Assembly Judiciary Committee considers police officer misconduct and bar exam

Rushing to get legislation to the final voting stage, the Assembly Judiciary Committee today considers a resolution urging the state Supreme Court to make the lower bar passing score retroactive to 2015 and a bill aimed at making it far more difficult for an officer who left a police force due to alleged misconduct to join another in the state.

The proposed resolution, HR 103, asks the state high court to make the lower score retroactive to 2015, rather than applying it only to those who will take the test this October and in the future. Democratic leaders of both houses had earlier written a letter to the court urging the change.

The bill on police misconduct, SB731, intends to create a decertification process for officers who seek employment with another force after discipline.

The Legislature was relatively quiet on Tuesday, a day after marathon sessions that moved forward several criminal justice bills.

During an Assembly floor debate Monday that ran into the evening, lawmakers approved a bill that will vacate fees charged to parents or guardians of juvenile delinquents to pay for their incarceration or court costs. Unlike many criminal justice bills, SB 1290 received several Republican votes.

According to an Assembly Public Safety Committee analysis published earlier this month, 42 California counties have already vacated these fees, totaling $345 million. The bill would void about $15 million in remaining fees from the 16 other counties.

"Collecting fees from system-involved youth and their families has been a regressive and financially unsound way for government to fund public services," said Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, while presenting the measure. "Research has shown juvenile fees undermine rehabilitation and increase recidivism."

SB 1290 will head straight to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk because it has not been amended since passing the Senate in February.

The Assembly then passed another public safety bill, AB 3234, that had come back from the Senate with amendments.

The bill would make it easier for judges to move misdemeanor offenders into prison diversion programs. It would also lower the eligibility age for the state's Elderly Parole Program from 60 to 50. The bill's author, Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, cited figures he said indicate the number of prisoners nationwide aged 55 or older has grown 500% in the last 20 years. These prisoners often cost two or three times as much to house as younger convicts, he said, mainly due to medical costs.

"Nothing in this bill allows for automatic release of prisoners," Ting said.

The Senate amendments barred early release under the program for domestic violence and sex offenders. This was not enough for Assemblyman Chris Holden, D-Pasadena. "It's gotten better, but still you have DUI with injury, firearms offenses, carrying a concealed firearm," Holden said. He ultimately joined 42 other Democrats in voting yes, barely topping the 41-vote threshold for passage.