California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1745

Introduced by Assembly Member Hadley

February 1, 2016

An act to add Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 30066) to Division 3 of Title 3 of the Government Code, relating to public safety, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1745, as introduced, Hadley. Public safety: funding.

Existing law establishes in each county treasury a Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Account (SLESA) and requires the county auditor to allocate moneys in the SLESA in a prescribed manner to counties and cities located within the county for the purpose of funding specified public safety programs.

This bill would appropriate $85,000,000 from the General Fund in the State Treasury to be allocated by the State Controller to each city’s and city and county’s SLESA. The bill would require the county auditor for a county to allocate moneys received from that appropriation to the county, each city within the county, and certain special districts, as specified. The bill would authorize a local agency that receives funds from that allocation to use the funds for front-line law enforcement activities, including drug interdiction, antigang, community crime prevention, and juvenile justice programs. The bill would make related legislative findings and declarations.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares each of the
following:

(a) There is a compelling need for additional resources to be
applied at the local level for the purpose of ensuring public safety.

(b) The Los Angeles Times stated on November 10, 2015, that
“A Times review found that property crime has increased in nine
of California’s 10 largest cities so far this year compared with the
same period last year. Violent crime was up in all 10.”

(c) The state’s criminal justice realignment and Proposition 47
of 2014, the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,” have also
placed new burdens on local law enforcement.

(d) Rising crime rates, coupled with a growing state population,
and rising inflation have placed significant pressure on local law
enforcement budgets. Funding for local law enforcement programs
has not kept pace with statewide growth in population or inflation.
What was once funding of $489.9 million has increased to $549.1
million. However, based on increases in the State Appropriations
Limit since fiscal year 2006-07, funding should be 28.82 percent
higher, or $631.1 million, which is $85 million above current
levels. This funding should be proportionally available to all
communities and should be distributed consistent with the current
percentage distribution schedule established by the Department of
Finance for the Citizens’ Option for Public Safety (COPS) program.

(e) Many California communities are plagued by gang violence,
drug addiction, and violence associated with drug use and drug
trafficking.

(f) A letter dated December 21, 2015, from the United States
Department of Justice stated that, for the foreseeable future, the
department would be halting equitable funding payments to state,
local, and tribal law enforcement partners. For California law
enforcement agencies this will result in approximately $85 million
in lost revenue.

(g) Accordingly, it is the intent of the Legislature to establish
a new program to provide additional funding for front-line law
enforcement services, particularly those focused on drug
interdiction, antigang enforcement, and other local law enforcement
and crime prevention-related activities.

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 30066) is added
to Division 3 of Title 3 of the Government Code, to read:

 

Chapter  6.8. Budget Allocation for Drug and Gang
Enforcement

 

30066.  

(a) In addition to any moneys provided pursuant to
Chapter 6.7, in any fiscal year in which a county receives moneys
to be expended for the implementation of this chapter, the county
auditor shall allocate the moneys received pursuant to this chapter
and deposited in the county’s Supplemental Law Enforcement
Services Account (SLESA) within 30 days of the deposit of those
moneys into the fund.

(b) The moneys described in subdivision (a) shall be allocated
to the county and the cities within the county, and, in the case of
San Mateo, Kern, Siskiyou, and Contra Costa Counties, also to
the Broadmoor Police Protection District, the Bear Valley
Community Services District, the Stallion Springs Community
Services District, the Lake Shastina Community Services District,
and the Kensington Police Protection and Community Services
District, in accordance with the relative population of the cities
within the county and the unincorporated area of the county, and
the Broadmoor Police Protection District in the County of San
Mateo, the Bear Valley Community Services District and the
Stallion Springs Community Services District in the County of
Kern, the Lake Shastina Community Services District in the County
of Siskiyou, and the Kensington Police Protection and Community
Services District in County of Contra Costa, consistent with the
percentage table developed by the Department of Finance pursuant
to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 30061. For a newly
incorporated city whose population estimate is not published by
the Department of Finance, but that was incorporated prior to July
1 of the fiscal year in which an allocation from the SLESA is to
be made, the city manager, or an appointee of the legislative body
if a city manager is not available, and the county administrative
or executive officer shall prepare a joint notification to the
Department of Finance and the county auditor with a population
estimate reduction of the unincorporated area of the county equal
to the population of the newly incorporated city by July 15, or
within 15 days after the Budget Act is enacted, of the fiscal year
in which an allocation from the SLESA is to be made. No person
residing within the Broadmoor Police Protection District, the Bear
Valley Community Services District, the Stallion Springs
Community Services District, the Lake Shastina Community
Services District, or the Kensington Police Protection and
Community Services District shall also be counted as residing
within the unincorporated area of the County of San Mateo, Kern,
Siskiyou, or Contra Costa, or within any city located within those
counties. Moneys allocated to the county pursuant to this
subdivision shall be retained in the county SLESA, and moneys
allocated to a city pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited
an SLESA established in the city treasury.

(c) Funds received pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be expended
or encumbered in accordance with this chapter no later than June
30 of the following fiscal year.

30067.  

(a) Moneys allocated from a Supplemental Law
Enforcement Services Account (SLESA) to a recipient entity
pursuant to this chapter shall be expended exclusively to provide
front-line law enforcement services. Those moneys shall not be
used by a local agency to supplant other funding for Public Safety
Services, as defined in Section 36 of Article XIII of the California
Constitution.

(b) Funding received pursuant to this chapter may be used for
any of the following:

(1) Drug interdiction programs.

(2) Acquisition, maintenance, and training related to the use of
body-worn cameras.

(3) Costs, including personnel costs, related to peace officer
training, including training relating to the instruction in the
handling of persons with developmental disabilities or mental
illness, or both.

(4) Other front-line law enforcement services.

(c) In no event shall any moneys allocated from the county’s
SLESA pursuant to this chapter be expended by a recipient agency
to fund administrative overhead costs in excess of 0.5 percent of
a recipient entity’s SLESA allocation pursuant to this chapter for
that year.

(d) For the purposes of this chapter, “front-line law enforcement
services” includes antigang, community crime prevention, and
juvenile justice programs.

SEC. 3.  

The sum of eighty-five million dollars ($85,000,000)
is hereby appropriated from the General Fund in the State Treasury
for allocation by the State Controller to the counties for the
purposes specified in Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section
30066) of Division 3 of Title 3 of the Government Code. The
Controller shall allocate those moneys among each Supplemental
Law Enforcement Services Account (SLESA) established by each
county and city and county pursuant to Section 30063 of the
Government Code, consistent with the percentage schedule
developed by the Department of Finance pursuant to paragraph
(3) of subdivision (b) of Section 30061.