California 2015-2016 Regular Session Status: Passed Assembly

AB 1957 — Public records: body-worn cameras.

Last action — Stricken from file.

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

This bill died with 2015-2016 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Assembly” 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This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis.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

The California Public Records Act requires that public records be open to inspection at all times during the office hours of a state or local agency and that every person has a right to inspect any public record, except as specifically provided. The act further requires that a reasonably segregable portion of a public record be available for inspection by any person requesting the public record after deletion of the portions that are exempted by law. Existing law exempts from the disclosure requirements records of complaints to, or investigations conducted by, or records of intelligence information or security procedures of, law enforcement agencies, including the Attorney General and state or local police agencies. This bill would authorize the governing board of a law enforcement agency, in closed session, to review the footage from a body-worn camera when a peace officer who was wearing the camera is involved in, or was a witness to, an incident that results in great bodily injury to, or death of, a person other than the peace officer. The bill would require, if there is an investigation into an allegation of misconduct by the peace officer, and the investigation leads to criminal prosecution of the peace officer within 60 days after the commencement of the investigation, the judge to determine the protocol for release of the footage from a body-worn camera. The bill would require, if there is no investigation into an allegation of misconduct by the peace officer, or if there is an investigation, but the investigation does not lead to criminal prosecution of the peace officer within 60 days of the commencement of the investigation, the state or local law enforcement agency employing the peace officer to make available, upon request, footage from a body-worn camera 60 days after the commencement of the investigation. The bill would also prohibit the public release, as specified, of footage that relates to crimes of domestic violence, crimes that include minors, or that includes statements of a witness at the scene of a crime, subject to a specified exception. By increasing the duties of local law enforcement, this bill 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, with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Stricken from file.

  2. Motion to reconsider made by Assembly Member Quirk.

  3. Read third time. Refused passage. (Ayes 28. Noes 36. Page 5146.).

  4. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  5. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 13. Noes 7.) (May 25).

  6. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

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

  8. In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

  9. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  10. Read second time and amended.

  11. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 2.) (April 19).

  12. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  13. Read second time and amended.

  14. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 4. Noes 1.) (April 12).

  15. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

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

  17. In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

  18. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

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

  20. Referred to Coms. on PUB. S. and JUD.

  21. From printer. May be heard in committee March 17.

  22. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

  • Quirk · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on · 11 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Quirk

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"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

Votes

AB 1957 QUIRK Assembly Third Reading

Failed 28 Yea · 36 Nay · 16 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 2629015
Democratic 2201
Republican 0500
Total 2836016
% of votes cast 35%45%0%20%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Achadjian — Nay
Alejo — Not Voting
Bloom — Yea
Brough — Nay
Brown — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Levine — Yea
Mathis — Nay
Medina — Nay
Nazarian — Yea
O'Donnell — Not Voting
Santiago — Yea
Ting — Yea
Wilk — Nay
Williams — Not Voting
Campos — Not Voting
Eggman — Not Voting
Dababneh — Nay
Daly — Nay
Bonilla — Not Voting
Frazier — Not Voting
Low — Not Voting
Mullin — Not Voting
Chu — Not Voting
Dodd — Not Voting
Rodriguez — Not Voting
Gatto — Nay
Lopez — Yea
Gordon — Yea
Harper — Nay
Holden — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Kim — Nay
Salas — Nay
Burke — Yea
Linder — Nay
Maienschein — Nay
Gray — Nay
Mayes — Nay
McCarty — Yea
Melendez — Nay
Chang — Nay
Chau — Yea
Baker — Nay
Bigelow — Nay
Chiu — Yea
Chávez — Nay
Cooley — Yea
Cooper — Nay
Obernolte — Nay
Olsen — Nay
Quirk — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Ridley-Thomas — Yea
Steinorth — Nay
Thurmond — Yea
Wagner — Nay
Waldron — Nay
Weber — Yea
Wood — Yea
Gomez — Not Voting
Hadley — Not Voting
Beth Gaines — Nay
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Nay
Lorena Gonzalez — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Roger Hernández — Not Voting
Travis Allen — Nay
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Nay
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Not Voting
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Nay
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay
Lackey, Tom Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 13 Yea · 7 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 11500
Democratic 2000
Republican 0200
Total 13700
% of votes cast 65%35%0%0%
How each member voted (20)
Member Party Vote
Bigelow — Nay
Bloom — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Obernolte — Nay
Wagner — Nay
Weber — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Holden — Yea
Chang — Nay
Daly — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Wood — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Lorena Gonzalez — Yea
Roger Hernández — Nay
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

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 1957 do?
The California Public Records Act requires that public records be open to inspection at all times during the office hours of a state or local agency and that every person has a right to inspect any public record, except as specifically provided. The act further requires that a reasonably segregable portion of a public record be available for inspection by any person requesting the public record after deletion of the portions that are exempted by law. Existing law exempts from the disclosure requirements records of complaints to, or investigations conducted by, or records of intelligence information or security procedures of, law enforcement agencies, including the Attorney General and state or local police agencies. This bill would authorize the governing board of a law enforcement agency, in closed session, to review the footage from a body-worn camera when a peace officer who was wearing the camera is involved in, or was a witness to, an incident that results in great bodily injury to, or death of, a person other than the peace officer. The bill would require, if there is an investigation into an allegation of misconduct by the peace officer, and the investigation leads to criminal prosecution of the peace officer within 60 days after the commencement of the investigation, the judge to determine the protocol for release of the footage from a body-worn camera. The bill would require, if there is no investigation into an allegation of misconduct by the peace officer, or if there is an investigation, but the investigation does not lead to criminal prosecution of the peace officer within 60 days of the commencement of the investigation, the state or local law enforcement agency employing the peace officer to make available, upon request, footage from a body-worn camera 60 days after the commencement of the investigation. The bill would also prohibit the public release, as specified, of footage that relates to crimes of domestic violence, crimes that include minors, or that includes statements of a witness at the scene of a crime, subject to a specified exception. By increasing the duties of local law enforcement, this bill 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, with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Who sponsors AB 1957?
AB 1957 is sponsored by Quirk.
What is the current status of AB 1957?
This bill died with 2015-2016 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Assembly” 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 1957?
Track AB 1957 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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