BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1390
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1390 (Blumenfield)
As Amended July 23, 2009
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-1 |(June 2, 2009) |SENATE: |35-0 |(September 1, |
| | | | | |2009) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Requires the principal of a school or the principal's
designee to report the following acts committed by a pupil or
nonpupil on a schoolsite to the city police or county sheriff
with jurisdiction over the school and the school security
department or the school police department:
1)Possessing, selling, or otherwise furnishing a firearm, except
where the pupil had obtained prior written permission to
possess the firearm from school officials; or,
2)Possession of an explosive.
The Senate amendments delete the requirement that school police
departments or school security departments notify, within 24
hours, the appropriate county or city law enforcement
authorities of any act committed by a pupil or nonpupil
involving a firearm or explosive, and instead require school
principals or their designees to notify appropriate local law
enforcement authorities.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : Current law requires a principal or the principal's
designee, frequently a vice principal, to notify law enforcement
authorities of crimes involving assault with a firearm, an
assault weapon, or a deadly weapon or instrument; and possession
or sale of controlled substances, prior to or after suspending
or expelling a pupil. A principal or the principal's designee
is also required to notify appropriate law enforcement
AB 1390
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authorities, irregardless of whether a suspension or expulsion
has occurred, of any acts violating gun free zone laws or
possession of a dirk, knife, dagger, taser, ice pick, razor or
stun gun on school grounds. Current law specifies that the
willful failure to make a report is an infraction punishable by
a fine of up to $500 to be paid by the principal or principal's
designee.
This bill requires a principal or his/her designee to report the
possessing, selling, or otherwise furnishing of a firearm
(except where the pupil had obtained prior written permission to
possess the firearm from school officials) or possession of an
explosive by a pupil or nonpupil on a schoolsite to the city
police or county sheriff with jurisdiction over the school and
the school security department or the school police department.
When this bill passed the Assembly, it required a school
security department or school police department to make the
report, through an electronic format, to the appropriate county
or city law enforcement authorities within 24 hours.
Governing boards are authorized to establish security
departments headed by a chief of security and a police
department headed by a chief of police. Security departments
are considered supplementary to city and county law enforcement
agencies and are not vested with general police powers.
Individuals employed and compensated as members of a police
department of a school district, when appointed and duly sworn,
are considered peace officers with arrest powers. There is no
data on the number of districts that have security or police
departments. Larger districts are more likely than smaller
districts to have police departments.
Concerns were expressed that requiring school security or school
police departments to do the reporting was duplicative of
notification requirements already imposed on school principals
or their designees. The current version of this bill removes
the duplication and clarifies that principals or their designees
must notify local law enforcement authorities irregardless of
whether a suspension or expulsion has occurred.
The author states, "Prompt, accurate and transparent reporting
of school-related crimes is a critical first step toward the
development of effective early warning, prevention and
intervention strategies for at-risk youth. This is particularly
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important in large urban settings where school police and city
police departments share some concurrent responsibilities and
one or both may be involved in the investigation of a school
incident depending on the nature of the crime. To effectively
address school crime, districts must first acknowledge it exists
(transparency) and principals and school police must cross
report all serious crime to local law enforcement at the
earliest possible stage to assist in early intervention
strategies."
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN:
0002705