BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 1955
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          Date of Hearing:   April 18, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                 AB 1955 (Block) - As Introduced:  February 23, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              Higher 
          EducationVote:9-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the California State University (CSU) Board 
          of Trustees, and requests the University of California (UC) 
          Board of Regents, to designate an individual at each campus to 
          serve as a liaison between campus law enforcement agencies and 
          students exercising rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution 
          and the California Constitution.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          CSU indicates it will incur one-time costs of up to $100,000 to 
          develop and provide training for the designated liaison at each 
          of its 23 campuses. Costs to UC will be minor and absorbable.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Background  . On December 14, 2011, the Assembly Higher 
            Education Committee and the Senate Education Committee held a 
            joint oversight hearing regarding the policies, procedures, 
            and responses of campus police to recent student protests, 
            including UC Davis police officers' use of pepper spray on 
            nonviolent student protesters on November 18, 2011. One theme 
            that emerged from the hearing was the lack of communication 
            between members of the university police departments, the 
            university administrators that oversee those departments, and 
            the students and demonstrators protesting on campus.

           2)Purpose  . According to the author, this bill "? opens the lines 
            of communication between university campuses and student 
            protestors by mandating the appointment of an individual who 
            would serve as a liaison between campus police departments and 








                                                                  AB 1955
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            students who are exercising their first amendment rights."

            CSU has systemwide policies and guidelines related to campus 
            demonstrations, including activation requests, operational 
            plans, reporting requirements, arrest procedures, and use of 
            force guidelines. UC does not appear to have detailed 
            system-wide policies, but is currently conducting a review of 
            campus police policies that is expected to result in best 
            practices recommendations for policing protests. UC indicates 
            that it supports AB 1955 in concept pending a review of the 
            soon-to-be-completed report.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081