During a press conference in San Francisco, Assemblymember Phil Ting, State Senator Nancy Skinner and supporters highlighted two landmark police transparency bills currently on Governor Brown’s desk awaiting his signature.
AB 748 (Ting): Increases police transparency by requiring body camera footage of officer-involved shootings and uses of force to be released within 45 days, unless the incident is still under investigation; 30-day delays are allowed with good reason.
“Body-worn cameras are becoming more and more common among law enforcement agencies, and California needs a statewide standard for how the public can access those recordings,” said Assemblymember Ting. “AB 748 will increase police transparency and will help rebuild trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”
Supporters can sign this petition to urge Governor Brown to sign AB 748.
SB 1421 (Skinner): Lifts the veil of secrecy that has made California the only state to deny all public access to records on law enforcement misconduct. SB 1421 opens access to records on use of deadly force and on-the-job sexual assault or dishonesty, such as witness interference or evidence tampering.
“California is the only state that fully denies any and all public access to records related to serious police misconduct,” said Senator Skinner. “SB 1421 will lift forty years of secrecy and open for review law enforcement records that we, the public, truly have a right to see.”
“California can and must do better when it comes to police transparency and accountability,” said Abdi Soltani, Executive Director of the ACLU of Northern California. “Both AB 748 and SB 1421 will increase transparency, improve law enforcement accountability and provide a stepping stone to repairing police-community relations. Governor Brown should sign both bills immediately.”
The Governor has until the end of September to act on all bills sent to him in the last few days of the legislative session that ended August 31. If AB 748 is signed into law, it will take effect July 1, 2019. If SB 1421 is signed into law, the effective date is January 1, 2019.
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