The following bills passed the Legislature on August 31. Governor Schwarzenegger has 30 days to sign or veto the measures.

AB 1848 - Assemblymember Rudy Bermudez (D)
Homeland Security: Interoperable Public Safety Network

Designated the annual report of the Public Safety Radio Strategic Planning Committee to serve as the state strategic plan for establishing a statewide integrated interoperable public safety communications network.
COPS Position: Support

AB 1849 - Assemblymember Tim Leslie (R)
Sex Offenders

Requires that the year of the conviction of the offender’s last sexual offense, the year of release from incarceration for that offense, and whether he or she was subsequently incarcerated for any other felony, be posted on the Department of Justice’s Internet Web site. Requires any state or local facility that releases a sex offender to provide the year of conviction and year of release for his or her most recent offense requiring registration as a sex offender to the department.
COPS Position: Support

AB 1980 - Assemblymember Karen Bass (D)
Powers of Arrest

Provides certain persons who are not peace officers may exercise the powers of arrest during the course and within the scope of their employment if they receive specified training, persons regularly employed by any department of the City of Los Angeles who are designated as security officers and authorized by local ordinance to enforce laws related to the preservation of peace authorized by a specified memorandum of understanding.
COPS Position: Support

SB 1178 - Senator Jackie Speier (D)
Sex Offenders: Continuous Electronic Monitoring

Requires every person required to register as a sex offender to be assessed using the State-Authorized Risk Assessment Tool for Sex Offenders. Requires moderate-high or high risk offenders be continuously electronically monitored while on probation. Specifies that the monitoring device used for these purposes shall be identified as one that employs the latest available proven effective monitoring technology.
COPS Position: Support

Senate Bill 1613
Cell Phones and Driving

California drivers could be cited for using a hand-held cell phone starting July 1, 2008. Drivers not using alternatives – such as a headset or speakerphone feature – could be fined $20 for the first infraction and $50 for subsequent offenses. Exemptions to the hands-free phone requirement include motorists making emergency calls, and commercial, agricultural and tow truck drivers, who would be allowed to use push-to-talk two-way phones. A violation would not constitute a point on one’s driving record.
COPS Position: Support