2004 Legislative Analyst
#CPRFromTheArchives
This post contains the text of the Legislative Analyst article by Joe Surges, originally published in 2004.
Year End 2004 Legislative Report.
What a long, strange trip it’s been.
Before I get too far in to the happenings of 2004, I need to express my thanks to NICK WARNER. He was gracious enough to be our speaker at the Opening Ceremonies at the 2004 CLEARS Training Conference. Nick presented an overall view of what he saw happening in Sacramento and took a look into his crystal ball to give us an idea where things may be headed. I was happy to see that so many of our members were eager to listen to him. Everyone had a chance to see the professional face that Nick provides for us in Sacramento. I received several comments from the [Chiefs and Sheriffs] in attendance about how impressed they were with Nick and how fortunate we are to have him represent us. Thanks Nick for making us look good!
This year, 2004, will be recorded as one of the strangest political years in state history. For the first time ever, we recalled an elected state official. And we recalled the highest state officer we have, the Governor! Then we replaced him, not with another politician, but a political novice, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER.
The people also flexed their muscles, by placing the most initiatives ever on the ballot. Issues ranged from Indian gaming to stem cell research to the Public Records Act. If the legislature refused to act on something, then what you did was gather signatures and place the issue directly in front of the people of the state.
Here is a brief look at some of the bills that the Sacramento legislature passed and will become effective January 1, 2005:
AB 488 - requires certain sex [registrants’] personal information, including the person’s exact home address, be published on the web. Bill requires the Attorney General to have this system in place by July 2005.
AB 1894 - provides a procedure for an entity whose business records have been seized by a government agency, to demand that the agency provide to it, within 10 business days, copies of their records.
AB 2527 - recasts sex offender registration provisions with respect to persons who have no residence or who are living as a transient in California. Requires a transient to register, and reregister, no less than every 60 days.
SB 58 - requires the District Attorney and the Courts in each county to establish a mutually agreeable procedure to protect confidential personal information regarding any witness or victim contained in a police report, arrest report, or investigative report that is submitted to a court by a prosecutor in support of a criminal complaint, indictment, or information, or by prosecutor of law enforcement officer in support of a search warrant or an arrest warrant.
This is just a partial list of what has gone on in Sacramento from a legislative standpoint. For a complete report* visit www.CLEARS.org for the entire report from Nick Warner.
In the coming year, there are a number of issues we are going to try to move forward. One of those is the 11590 problem. We have been working closely with DOJ on drug registrations and hope we can come up with a mutually agreeable solution this year. Another issue we will be looking at is the maintenance fee added to Livescan. It is scheduled to expire at the end of 2005. Nick has discussed the possibility of CLEARS sponsoring a bill to continue this fee. The state board believes this is a good idea so we will be pursuing that issue.
Finally, we may need to introduce legislation to clean up some language problems with SB 58. I will keep you updated on this throughout the coming year.
I think that is going to be it for now. As always, if I can be of any assistance or if you have some info you would like to pass on, contact me at: josephs@cpd.ci.concord.ca.us [inactive email address].
Joseph L. Surges,
Concord PD
*The 2004 legislative report referenced is no longer available.