Administration of Justice 04/01/2011
Local Fees
AB 1053 (Gordon) – Sponsor/Support
As Introduced on February 18, 2011
AB 1053, by Assembly Member Rich Gordon, would authorize counties
to increase fees for several local services including laboratory
analysis for specified alcohol- and drug-related offenses,
juvenile public defender registration, and birth and death record
requests.
CSAC received formal approval of the CSAC Board of Directors – by
a unanimous vote – on March 24 to sponsor AB 1053, which is seen
as a supplement to SB 676 (Wolk, 2009). The latter measure
successfully increased statutorily set fees for more than 11
services. We encourage counties to review and consider supporting
AB 1053.
AB 1053 will be heard in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on
April 12. We encourage all counties to join in supporting this
measure.
Juvenile Offenders: Medical Care
SB 913 (Pavley) – Support
As Introduced on February 18, 2011
SB 913, by Senator Fran Pavley, would allow a county probation
officer to authorize — for a juvenile in probation’s custody — a
medical exam and any necessary follow-up treatment identified by
a physician when the juvenile’s parent(s) are unable to be
located or when the parent(s) do not respond to requests for
consent. Current law requires a probation officer to either
obtain consent for the exam from the parent or guardian of the
juvenile or the court. Given that Title 15 regulations require a
juvenile receive a medical exam within the first 96 hours of
detainment, county probation departments often fall out of
compliance despite their best efforts to make contact with
parents to secure consent.
SB 913 is sponsored by Los Angeles County. It will be heard in
the Senate Public Safety Committee on April 5, 2011.
Vehicles: Registration Fees
AB 674 (Bonilla) – Support
As Introduced on February 17, 2011
AB 674, by Assembly Member Susan Bonilla, would remove the sunset
date for the collection of an additional one-dollar fee on
vehicle registrations and an additional two-dollar fee on
commercial vehicle registrations imposed by a county board of
supervisors as authorized in Vehicle Code Section 9250.19.
Revenue collected from these fees is used to fund local law
enforcement’s fingerprint investigations of specified
vehicle-related crimes. The current authority to levy the fees
expires on January 1, 2012.
AB 674 is set for hearing in the Assembly Transportation
Committee on April 4.
Notification of Inmate Release
AB 44 (Logue and Galgiani) – Support
As Amended on March 24, 2011
AB 44, by Assembly Members Dan Logue and Cathleen Galgiani, would
extend the notification timeframes the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) must abide by when
notifying local law enforcement agencies of the pending release
of an inmate from prison.
Current law requires CDCR to notify local law enforcement in
advance when it is preparing to release specified felony inmates.
At present, CDCR must notify local law enforcement 45 days prior
to an inmate’s pending release date. AB 44 would require a 60 day
advance notice by CDCR. CSAC is jointly supporting AB 44 with the
Regional Council of Rural Counties and the Urban Counties
Caucus.
AB 44 will be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on
April 6.
Public Officers: Contracts
AB 785 ( Mendoza ) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 17, 2011
AB 785, by Assembly Member Tony Mendoza, would add Section 1091.7
to the Government Code specifying that if a state or local
government public officer’s spouse, child, parent, sibling, or
spouse of the aforementioned has a financial interest in any
contract made by the public officer in his or her official
capacity, the officer shall be deemed to also have a financial
interest in the contract.
CSAC is interested in receiving feedback from counties regarding
this measure as to whether this provision is a reasonable
expansion of the existing definition of a public officer’s
financial interest. Please send your feedback to Rosemary McCool
at rmccool@counties.org.
AB 785 originally was set for hearing on March 29, 2011 in the
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee, but the bill now
will be heard on April 12.
Synthetic Cannabinoid Compounds
SB 420 (Hernandez) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 16, 2011
SB 420, by Senator Ed Hernandez, would make possession of up to
28.5 grams of any synthetic cannabinoid compound an infraction
and possession of anything above 28.5 grams a misdemeanor.
Further, possession of any synthetic cannabinoid compound with
the intent to sell would be a felony if SB 420 were to become
law.
According to the author’s office, synthetic cannabinoid compounds
are, with increasing frequency, being used and sold as substitute
for cannabis. Currently, possession and sale of this substance
are not illegal, despite the fact that these compounds have
virtually the same effect as marijuana. The author has requested
that CSAC solicit the input of counties on SB 420 and ensure that
there is a broad awareness of the measure. Counties interested in
supporting this measure are encouraged to contact the author’s
office.
SB 420 will be heard in the Senate Public Safety Committee on
April 5.