California Police Chief- Fall 2013 | Page 9

LEGISLATIVE SWING Cal Chiefs at the Capitol C al Chiefs established a stronger presence than ever before at the California State Capitol this year. In response to this enhanced presence, our Law and Legislation Committee welcomed two new co-chairs, Chief Jennifer Tejada of Sausalito and Chief Rob Handy of Huntington Beach. Both Chief Tejada and Chief Handy are essential leaders for the Law and Legislation Committee and have greatly eased our transition into a powerful voice at the Capitol. In addition to these leadership appointments, the Law and Legislation Committee appointed committee member leaders to each key legislative area. This restructuring allows committee members to focus on areas of intense legislative priority. Following this restructuring, we have seen committee members deeply engaged in the following policy areas; firearm legislation, internet café and gambling regulations, marijuana policy, massage parlors, drugged and distracted driving, and AB 109 funding and policy issues. Our legislative priorities came from our membership in October of 2013 and were voted on and affirmed by the Board of Directors in November. This year, Cal Chiefs is the sponsor of four pieces of public safety legislation (AB 1439, AB 1449, AB 2500, and SB 1262). This heavy lift would not be possible without the active engagement of the Cal Chiefs Law and Legislation Committee. AB 1439, by Assembly Members Rudy Salas, Jim Frazier, and Rob Bonta addresses the growing problem of gambling activities in Internet Cafes. This bill will eliminate the “e-gambling” occurring at an ever-growing number of locations throughout California. Chief Dan Desmidt and Commander Ian Schmutzler have been actively engaged in this issue as they work with involved stakeholders towards the passage of this crucial piece of legislation. AB 1449, by Assembly Member V. Manuel Perez makes several changes to the AB 109 statute. It addresses overcrowding in local jails by specifying that those with long-term placements be remanded to state custody where they can access the facilities and programs needed for successful rehabilitation. Recognizing the facilities and programming demands of complex cases, the bill also authorizes the consideration of an offender’s full adult criminal history when determining county or state supervision. The reforms in this bill were identified in a November 2013 report, Voices from the Field: How California Public Safety Stakeholders View Realignment, conducted by the Stanford Criminal Justice Center. Chief Ed Medrano and Chief Jennifer Tejada have been actively engaged in the fiscal and legislative responses to realignment and we remain committed to the passage of AB 1449. AB 2500, by Assembly Member Frazier is our drugged driving bill. The bill will create the following per se standards for anyone who has a controlled substance in their system; 2 nanograms of milliliter of whole blood of delta-9 THC of marijuana, 100 nanograms of amphetamine, 50 nanograms of cocaine, 50 nanograms of cocaine metabolite, 50 nanograms of heroin, 50 nanograms of morphine, 10 nanograms of By Chief David Swing, Chair of the Law and Legislation Committee 6-monoacetyl morphine, 100 nanograms of methamphetamine, 10 nanograms of phencyclidine. Chief Rex Marks and Chief Jim Leal have been working with stakeholders and the Assembly Committee on Public Safety to ensure the passage of this long overdue legislation. SB 1262, by Senator Lou Correa, is our proactive medical marijuana legislation. This measure is fundamentally about three things: advancing local control, protecting public safety and creating uniform health and safety standards that ensure the lawful distribution of medical marijuana only in those cities and counties in which it is authorized. It carefully safeguards the right of cities and counties to decide whether to regulate and prohibit medical marijuana cultivation and distribution. This proposal provides a much needed and long overdue framework to effectively implement Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act. That initiative, which voters passed in 1996, provided patient access t