grants to local law
enforcement agency applicants with a procedural justice
training program that meets specified minimum requirements.
5)Requires that, in consultation with the task force, the
Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)
develop a model procedural justice training curriculum, by an
unspecified date. The task force and POST are required to work
together to determine the appropriate length and content of
the course.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)One-time implementation costs of approximately $450,000 (GF)
AB 1118
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to BSCC. Ongoing costs in the range of $350,000 (GF), but
will depend on the funds available for the grant program and
the date by which BSCC and POST must develop the required
procedural justice training curriculum.
2)Unknown pressure on the GF to provide unspecified grants to
local law enforcement departments.
3)Unknown cost (GF) to POST to work with the task force to
develop the procedural justice training curriculum.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose and Background. According to the author, "Underlying
social, racial, and economic disparities have long created
rifts between law enforcement and the communities they are
sworn to protect. However, Fruitvale Station and Oscar Grant,
Ferguson and Michael Brown, and now North Charleston and
Walter Scott, all have exposed and brought to light these deep
rifts and reinforced the need to repair community-police
relations by moving beyond the status quo. With AB 1118, I
propose to improve community-police relations by implementing
and expanding the use of procedural justice in police
departments across California."
"Procedural justice has four core tenets:
Respect: Treating people with dignity and respect;
Neutrality: Making decisions fairly, based on facts, not
illegitimate factors such as race;
Voice: Giving people a chance to tell their side of the
story; and
Trust: Acting in a way that encourages community members
to believe that they will be treated with goodwill in the
future."
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"Procedural justice is already being used in Oakland,
Stockton, and Salinas, to reflect the unique needs of those
communities and change the culture within the police
departments. The training has been vetted in academic studies,
and within departments procedural justice has received largely
positive feedback from police chiefs to the rank-and-file."
"Oakland has a long history of distrust and violence, but
procedural justice is allowing law enforcement and the
community to come together and bridge those gaps, in order to
slow the cycle of violence and make the community whole."
Current law states that the mission of BSCC is to include
providing statewide leadership, coordination, and technical
assistance to promote effective state and local efforts and
partnerships in California's adult and juvenile criminal
justice system, including addressing gang problems. This
mission is required to reflect the principle of aligning
fiscal policy and correctional practices, including, but not
limited to prevention, intervention, suppression, supervision,
and incapacitation, to promote a justice investment strategy
that fits each county and is consistent with the integrated
statewide goal of improved public safety through
cost-effective, promising, and evidence-based strategies for
managing criminal justice populations.
2)Argument in Support: According to The California Police
Chiefs Association, "The California Police Chiefs Association
is proud to co-sponsor AB 1118 in concert with PolicyLink and
PICO CA."
"The President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing (March,
2015) recently issued a number of recommendations for local
law enforcement adaptation. Recommendation 1.1 states that,
'Law enforcement culture should embrace a guardian mindset to
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build public trust and legitimacy. Toward that end, police and
sheriffs' departments should adopt procedural justice as the
guiding principle for internal and external policies and
practices to guide their interactions with the citizens they
serve.' We adamantly support this recommendation."
"Procedural justice and police legitimacy training is a
critical step as part of a broader effort toward
organizational development, intended to improve the
relationship between police and communities they serve."
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081