BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1927|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1927
Author: Lackey (R)
Amended: 5/17/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/10/16
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/4/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Criminal procedure: notice to appear
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill authorizes law enforcement officers to give
a person violating the law a copy of their notice to appear in
court without the signature of the defendant, unless the person
specifically requests it.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires officers to prepare a written notice to appear in
court if a person who violates the law does not have to go
before a magistrate and is subsequently released after the
violation. The notice to appear must include the name and
address of person involved, the offense charged, the time and
place in which the person must appear in court, and the
violator's signature in order to secure their release as a
written promise that the defendant will appear in court as
specified in the notice to appear. (Pen. Code, § 853.6 (a),
(d).)
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2)Requires an officer or prosecuting attorney to provide a
defendant an exact and legible duplicate copy of any written
notice that an officer or prosecuting attorney has prepared,
delivered and filed with the court in which the defendant may
plead "guilty" or "nolo contendre" to the original complaint.
(Pen. Code, § 853.9 (a).)
3)Requires that whenever the written notice to appear has been
prepared on a form approved by the Judicial Council, an exact
and legible duplicate copy of the notice when filed with the
magistrate shall constitute a complaint to which the defendant
may enter a plea and, if the notice to appear is verified,
upon which a warrant may be issued. If the notice to appear is
not verified, the defendant may, at the time of arraignment,
request that a verified complaint be filed. (Pen. Code, §
853.9 (b).)
4)States that a criminal prosecution may be commenced by filing
an accusatory pleading in electronic form with the judge or in
a court having authority to receive it. (Pen. Code, § 959.1
(a).)
5)Authorizes the Judicial Council to approve an electronically
transmitted notice to appear if the notice to appear meets the
following criteria: it is issued and transmitted by a law
enforcement agency; the courts have the ability to receive,
store and reproduce such notices in electronic format; and the
issuing agency has the ability to reproduce the notice to
appear in physical form upon demand. (Pen. Code, § 959.1
(d)(1) - (3).)
6)States that if the notice to appear is transmitted in
electronic form, it is deemed to have been signed by the
defendant if it includes a digitized facsimile of the
defendant's signature on the notice to appear. (Pen. Code, §
959.1 (f).)
This bill authorizes a police officer to give a defendant a copy
of their notice to appear in court without the signature of the
defendant, unless the defendant specifically requests that the
copy they receive contains their signature.
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Page 3
Background
This bill provides that if a citation issued by a peace officer
is transmitted electronically, the copy of the citation issued
does not need to include the signature of the person who is
issued the notice to appear citation unless they specifically
request a copy of the citation with their signature.
Electronic citations were initially implemented to streamline
the citation process; however, in a traffic stop, an officer
typically contacts the driver to collect information, and then
returns to their patrol vehicle to fill out the citation. Once
the citation is complete, the officer will re-contact the driver
to obtain their signature, and then give the violator a copy of
the signed citation. With the addition of the electronic hand
held device, once the device is electronically signed, the
officer must go back to his/her patrol vehicle to get the signed
citation from the printer within their vehicle and return for a
third time to the violator's vehicle. Unlike the traditional
"two approach" traffic stop, this new implementation increases
the stop to three approaches. The process thus increases the
time and danger involved in an ordinary traffic stop.
Police officers are four times more likely to get involved in an
accident including a vehicle than a civilian motorist. Between
the 17-year-period of 1993 to 2009, an average of one officer a
month was struck and killed by a motor vehicle. During the years
2005 to 2014, 134 police officers were struck and killed by a
vehicle. In order to help prevent the substantial number of
officers from being struck and subsequently injured or killed,
Move Over laws came into effect in 49 different states (only
Hawaii and D.C. do not have these laws), requiring motorists to
change lanes or slow down when they approach an emergency
vehicle.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified5/16/16)
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California Association of Highway Patrolmen
California Law Enforcement Association of Records Supervisors
California Police Chiefs Association
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Peace Officers Research Association of California
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/16/16)
California Public Defenders Association
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/4/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Atkins, 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, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Rodriguez
Prepared by:Molly Lao / PUB. S. /
5/18/16 16:21:36
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AB 1927
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