California 2013-2014 Regular Session Status: In Committee

AB 1828 — Child welfare: investigations: video and audio recording.

Last action — From committee without further action.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Assembly
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2013-2014 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Existing law requires the state, through the Department of Social Services and county welfare departments, to establish and support a public system of statewide child welfare services to be available in each county of the state. All counties are required to establish and maintain specialized organizational entities within the county welfare department that have the sole responsibility for the operation of the child welfare services program. The Legislature has declared its intent, in providing for this statewide system of child welfare services, that all children are entitled to be safe and free from abuse and neglect. This bill, to be known as Sammy's Law, would require a county child protective services social worker, assigned to a role that involves assuming the custody of children or conducting interviews of children or their parents in order to investigate allegations of parental abuse or neglect, to use a video and audio recorder to make recordings of his or her interactions with the children and their parents in carrying out that role. In order for the recording requirement to apply, the child or parent is required to give his or her consent to being recorded. The bill would require the county child protective services employing the social worker to catalog and preserve the video and audio recordings, as provided. This bill would require the prosecutor, in a criminal proceeding, to produce a copy of the above described recordings upon the request of the defendant, and if the recordings are not produced, the defendant would be entitled to an instruction stating that the missing information is presumed to be exculpatory. The bill also would require the county, in a dependency proceeding, to produce a copy of the above described recordings upon the request of the parent, and if the recordings are not produced, the county child protective services social worker would be prohibited from testifying about the missing information, and the judge would be prohibited from considering the missing information in making his or her rulings. Because this bill would require local entities to provide a higher level of service through making and producing video and audio recordings, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. From committee without further action.

  2. In committee: Set, first hearing. Held without recommendation.

  3. Re-referred to Com. on HUM. S.

  4. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HUM. S. Read second time and amended.

  5. Referred to Coms. on HUM. S. and JUD.

  6. From printer. May be heard in committee March 21.

  7. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

  • Donnelly · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • Donnelly

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does AB 1828 do?
Existing law requires the state, through the Department of Social Services and county welfare departments, to establish and support a public system of statewide child welfare services to be available in each county of the state. All counties are required to establish and maintain specialized organizational entities within the county welfare department that have the sole responsibility for the operation of the child welfare services program. The Legislature has declared its intent, in providing for this statewide system of child welfare services, that all children are entitled to be safe and free from abuse and neglect. This bill, to be known as Sammy's Law, would require a county child protective services social worker, assigned to a role that involves assuming the custody of children or conducting interviews of children or their parents in order to investigate allegations of parental abuse or neglect, to use a video and audio recorder to make recordings of his or her interactions with the children and their parents in carrying out that role. In order for the recording requirement to apply, the child or parent is required to give his or her consent to being recorded. The bill would require the county child protective services employing the social worker to catalog and preserve the video and audio recordings, as provided. This bill would require the prosecutor, in a criminal proceeding, to produce a copy of the above described recordings upon the request of the defendant, and if the recordings are not produced, the defendant would be entitled to an instruction stating that the missing information is presumed to be exculpatory. The bill also would require the county, in a dependency proceeding, to produce a copy of the above described recordings upon the request of the parent, and if the recordings are not produced, the county child protective services social worker would be prohibited from testifying about the missing information, and the judge would be prohibited from considering the missing information in making his or her rulings. Because this bill would require local entities to provide a higher level of service through making and producing video and audio recordings, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Who sponsors AB 1828?
AB 1828 is sponsored by Donnelly.
What is the current status of AB 1828?
This bill died with 2013-2014 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track AB 1828?
Track AB 1828 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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