BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1237
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2005
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Judy Chu, Chair
AB 1237 (Leno) - As Introduced: February 22, 2005
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 5-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill:
1)Adds tasers, as defined, to the list of weapons that cannot be
manufactured, sold or possessed in California. Violation would
be an alternate felony/misdemeanor, punishable by 16 months,
2, or 3 years in state prison, or by up to one year in county
jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000.
2)Exempts law enforcement officers from the prohibition on the
possession of tasers, when on duty and the use is authorized
by the law enforcement agency, and if the officer has
completed a taser training course via a Commission on Peace
Officer Standards and Training (POST) certified course.
3)Requires all law enforcement agencies in California to report
monthly throughout 2006 to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on
a wide array of detailed information, including specific
statistics and circumstances for every time a taser is drawn,
aimed and fired. Required information includes: reason for
use; manner of use; incident disposition; age, gender and race
of target; and evidence of substance abuse and/or mental
illness.
4)Requires law enforcement agencies to collect specified
information for 2006 and provide it to the DOJ by March 1,
2007. Required information includes: the department's taser
protocols; required training; frequency and disposition of
usage; ethnicity of taser targets, including comparisons with
arrest rates for all subjects arrested or cited during the
same time period; and taser injuries and deaths.
AB 1237
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5)Requires DOJ, upon receiving the data from local law
enforcement, to collate the information and provide a
statewide report to the Legislature by July 1, 2007.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Significant reimbursable state-mandated GF costs to local law
enforcement agencies, likely in the range of several million
dollars, to manually collect detailed information and provide
it to DOJ.
Police and sheriff departments have been working with author
to revise reporting requirements to make them more expeditious
and cost-effective. For example, requiring quarterly reports
rather than monthly reports, and devising more of a check-list
approach than a narrative-oriented approach would reduce law
enforcement time and expense considerably.
2)Unknown, potentially moderate costs for increased state
incarceration for unlawful sale or possession of a taser. In
2003-03 564 persons were committed to state prison for
unlawful possession of specified weapons. If this bill results
in five additional commitments, annual GF costs would be about
$150,000.
3)Moderate GF costs to DOJ, likely less than $150,000, for staff
to compile the information and issue the report. (DOJ
estimates its costs would be $300,000, which appears high.)
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author contends the use of tasers, by law
enforcement and the general public is increasing - in a void
of information regarding their safety. The intent of this
measure is to keep tasers out of the hands of the general
public and to collect detailed information about taser usage.
According to the author, "The opportunity for (taser) misuse
by the general public, is far greater than among our trained
law enforcement personnel. I believe that individuals may have
a false sense of security in obtaining and attempting to use a
taser for self-defense. The serious potential for abuse of
this powerful weapon requires that use be limited to law
AB 1237
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enforcement officers."
2)Current law is generally silent on tasers.
3)Related legislation includes three bills pending in Assembly
Public Safety: AB 157 (Levine) prohibits carrying a concealed
taser within a vehicle or upon the person; AB 101 (Cohn),
permits private ownership of tasers, requires tasers to bear
the name of the manufacturer and a serial number, and allows
DOJ to issue permits for non-self-defense use; and AB 1710
(Wyland), requires any seller of a taser to register
information with the taser manufacturer.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081