BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2306
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Date of Hearing: April 18, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Isadore Hall, Chair
AB 2306 (Donnelly) - As Introduced: February 24, 2012
SUBJECT : Border Security
SUMMARY : Adds "border security" to the list of conditions that
are named in the California Emergency Services Act (Act) that
may be cited to support the proclamation of a state of emergency
or local emergency.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes three conditions or degrees of emergency:
a) "State of war emergency" means the condition that exists
immediately, with or without a proclamation by the
Governor, whenever this state or the nation is attacked by
an enemy of the United States, or upon receipt by the state
of a warning from the federal government indicating that
such an enemy attack is probable or imminent.
b) "State of emergency" means the proclaimed existence of
conditions of disaster of extreme peril to the safety of
persons and property within the state caused by such
conditions as air pollution, fire, flood, storm, epidemic,
riot, drought, sudden and severe energy shortage, plant or
animal infestation or disease, the Governor's warning of an
earthquake or volcanic prediction, or an earthquake, or
other conditions, other than conditions resulting from
labor controversy or conditions causing a "state of war
emergency," which, by reason of their magnitude, are or are
likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel,
equipment, and facilities of a single county, city and
county, or city and require the combines forces of a mutual
aid region or regions to combat.
c) "Local emergency" means the proclaimed existence of
conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of
persons and property within the territorial limits of a
county, city and county, or city cause by the same
conditions listed under "State of emergency."
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2)Authorizes under the Act, the Governor to proclaim a state of
emergency in an area affected or likely to be affected when:
a) conditions of disaster or extreme peril exists; b) he or
she is requested to do so upon request from a designated local
government official, or; c) he or she finds that the local
authority is inadequate to cope with the emergency.
3)Provides the Governor, during a state of emergency, to have
complete authority over all agencies of the state government
and the right to exercise within the area designated all
police power vested in the state by the Constitution and laws
of the State of California in order to effectuate the purposes
of the Act.
4)Authorizes the Governor, during a state of emergency, to
direct all agencies of the state government to utilize and
employ state personnel, equipment, and facilities for the
performance of any and all activities designed to prevent or
alleviate actual and threatened damage due to the agency; and
allows the Governor to direct such agencies to provide
supplemental services and equipment to political subdivisions
to restore any services which must be restored in order to
provide for the health and safety of the citizens of the
affected area.
5)Provides that a local emergency may be called by the governing
body of a city, county, or city and county, or by an official
designated by ordinance adopted by that governing body. In
periods of local emergency, political subdivisions have full
power to provide mutual aid to any affected area in accordance
with local ordinances, resolutions, emergency plans, or
agreements. State agencies may provide mutual aid, including
personnel, equipment, and or available resources, to assist
political subdivisions during a local emergency or in
accordance with mutual aid agreements or at the direction of
the Governor.
6)Authorizes, during a local emergency, the governing body of a
political subdivision, or officials designated thereby, may
promulgate orders and regulations necessary to provide for the
protection of life and property, including orders of
regulations imposing a curfew within designated boundaries
where necessary to preserve the public order and safety.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
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COMMENTS :
Background : In June of 2011, President Obama deployed 1,200
National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexican border, 260 devoted
just to the San Diego sector, in an effort to increase the
presence of border patrol agents along the border. Similar to
the deployment of 6,000 troops by President Bush in 2006, the
deployment by President Obama was intended to serve as a stopgap
measure until the Border Patrol could increase its staffing.
President Obama charged the National Guard not with actual
enforcement of immigration laws, but rather in aiding in
intelligence gathering and other backup duties.
In December 2011, the White House announced that it was
withdrawing 900 of the 1,200 Guardsmen. The White House also
announced that drones and surveillance helicopters equipped with
sensors and able to see six miles into Mexico will replace the
troops.
In making the announcement, the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) stated that there are now a record number of Border Patrol
officers. The administration now has approximately 18,200 U.S.
Border Patrol agents along the Southwest border, compared to
9,100 in 2001.
DHS also stated that the shift in strategy is intended to
maintain President Obama's commitment to assisting the Border
Patrol in a way that is not only more effective, but more
efficient; Aircraft can cover more ground in the air than troops
stationed at a fixed location along the border.
Purpose of the Bill: According to the Author, "immediate action
is needed to control the security of our porous borders.
Democratic Governors in other border states have issued a state
of emergency to activate their respective National Guard units
for border security duty. With the growing number of deaths in
the drug cartel war increasing every year on both sides of the
border, we cannot afford to have his violence further spill into
our communities. Allowing the Governor to declare a state of
emergency, is one of the most logical first steps in addressing
this issue."
No Need for the Bill : The conditions listed in Government Code
section 8558, which this bill seeks to amend, are not the only
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conditions that can be used by the Governor to declare a state
of emergency. Government Code section 8558 already allows the
Governor to declare a state of emergency for any other
conditions, other than conditions resulting from a labor
controversy, which he or she believes will cause extreme peril
to the safety of persons and property within the state. Though
current immigration matters don't seem to reach a level of
emergent crisis that the statutes governing a state declaration
of emergency were designed to address, if those emergent crisis
levels were ever reached, current law already grants the
Governor authority to declare such emergency. Thus, this bill is
not needed.
Former Governor Schwarzenegger Previously Opposed Declaration of
a State of Emergency for Illegal Immigration . In 2005, then
Governor Schwarzenegger stated that the impacts of illegal
immigration would not be remedied if he were to declare a state
of emergency, and that despite the dangers to those who seek to
cross the border illegally, the then-current situation in
California did not rise to the extreme level warranting a
declaration of emergency to protect health, safety, life and
property. He further stated that the Act is designed to allow
for the extraordinary redirection of resources through mutual
aid and the suspension of certain state laws so that government
may address catastrophic conditions caused by war, natural
disasters, and epidemics.
Arguments in Opposition : The American Civil Liberties Union
writes in opposition to this bill stating that, "using state
and local personnel to enforce federal immigration laws, as this
bill might allow, would divert scarce state and local resources
from other responsibilities, and compromise their ability to
protect the public at large. Federal immigration laws are
complex to understand and enforce. State and local officers are
not trained on the intricacies of immigration status, rights,
and procedures. It would also put state and local police
officers in the difficult position of profiling individuals
based on race and ethnicity, which is prohibited by state and
federal civil rights laws."
Prior Legislation :
AB 2812 (Silva), 2007-2008 Legislative Session. This bill was
identical to AB 2306 (Donnelly). The bill was never heard in the
Assembly Governmental Organization Committee.
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AB 2492 (Benoit), 2005-2006 Legislative Session. Broadened the
definition of a state of emergency by adding a transportation
infrastructure emergency. The bill failed passage in the
Assembly Transportation Committee.
AB 2508 (Haynes), 2005-2006 Legislative Session. Added the
subject of illegal immigration, rather than border security, in
the listed conditions supporting the declaration of a state or
local emergency. The bill failed in the Assembly Judiciary
Committee.
AB 1952 (Florez), 1999-2000 Legislative Session. Authorized the
Secretary of Agriculture to declare a state of emergency for
agriculture-related emergencies. The bill died in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
AB 2444 (Thompson), 1999-2000 Legislative Session. Expanded the
conditions constituting a state of emergency or local emergency
to include a pest infestation and a federal quarantine. This
bill was never heard in the Assembly Agriculture Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
American Civil Liberties Union
California Immigrant Policy Center
Analysis Prepared by : Felipe Lopez / G. O. / (916) 319-2531