BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1953|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1953
Author: Weber (D)
Introduced:2/12/16
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/14/16
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 4/11/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Peace officers: civilian complaints
SOURCE: American Civil Liberties Union of California
DIGEST: This bill makes technical changes throughout sections
of the Penal, Vehicle and Government Codes replacing the term
"citizen" with "civilian" to accurately reflect the term
currently used by law enforcement agencies to track complaints
on a local, state and federal level.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Requires each state and local agency that employs peace
officers to annually report to the Attorney General (AG) data
on all stops, as specified, conducted by that agency's peace
officers for the preceding calendar year. (Government Code §
12525.5(a)(1).)
2) States that each agency that employs 1,000 or more peace
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officers shall issue its first round of reports on or before
April 1, 2019. Each agency that employs more than 667 or
more but less than 1,000 peace officers shall issue its first
round of reports on or before April 1, 2020. Each agency
that employs 334 or more but less than 667 peace officers
shall issue its first round of reports on or before April 1,
2022. Each agency that employs one or more but less than 334
peace officers shall issue its first round of reports on or
before April 1, 2023. (Government Code § 12525.5(a)(2).)
3) Requires, in Government Code Sections 12525.5(b)(1)-(7), the
report to include the following information for each stop:
a) The time, date and location of the stop.
b) The reason for the stop.
c) The result of the stop, such as no action, warning,
citation, property seizure, or arrest.
d) If a warning or citation was issued, the warning
provided or violation cited.
e) If an arrest was made, the offense charged.
f) The perceived race or ethnicity, gender, and
approximate age of the person stopped. The identification
of these characteristics shall be based on the observation
and perception of the peace officer making the stop. For
auto stops, this requirement applies only to the driver
unless actions taken by the officer apply in relation to a
passenger, in which case his or her characteristics shall
also be reported.
g) Actions taken by the peace officer during the stop,
including, but not limited to, the following:
i) Whether the peace officer asked for consent to
search the person, and if so, whether consent was
provided;
ii) Whether the peace officer searched the person or
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any property, and if so, the basis for the search, and
the type of contraband or evidence discovered, if any;
and
iii) Whether the peace officer seized any property
and, if so, the type of property that was seized, and
the basis for seizing the property.
4) Provides that if more than one peace officer performs a
stop, only one officer is required to collect and report the
necessary information. (Government Code § 12525.5(c).)
5) Prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from
reporting the name, address, social security number, or other
unique personal identifying information of persons stopped,
searched, or subjected to a property seizure. States that,
notwithstanding any other law, the data reported shall be
made available to the public to the extent which release is
permissible under state law, with the exception of badge
number, or other unique identifying information of the
officer involved. (Government Code § 12525.5(d).)
6) Requires the AG, in consultation with specified stake
holders, to issue regulations for the collection and
reporting of the required data by January 1, 2017. Mandates
that the regulations specify all data to be reported, and
provide standards, definitions, and technical specifications
to ensure uniform reporting practices. To the extent
possible, the regulations should also be compatible with any
similar federal data collection or reporting program.
(Government Code § 12525.5(e).)
7) Specifies that all data and reports made under these
provisions are public records, as specified, and are open to
public inspection. (Government Code § 12525.5(f).)
8) Limits the definition of a "peace officer" for purposes of
this section to "members of the California Highway Patrol, a
city or county law enforcement agency, except probation
officers and officers in a custodial setting, and California
state or university educational institutions." (Government
Code § 12525.5(g)(1).)
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9) Defines "stop" for purposes of this section, as "any
detention by a peace officer of a person, or any peace
officer interaction with a person in which the peace officer
conducts a search, including a consensual search, of the
person's body or property in the person's possession or
control." (Government Code § 12525.5(g)(1).)
10)Revises, in Penal Code Section 13012(a)(5)(A), the content
of the Department of Justice annual report on criminal
statistics to report the total number of each of the
following citizen complaints:
a) Citizen complaints against law enforcement personnel.
b) Citizen complaints alleging criminal conduct of either
a felony or misdemeanor.
c) Citizen complaints alleging racial or identity
profiling, disaggregated by the specific type of racial or
identity profiling alleged.
11)Specifies that the statistics on citizen complaints must
identify their dispositions as being sustained, exonerated,
not sustained, unfounded, as specified. (Penal Code §
13012(a)(5)(B).)
12)Defines "racial or identity profiling" as "consideration of
or reliance on, to any degree, actual or perceived race,
color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, gender
identity or expression, sexual orientation, or mental or
physical disability in deciding which persons to subject to a
stop or in deciding upon the scope and substance of law
enforcement activities following a stop. The activities
include, but are not limited to, traffic or pedestrian stops,
or actions during a stop, such as, asking questions, frisks,
consensual and nonconsensual searches of a person or any
property, seizing any property, removing vehicle occupants
during a traffic stop, issuing a citation, and making an
arrest." (Penal Code § 13012(e).)
13)Prohibits a peace officer from engaging in racial or
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identity profiling. (Penal Code § 13012(f).)
14)Mandates the AG establish the Racial and Identity Profiling
Board (RIPA) beginning July 1, 2016, for the purpose of
eliminating racial and identity profiling, and improving
diversity and racial sensitivity in law enforcement. (Penal
Code §13519.4(j)(1).)
15)Provides, in Penal Code Sections 13519.4(j)(2)(A)-(M), that
RIPA shall include the following members:
a) The Attorney General, or a designee;
b) The President of the California Public Defenders
Association, or a designee;
c) The President of the California Police Chiefs
Association, or a designee;
d) The President of the California State Sheriffs'
Association, or a designee;
e) The President of the Peace Officers Research
Association of California, or a designee;
f) The commissioner of the California Highway Patrol, or
a designee;
g) A university professor who specializes in policing,
and racial and identity equity;
h) Two representatives of civil or human rights
tax-exempt organizations who specialize in civil and human
rights and criminal justice;
i) Two representatives of community organizations
specializing in civil or human rights and criminal justice
and who work with victims of racial and identity
profiling. At least one representative shall be between
16 and 24 years of age;
j) Two clergy members who specialize in addressing and
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reducing racial and identity bias toward individuals and
groups or practices; and,
aa) Up to two other members that the Governor may
prescribe;
bb) Up to two other members that the President Pro Tempore
may prescribe; and,
cc) Up to two other members that the Speaker of the
Assembly may prescribe.
16)Tasks, in Penal Code Sections 13519.4(j)(3)(A)-(F), RIPA
with the following:
a) Analyze data reported, as specified;
b) Analyze law enforcement training on racial and
identity profiling;
c) Work in partnership with state and local law
enforcement agencies to review and analyze racial and
identity profiling policies and practices;
d) Conduct, and consult available, evidence based
research on intentional and implicit biases, and law
enforcement stop, search, and seizure tactics
e) Issue a report that that provides RIPA's analysis of
the above, detailed findings on the past and current
status of racial and identity profiling and make policy
recommendations for eliminating racial and identity
profiling; and,
f) Hold at least three annual public meetings to discuss
racial and identity profiling and potential reforms, as
specified.
This bill deletes references to citizens' complaints and instead
refers to them as civilians' complaints.
Background
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This bill simply changes the term "citizen" to "civilian" in
various places in the Government, Penal and Vehicle Codes that
relate to citizen complaints against law enforcement. According
to the author and sponsor of this bill, the term "civilian" is
currently used by law enforcement agencies to track complaints
on a local, state and federal level.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 6/15/16)
American Civil Liberties Union of California (source)
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/15/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 4/11/16
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, Gordon,
Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams,
Wood
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NO VOTE RECORDED: Gonzalez, Medina, Quirk, Rendon
Prepared by:Jessica Devencenzi / PUB. S. /
6/24/16 15:41:13
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