Bill Text: CA AB1653 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1653 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2020-02-03 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1653 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB1653-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly March 26, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1653

Introduced by Assembly Member Frazier

February 22, 2019

An act to ~~amend Section 12981 of the Water Code, relating to water.~~ add Section 14217 to the Penal Code, relating to crimes.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1653, as amended, Frazier. ~~Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.~~ Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force.

Existing law establishes the Rural Indian Crime Prevention Program, a program of financial and technical assistance for local law enforcement, within the Office of Emergency Services. Existing law establishes the Rural Indian and Law Enforcement Local Advisory Committee, composed of specified members, including one Indian law enforcement officer, and requires the Director of Emergency Services to provide staff services to the advisory committee. Existing law requires the director, in consultation with the advisory committee, to develop guidelines and procedures for the selection of projects to be funded by the program.
This bill would create the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force in the Department of Justice, and would provide for the membership of that task force. The bill would, among other things, require the task force to complete a formal consultation with California’s Indian tribes on how to improve tribal access to databases, determine how to increase state resources for reporting and identifying missing and murdered indigenous persons in the state, and develop a database of nonprofit or nongovernmental organizations that provide aid or support in locating missing indigenous persons. The bill would require the task force to submit a report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2022, detailing improvements to tribal database access, interjurisdictional coordination, and law enforcement resource allocation for cases of missing or murdered indigenous persons, as specified. The bill would additionally require the Attorney General, in consultation with the task force, to prepare and distribute to law enforcement agencies in the state guidelines and uniform procedures for the reporting and investigation of missing and murdered indigenous persons, as specified, and would require the Department of Justice to employ a missing indigenous persons specialist responsible for building relationships to increase trust between governmental organizations and native communities.
~~Existing law makes legislative findings and declarations relating to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and its invaluable and unique resources of major statewide significance.~~
~~This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those findings and declarations.~~

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 14217 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

14217.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) On some reservations American Indian women are murdered at a rate of more than 10 times the national average.
(2) American Indians and Alaska Natives are 2.5 times as likely to experience violent crimes, and at least twice as likely to experience rape or sexual assault crimes, compared to all other races according to the National Congress of American Indians.
(3) More than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women, or 84.3 percent, have experienced violence in their lifetime according to the National Institute of Justice.
(4) More than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native men, or 81.6 percent, have experienced violence in their lifetime according to the National Institute of Justice.
(5) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homicide is the third leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women between 10 and 24 years of age and the fifth leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women between 25 and 34 years of age.
(6) Investigation into cases of missing and murdered Indian women is difficult for tribal law enforcement agencies due to a lack of resources, such as all of the following:
(A) A lack of necessary training, equipment, or funding.
(B) A lack of interagency cooperation.
(C) A lack of appropriate laws.
(7) The complicated jurisdictional scheme that exists in Indian country has a significant negative impact on the ability to provide public safety to Indian communities, has been increasingly exploited by criminals, and requires a high degree of commitment and cooperation among tribal, federal, and state law enforcement officials.
(8) Because California is home to more people of Native American and Alaska Native heritage than any other state, it is uniquely positioned to lead the way and serve as an example for other communities around the country.
(b) To enhance the protection of American Indians, especially American Indian women, from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, homicide, stalking, and sex trafficking, and to improve access to local, regional state, and federal crime information databases and criminal justice information systems, there is hereby established in the Department of Justice the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force.
(c) The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force shall consist of the following members, or their appointed representative:
(1) The Attorney General, who shall serve as chair of the task force.
(2) The Director of Emergency Services, who shall serve as vice chair of the task force.
(3) Three representatives, each of whom shall be an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe in California, appointed by the Governor.
(4) A representative of tribal law enforcement agencies, appointed by the Governor.
(5) A representative of county law enforcement agencies, appointed by the Governor.
(6) A representative of city law enforcement agencies, appointed by the Governor.
(7) A representative of tribal, state, and local groups that represent or provide services to victims of physical or sexual violence, appointed by the Governor.
(8) A member of the Senate, appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
(9) A member of the Assembly, appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(d) The task force shall encourage the participation of federal representatives, including representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(e) On or before July 1, 2020, the task force shall complete a formal consultation with California’s Indian tribes on how to further improve tribal data relevance and access to databases, including through the Violent Crime Information Center and by increasing tribal communities’ knowledge and utilization of the Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
(f) The task force shall determine how to increase state resources for reporting and identifying missing and murdered indigenous persons in the state, including through the Rural Indian Crime Prevention Program and existing community-based crime prevention programs. The task force shall collaborate with tribal law enforcement agencies to determine the scope of the problem, identify barriers to addressing the problem, and create partnerships to improve the reporting of and the investigation of missing and murdered indigenous persons.
(g) The task force shall respect tribal sovereignty in the execution of its duties, and shall collaborate with the United States Department of Justice to improve its processes and protocols for information sharing and coordination of resources in reporting and investigating cases of missing and murdered indigenous persons in the state.
(h) In consultation with the task force, the Attorney General shall prepare and distribute to law enforcement agencies in the state guidelines and uniform procedures for the reporting and investigation of missing and murdered indigenous persons that shall include all of the following:
(1) Guidelines on interjurisdictional cooperation among law enforcement agencies at the tribal, federal, state, and local levels, including interjurisdictional enforcement of protection orders and detailing of specific responsibilities of each law enforcement agency.
(2) Best practices in conducting searches for missing persons on Indian land.
(3) Standards on the collection, reporting, and analysis of data and information on missing persons and unidentified human remains, and information on culturally appropriate identification and handling of human remains identified as American Indian, including guidance stating that all appropriate information related to missing and murdered American Indians be entered in a timely manner into applicable databases.
(4) Guidance on which law enforcement agency is responsible for inputting information into appropriate databases if the tribal law enforcement agency does not have access to those databases.
(5) Guidelines on improving law enforcement agency response rates and followup responses to cases of missing and murdered Indians.
(6) Guidelines on ensuring access to culturally appropriate victim services for victims and their families.
(i) In consultation with the task force, the Attorney General shall establish training programs for law enforcement personnel regarding the conduct of investigations into missing and murdered indigenous persons.
(j) The task force shall develop a database of nonprofit or nongovernmental organizations that provide aid or support in locating missing indigenous persons, and a toolkit for tribal and urban tribal communities to educate tribal families about the steps they should take if a loved one is missing, including how to report a person missing and what other actions they should take to involve law enforcement. The task force shall develop a strategy for disseminating the database and toolkit information among tribal and law enforcement communities.
(k) The Department of Justice shall employ a missing indigenous persons specialist responsible for building relationships to increase trust between governmental organizations and native communities, and working closely with local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement authorities on missing persons cases. The specialist shall do all of the following:
(1) Provide guidance and support to law enforcement authorities and families in the search for missing persons.
(2) Network with other state and international missing persons programs to aid in locating indigenous persons who are unlawfully taken out of or unlawfully brought into California.
(3) Provide public outreach and education on missing and murdered indigenous persons issues.
(4) Issue alerts and advisories at the request of law enforcement authorities to activate public assistance in locating an endangered missing indigenous person.
(5) Facilitate training for law enforcement authorities related to missing and murdered indigenous persons cases, including education concerning resources available to assist with missing and murdered indigenous persons investigations.
(6) Act as a liaison between all of the following:
(A) American Indian tribes and tribal organizations and communities.
(B) Tribal liaisons in other state agencies.
(C) Law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels.
(D) Nongovernmental entities that provide services to American Indian women.
(l) The missing persons specialist shall have significant experience living in tribal communities and shall complete cultural competency training.
(m) (1) The task force shall prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2022, detailing the improvements to tribal database access, interjurisdictional coordination, and law enforcement resource allocation for cases of missing or murdered indigenous persons.
(2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under this subdivision is inoperative on January 1, 2024, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(3) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

SECTION 1.Section 12981 of the Water Code is amended to read:
12981.
~~(a)The Legislature finds and declares that the delta is endowed with many invaluable and unique resources and that these resources are of major statewide significance.~~
(b)The Legislature further finds and declares that the delta’s uniqueness is particularly characterized by its hundreds of miles of meandering waterways and the many islands adjacent to those waterways; that, in order to preserve the delta’s invaluable resources, which include its highly productive agriculture, recreational assets, fisheries, and wildlife environment, the physical characteristics of the delta should be preserved essentially in their present form; and that the key to preserving the delta’s physical characteristics is the system of levees defining the waterways and producing the adjacent islands. However, the Legislature recognizes that it may not be economically justifiable to maintain all delta islands.
(c)The Legislature further finds and declares that funds necessary to maintain and improve the delta’s levees to protect the delta’s physical characteristics should be used to fund levee work that would promote agricultural and habitat uses in the delta consistent with the purpose of preserving the delta’s invaluable resources.