BILL ANALYSIS
ACR 129
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Date of Hearing: August 4, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
ACR 129 (Monning) - As Amended: June 29, 2010
Policy Committee: JudiciaryVote:6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This measure requests the Attorney General (AG) to:
1)Publicize the text of three United Nations treaties and two UN
protocols among all cities, counties, and state agencies.
2)Prepare templates for cities, counties, and state agencies to
use to fulfill reporting obligations under the treaties and
protocols.
FISCAL EFFECT
One-time minor cost of about $25,000 for a consultant (social
scientist) to review templates developed by the AG for
suitability in reporting information to the United State
Department of State.
COMMENTS
1)Background . The international human rights treaties and
protocols listed below, which have been agreed to by the
United States, include commitments to publicize the text of
each treaty and protocol throughout the states and territories
and to make periodic reports at the federal, state, and local
levels to the appropriate Committees of the United Nations
administering each treaty or protocol.
a) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR), a treaty that includes many of the rights set
forth in the United States Bill of Rights and in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in which the
U.S. in 1992 committed to make reports on human rights
ACR 129
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injustices every five years to the U.N. Human Rights
Committee;
b) The International Convention Against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ICAT),
incorporating some provisions from the 8th Amendment to the
United States Constitution, and in which in 1994 the U.S.
committed to make reports on human injustices every four
years to the U.N. Committee Against Torture;
c) The International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), a treaty including
provisions of the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 24th Amendments to
the United States Constitution, and in which in 1994 the
U.S. committed to make reports on human injustices every
two years to the U.N. Committee on Elimination of Racial
Discrimination.
d) Optional protocols to the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Child (CRC), namely the Optional Protocol
on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and the
Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child
Prostitution and Child Pornography, including some
provisions of U.S. military and pornography law, and in
which the U.S. committed to make reports every five years
to the CRC.
2)Purpose . According to the author, many local governments and
state agencies have never been informed of their reporting
duties under those treaties and protocols, and have
consequently failed to make any required reports to the
appropriate United Nations committees. This measure is
intended to help inform state and local government throughout
California of their reporting obligations under these human
rights treaties and protocols, and to better facilitate
fulfillment of these reporting duties by requesting the AG to
prepare template documents that will make the reporting task
easier for local governments. The author notes that the City
of Berkeley in 2006 became one of the first cities in
California and in the country to fulfill reporting duties
about human rights injustices at the local level.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081