BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1745
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1745 (Hadley) - As Introduced February 1, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill appropriates $85 million from the General Fund to be
allocated by the State Controller (SCO), based on an existing
population-based formula, to each city's and city and county's
Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Account (SLESA) for local
agencies to use for front-line law enforcement activities,
including drug interdiction, body-worn cameras, and peace
officer training.
AB 1745
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FISCAL EFFECT:
$85 million GF appropriation.
COMMENTS:
1) Purpose. According to the author, "Law enforcement
officers put their lives on the line to protect our
communities; AB 1745 is the first step to protect them and
our community from the budget stress we and the recent U.S.
DOJ decision have placed upon them."
2) Background. AB 3229 (Brulte), Chapter 134/1996,
established the Citizen's Option for Public Safety (COPS)
Program. Compliant cities were allocated a proportionate
share of COPS funds by the State, for the exclusive purpose
of funding supplemental law enforcement services.
Proportionate shares are based on population estimates
determined by the Department of Finance. COPS funding was
rolled into the 2011 realignment.
3) Federal DOJ has Resumed the Equitable Sharing Program:
In December of 2015, The Federal Department of Justice
(DOJ) announced that it was suspending its equitable
sharing program, in which local law enforcement agencies
received money from the federal forfeiture actions of
property seized from individuals. The program sent a
portion of the money (up to 80%) from forfeitures directly
to local law enforcement agencies that had been involved in
the seizure. The author had estimated that the suspension
of equitable sharing would result in approximately $85
million in lost revenue for California law enforcement
agencies, based on 2014 receipts. However, DOJ has
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recently announced that it is resuming the equitable
sharing program.
On March 28, 2016, Peter Carr, a spokesman for the Federal
DOJ stated, "In the months since we made the difficult
decision to defer equitable sharing payments because of the
$1.2 billion rescinded from the Asset Forfeiture Fund, the
financial solvency of the fund has improved to the point
where it is no longer necessary to continue deferring
equitable sharing payments."
To the extent that the loss of equitable sharing funds was
the basis for requesting an $85 million appropriation to be
used for local law enforcement, there is no longer a
concern about that potential loss of revenue.
4) Support. According to the City of Torrance, "The
State's policy of shifting offenders into the jurisdiction
of local law enforcement under Realignment to reduce State
costs, coupled with recent federal DOJ decision to halt
equitable funding from asset forfeitures, will result in
the lack of adequate funding for recidivism reduction
programs, drug and gang enforcement, training of officers,
and purchasing necessary equipment or new technology like
body cameras."
5) Opposition. According to Legal Services for Prisoners
with Children, "Given California's strapped budget, this
costly measure is unjustified and unwarranted?Rather than
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pass this bill, the Legislature should direct its time and
budget towards school support, teacher training, juvenile
diversion, mental health services, shelters, and community
support."
6) Prior Legislation:
a) SB 144 (Cannella), of the 2012-2013
Legislative Session, would have appropriated
$819,857,000 from the General Fund to the Realignment
Reinvestment Fund. SB 144 was held in the Senate
Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review.
b) SB 1023 (Budget Committee), Chapter 43,
Statutes of 2012, removed the reporting requirement to
the State Controller for Supplemental Law Enforcement
Oversight Committees.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081