California 2017-2018 Regular Session Status: Passed Assembly

AB 931 — Criminal procedure: use of force by peace officers.

Last action — From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on RLS.

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

This bill died with 2017-2018 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This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis.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

Existing law authorizes a peace officer to make an arrest pursuant to a warrant or based upon probable cause, as specified. Under existing law, an arrest is made by the actual restraint of the person or by submission to the custody of the arresting officer. Existing law authorizes a peace officer to use reasonable force to effect the arrest, to prevent escape, or to overcome resistance. Existing law does not require an officer to retreat or desist from an attempt to make an arrest because of resistance or threatened resistance of the person being arrested. This bill would, as of January 1, 2020, require peace officers to attempt to control an incident by using time, distance, communications, and available resources in an effort to deescalate a situation whenever it is safe, feasible, and reasonable to do so. Under existing law, the use of deadly force resulting in the death of a person is justified when it was necessarily committed in overcoming actual resistance to an arrest, when it was necessarily committed in apprehending a felon who had escaped from custody, or when it was necessarily committed in arresting a person charged with a felony and who was fleeing from justice or resisting arrest. Existing case law prohibits the use of deadly force by a peace officer unless, among other criteria, there is a reasonable fear of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or another. This bill would limit the use of deadly force, as defined, by a peace officer to those situations where it is necessary, as defined, to defend against a threat of imminent and serious bodily injury or death to the officer or to another person, as specified. The bill would prohibit the use of deadly force by a peace officer in a situation where an individual poses a risk only to himself or herself. The bill would also limit the use of deadly force by a peace officer against a person fleeing from arrest or imprisonment to only those situations in which the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed, or intends to commit, a felony involving serious bodily injury or death, and there is a threat of imminent death or serious bodily injury to the officer or to another person if the subject is not immediately apprehended. The bill would make these provisions operative as of January 1, 2020.

Bill Text

Action History

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

  2. (Ayes 26. Noes 11. Page 5341.)

  3. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  4. Withdrawn from committee.

  5. In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  6. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  7. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (June 19).

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

  9. Re-referred to Coms. on PUB. S. and APPR.

  10. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  11. Withdrawn from committee.

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

  13. Referred to Com. on HEALTH.

  14. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  15. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 1489.)

  16. Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.

  17. From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (May 3).

  18. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (April 25). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  19. Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.

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

  21. Referred to Com. on HEALTH.

  22. From printer. May be heard in committee March 19.

  23. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

  • Mitchell · Cosponsor
  • Bradford · Cosponsor
  • Holden · Cosponsor
  • Jones-Sawyer · Cosponsor
  • McCarty · Cosponsor
  • Weber · Primary
  • Mark Stone · Cosponsor

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 6 co-sponsors · 115 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • Weber

Co-sponsors (6)

  • Mitchell
  • Bradford
  • Holden
  • Jones-Sawyer
  • McCarty
  • Mark Stone Voted No

Not signed on (115)

115 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 115 →

"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

Placed on suspense file

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6000
Democratic 1000
Total 7000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Bradford — Yea
Hill — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Bates — Yea
Beall — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

AB 931 MCCARTY Consent Calendar Second Day

Passed 77 Yea · 0 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 56001
Democratic 16000
Republican 5002
Total 77003
% of votes cast 96%0%0%4%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Acosta — Yea
Bigelow — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Brough — Yea
Harper — Yea
Holden — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Kiley — Yea
Levine — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Mathis — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Ridley-Thomas — Yea
Ting — Yea
Weber — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Cunningham — Yea
Dababneh — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Gloria — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Chu — Yea
Chávez — Yea
Gonzalez Fletcher — Yea
Mayes — Yea
Melendez — Yea
Obernolte — Yea
Voepel — Yea
Wood — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Salas — Yea
Burke — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Bocanegra — Yea
Gray — Yea
Low — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Medina — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Baker — Yea
Chau — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Daly — Yea
O'Donnell — Not Voting
Rendon — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Steinorth — Yea
Thurmond — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Travis Allen — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Yea
Choi, Steven S. Republican Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Not Voting
Flora, Heath Republican Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Yea
Lackey, Tom Republican Yea
Patterson, Joe Republican Not Voting

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 931 do?
Existing law authorizes a peace officer to make an arrest pursuant to a warrant or based upon probable cause, as specified. Under existing law, an arrest is made by the actual restraint of the person or by submission to the custody of the arresting officer. Existing law authorizes a peace officer to use reasonable force to effect the arrest, to prevent escape, or to overcome resistance. Existing law does not require an officer to retreat or desist from an attempt to make an arrest because of resistance or threatened resistance of the person being arrested. This bill would, as of January 1, 2020, require peace officers to attempt to control an incident by using time, distance, communications, and available resources in an effort to deescalate a situation whenever it is safe, feasible, and reasonable to do so. Under existing law, the use of deadly force resulting in the death of a person is justified when it was necessarily committed in overcoming actual resistance to an arrest, when it was necessarily committed in apprehending a felon who had escaped from custody, or when it was necessarily committed in arresting a person charged with a felony and who was fleeing from justice or resisting arrest. Existing case law prohibits the use of deadly force by a peace officer unless, among other criteria, there is a reasonable fear of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or another. This bill would limit the use of deadly force, as defined, by a peace officer to those situations where it is necessary, as defined, to defend against a threat of imminent and serious bodily injury or death to the officer or to another person, as specified. The bill would prohibit the use of deadly force by a peace officer in a situation where an individual poses a risk only to himself or herself. The bill would also limit the use of deadly force by a peace officer against a person fleeing from arrest or imprisonment to only those situations in which the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed, or intends to commit, a felony involving serious bodily injury or death, and there is a threat of imminent death or serious bodily injury to the officer or to another person if the subject is not immediately apprehended. The bill would make these provisions operative as of January 1, 2020.
Who sponsors AB 931?
AB 931 is sponsored by Mitchell, Bradford, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, McCarty, Weber, and Mark Stone.
What is the current status of AB 931?
This bill died with 2017-2018 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 931?
Track AB 931 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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