CSAC Bulletin Article

Administration of Justice Bills of Interest

April 12, 2018

AB 2010 (Chau): This bill would prohibit an officer or employee of a juvenile facility, as defined, from possessing any chemical agent, as defined, in a juvenile facility. The bill would allow pepper spray to be used in a juvenile facility as a last resort when necessary to suppress a riot when authorized by a juvenile facility administrator or designee. The bill would require that all use of pepper spray be documented, as provided. The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) acted to provide juveniles in local detention facilities additional protections by enacting regulations that would limit the use of chemical agents in juvenile facilities in a manner that helps to maintain the safety and security of these facilities. Assembly Bill 2010 fails to take such a measured approach and employs a very restrictive standard that could put both juveniles and the facilities at risk. AB 2010 is set to be heard in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on April 24th. CSAC is opposed to AB 2010.

SB 1303 (Pan): This bill would require that non-charter counties with a population greater than 500,000 separate the office of sheriff-coroner and establish a new medical examiner office. Currently, county boards of supervisors have the statutory power to do this. SB 1303 would have significant fiscal impacts on the larger counties by requiring them to create the new office and would put forensic pathologists in the role of administrator instead of performing exams. Ultimately, SB 1303 would remove a county’s local control to decide how to organize their sheriff -coroner operations and could result in unnecessary upheaval in counties. SB 1303 passed out of the Senate Governance and Finance Committee and is set to be heard in the Senate Public Safety Committee on April 24th. CSAC and UCC are opposed to SB 1303.

SB 1106 (Hill): This bill would extend the operative date of the existing Transitional Age Youth pilot program to January 1, 2022, and expands the scope of the program to include Ventura County. The Transitional Youth Age pilot program allows young adult offenders age 18-21 to be housed in a local juvenile detention facility, instead of county jail where they will be able to access various services such as mental health, vocational, and education. CSAC supports SB 1106.

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