BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1433
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1433 (Gatto)
As Amended August 19, 2014
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(May 28, 2014) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 21, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY : Requires the governing board of each public, private
and independent postsecondary educational institution, which
receives public funds for student financial assistance, to adopt
and implement written policies and procedures governing the
reporting of specified crimes to law enforcement agencies.
Declares urgency, in order to ensure student safety, and would
take effect immediately.
The Senate amendments clarify that institutional compliance is a
condition of participation in the Cal Grant Program and provide
for other technical and clarifying changes to this bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes public and private college administrations to
establish law enforcement departments and/or services and
provides that campus law enforcement agencies have the primary
responsibility for providing police or security services,
including the investigation of criminal activity, to their
campuses.
2)Requires, under the Kristen Smart Campus Safety Act, the
University of California, the California State University,
California's Community Colleges, and independent colleges that
meet specified conditions to enter into specific written
agreements, by July 1, 1999, with local law enforcement
agencies regarding the coordination and responsibilities for
investigating violent crimes which occur on campus.
3)Requires governing boards of any postsecondary educational
institution receiving public funds with a full-time equivalent
enrollment of more than 1,000 students to compile a record of
all reported occurrences of specified crimes. Institutions
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are required to report this information to current/former
students, employees and the media within two business days of
any request.
4)The federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy
and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Cleary Act) requires colleges
and universities, as a condition of federal student aid
program participation, to publish annual campus security
reports, maintain crime logs, provide timely warnings of
crimes that present a public safety risk, and maintain ongoing
crime statistics.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this bill's policy and reporting requirements will
likely result in significant additional workload at all
postsecondary education institutions in California, to the
extent that their existing policies and practices differ from
those required by this bill. The most significant state costs
will be for the bill's mandate on community college districts
(CCDs), likely $300,000 - $450,000 in one-time costs and
$400,000 - $1.3 million annually, in CCD costs to implement
these provisions. Campuses will have to comply, as a condition
of participation in the Cal Grant program, and will have to
absorb those costs.
COMMENTS : According to the author, there have been reports at
three California universities that administrators are
underreporting sexual assaults on campus and mishandling cases
in several ways, including underreporting crimes and not
conducting thorough investigations or providing appropriate
outcomes for those found culpable. The author indicates that
law enforcement agencies have expressed concern that they are
not completely aware of crime trends in their jurisdictions
because some university agreements do not require campus
security to pass information along to local law enforcement.
The author believes this bill is necessary to ensure that local
law enforcement agencies are aware of crime trends, by ensuring
campuses pass along reports of Part 1 violent crimes, sexual
assaults, and hate crimes that occur on campus. The author
believes this will alleviate concerns about some institutions
not properly reporting crime statistics because those reports
will have already been brought to light under the requirement
established by this bill. The author contends this bill could
result in a closer working relationship between campuses and
local police and sheriffs' departments, which will result in
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more thorough investigations, better outcomes for victims, and
safer communities.
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0005063