BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1654
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 1, 2016
Consultant: Matt Dean
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Bill Quirk, Chair
AB
1654 (Santiago) - As Amended February 22, 2016
SUMMARY: Requires the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to
provide guidance to colleges on the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of
Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery
Act) and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act's (VAWA)
reporting requirements. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the DOJ to provide advice to both public and private
colleges on the Clery Act's and VAWA's requirements to report
campus crime statistics and campus security policies.
2)Requires the DOJ to provide advice to both public and private
colleges on the state Education Code's reporting requirements
for campus crime statistics and campus security policies.
3)Requires the State Auditor to audit at least six colleges
regarding their compliance with their reporting requirements
for campus crime statistics and campus security policies under
the state Education Code in addition to colleges' Clery Act
and VAWA requirements.
4)Requires the DOJ, rather than the California Postsecondary
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Education Commission, to post on its Website links to each
college's campus crime statistics.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires, under the federal Title IX and the Clery Act,
colleges and universities, as a condition of federal student
aid program participation, to:
a) Publish annual campus security reports, maintain crime
logs, provide timely warnings of crimes that present a
public safety risk, and maintain ongoing crime statistics;
and,
b) Establish certain rights for victims of sexual assault,
including notification to victims of legal rights,
availability of counselling, safety options for victims,
and offering prevention and awareness programs. (20 U.S.C.
§1681-1688; 20 U.S.C. §1092(f).)
2)Requires the State Auditor to audit at least six colleges
every three years regarding those institutions' compliance
with the Clery Act's crime statistics reporting requirements.
(Ed. Code § 67382, subd. (a)(1).)
3)Requires the State Auditor to report the aforementioned audit
results to the respective Chairs of the Assembly Committee on
Higher Education and the Senate Committee on Education. (Ed.
Code § 67382, subd. (a)(2).)
4)Requires the California Postsecondary Education Commission to
post on its website links to each college's campus crime
statistics. (Ed. Code § 67382, subd. (a)(3).)
5)Requires colleges and universities receiving public funds for
student financial assistance to:
a) Compile records of reported on-campus instances of
violence, hate violence, theft, destruction of property,
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illegal drugs, or alcohol intoxication;
b) Make widely available a campus safety plan;
c) Annually report their campus crime statistics and
security plans to the Legislative Analyst's Office; and,
d) Establish certain rights of victims of violent crime,
sexual assault, or hate crimes. (Ed. Code § 67380-67386.)
6)Requires colleges and universities to enter into agreements
with local law enforcement agencies regarding whether campus
security or the local law enforcement agency have
investigation responsibilities for violent crimes, sexual
assaults, and hate crimes occurring on each campus. (Ed. Code
§ 67381.1; 67382.)
7)Mandates, as a condition of the Cal Grant Program, colleges
and universities to notify immediately, or as soon as
practicably possible, the appropriate law enforcement agency
of any report of violent crime, sexual assault, or hate crime
committed on or off campus. (Ed. Code § 67383.)
8)Requires colleges to provide victims of sexual assault
committed on campus or at campus-controlled facilities
treatment and information. If appropriate on-campus treatment
facilities are unavailable, colleges must have protocols for
referrals to local community treatment centers. (Ed. Code §
67385)
9)Requires colleges to provide, as part of established campus
orientations, educational and preventive information about
sexual violence to students at all campuses. (Ed. Code §
67385.7.)
10)Requires colleges receiving state funds to use an affirmative
consent standard for evaluation of complaints made to colleges
regarding sexual assault. (Ed. Code § 67386.)
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FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: According to the author, "The State
Auditor recently reviewed six California postsecondary
institutions, finding that none were in full compliance with
federal laws (the Clery and Reauthorization Acts) that require
disclosure of campus crime statistics and campus security
policies. The Auditor also surveyed 79 campuses, determining
most provide security policies and crime statistics online but
some lack notification of availability.
"Inaccurate and/or incomplete reporting of crime statistics by
postsecondary institutions can provide an inadequate
representation of campus safety to students, parents, and
employees. Furthermore, various complex provisions have been
recently added to the state Education Code in regards to
campus safety and sexual assault, and it is unknown how well
postsecondary institutions are complying with these new laws.
"AB 1654 directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide
guidance to institutions of higher education regarding
compliance with (1) the federal Clery and Reauthorization Acts
and (2) state laws regarding campus safety. The bill also
requires the State Auditor to extend its existing statutory
mandate requiring monitoring of compliance with the Clery Act
to include monitoring of compliance with state laws regarding
campus safety. This bill ensures California postsecondary
institutions better comply with federal and state campus
safety laws and will help students, parents, and employees
make more informed decisions about campus safety."
2)Background: The Clery Act requires colleges who participate
in the federal student aid program to publish annual campus
security reports, maintain crime logs, provide timely warnings
of crimes that present a public safety risk, and maintain
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ongoing crime statistics; and establish certain rights for
victims of sexual assault, including notification to victims
of legal rights, availability of counselling, safety options
for victims, and offering prevention and awareness programs.
VAWA amended the Clery Act to add crimes required to be
reported and requiring security policies relating to those
crimes be made widely available.
The State Auditor's recent audit found that each of the six
higher education institutions had failed to comply with the
Clery Act in some way due to the complex nature of the
reporting requirements.
< http://www.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2015-032/index.html >. The
U.S. Department of Education's handbook for helping higher
education institutions comply with the requirements under
those acts is nearly 300 pages long. Failure to comply with
the complex Clery Act and VAWA requirements risks penalties
including but not limited to losing some federal financing.
State law crime statistics and security procedures largely
overlap with the federal reporting requirements. However,
last year, the Governor signed into law an affirmative consent
standard for sexual assault complaints made on campus or
campus-controlled facilities for every college or university
receiving state funds.
3)Related Legislation: AB 1653 (Weber) has been introduced and
has similar provisions requiring DOJ to provide guidance on
federal reporting requirements. This bill has been referred
to the Committee on Higher Education.
4)Prior Legislation:
a) AB 636 (Medina), Chapter 697, Statutes of 2015, requires
postsecondary education institutions to disclose to law
enforcement the identity of an alleged assailant if the
institution determines that the alleged assailant
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represents a serious or ongoing threat to the safety of the
campus community and the immediate assistance of law
enforcement is necessary.
b) AB 913 (Santiago), Chapter 701, Statutes of 2015,
provides for changes to the written jurisdictional
agreements between postsecondary educational institutions
and local law enforcement.
c) AB 1433 (Gatto), Chapter 798, Statutes of 2014, requires
the governing board of each public, private and independent
postsecondary educational institution, which receives
public funds for student financial assistance, to adopt and
implement written policies and procedures governing the
reporting of specified crimes to law enforcement agencies.
d) SB 967 (De León), Chapter 748, Statutes of 2014,
specifies policies involving sexual assault, domestic
violence, dating violence, and stalking that covered higher
education institutions must adopt in order to be eligible
for student financial assistance.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support:
None
Opposition:
None
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Analysis Prepared
by: Matt Dean / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744