Bill Text: CA AB2138 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2138

Bill Title: Peace officers: tribal police pilot project.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-22 - Re-referred to Com. on APPR. [AB2138 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB2138-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly April 18, 2024

Amended IN Assembly April 10, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2138

Introduced by Assembly Member Ramos

February 06, 2024

An act to add and repeal Article 2.45 (commencing with Section 11073) of Chapter 1 of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal Code, relating to peace officers.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2138, as amended, Ramos. Peace officers: tribal police pilot project.

Existing law defines those persons who are peace officers in the state, grants certain authority to those individuals and their employing entities, and places certain requirements on those individuals and their employing entities. Existing law also grants specified limited arrest authority to certain other persons, including federal criminal investigators and park rangers and peace officers from adjoining jurisdictions.

Existing federal law authorizes tribal governments to employ tribal police for the enforcement of tribal law on tribal lands. Existing federal law requires the State of California to exercise criminal jurisdiction on Indian lands. Existing state law deems a tribal police officer who has been deputized or appointed by a county sheriff as a reserve or auxiliary deputy to be a peace officer in the State of California.

This bill would, from January 1, 2025, until January 1, 2028, establish a pilot program under the Department of Justice granting peace officer authority to certain tribal police officers on Indian lands and elsewhere in the state under specified circumstances. The bill would designate 3 tribal entities authorized to participate, would set certain minimum qualifications and training requirements for a tribal officer to act pursuant to this authority, and would place certain requirements on the employing tribe, including a limited waiver of sovereign immunity, and the adoption of a tribal law or resolution authorizing that exercise of authority and providing for public access to certain records. The bill would require the Department of Justice to provide ongoing monitoring and evaluation and to prepare and submit reports to the Legislature, as specified.

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

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

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) California is home to more Native American and Alaska Native people than any other state in the country. There are approximately 109 federally recognized tribes in California. Federally recognized tribes have a unique government-to-government relationship with local, state, and federal entities, and are recognized as sovereign nations. Tribes can create their own laws, governmental structure, and enrollment or membership rules for the land and citizens of their nation.

(b) California has the fifth largest caseload of missing and murdered Indigenous women and people. Nationwide, more than four in five Native American and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime, and more than one in three have in the last year. One in 130 Native American children are likely to go missing each year. Indigenous women go missing and are murdered at rates higher than any other ethnic group in the United States. Nearly one-half of all indigenous women have been raped, beaten, or stalked by an intimate partner. LGBTQ+ Native Americans and people who identify as “two-spirit” people within tribal communities are also often the targets of violence.

(c) California Indian tribes retain the inherent authority to self-govern, including the authority to enact laws that govern their lands.

(d) Approximately 27 tribal governments in the state have exercised their inherent authority by establishing law enforcement agencies to maintain public safety on Indian lands. Additionally, tribes have exercised their inherent authority by establishing 22 tribal courts statewide, serving approximately 40 tribes.

(e) Federal law requires certain states, including the State of California, to enforce state criminal laws on Indian lands in those states, but does not provide funding to those states or the tribes within those states for public safety.

(f) Thirteen states and the federal government provide tribal law enforcement authority to enforce state or federal law if tribal officers meet qualifications delineated in the state and federal authorizing legislation and regulations. Twenty-one of the 27 tribal governments in California that have law enforcement departments have deputation agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, which allows qualified tribal officers to become special commissioned federal officers authorized to enforce federal law on Indian lands in their jurisdiction.

(g) A large number of persons are designated as peace officers under state law, including, without limitation, the members of the University of California and California State University Police ~~Department~~ Departments and certain employees of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Others have limited designation as peace officers under state law including, without limitation, museum safety and security employees of the California Science Center, police appointed by the California Exposition and State Fair, certain employees of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and persons designated by a local agency as a park ranger. Tribal law enforcement officers are not designated peace officers under state law.

(h) While there are avenues for tribal officers to enforce state law on Indian lands, these options are limited, discretionary, and inconsistently applied across counties. While state law authorizes a county sheriff to deputize a tribal officer as a reserve or auxiliary deputy, those agreements are often limited by the sheriff’s term in office and subject to termination at any time.

(i) Where state and county law enforcement departments have developed close working and cooperative relationships with the tribal law enforcement agencies, these relationships have resulted in greater public safety for both the Indian and non-Indian communities.

(j) Tribal governments employing police designated as California peace officers should be subject to the same requirements and responsibilities as other local and state agencies, including transparency and the right of the public to seek redress for grievances, while also recognizing that tribal governments are sovereign nations that govern themselves in accordance with their own laws and are not subject to liability in the same manner as state and local governmental entities.

SEC. 2.

Article 2.45 (commencing with Section 11073) is added to Chapter 1 of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal Code, to read:

Article 2.45. Tribal Police Pilot Program

11073.

(a) The Tribal Police Pilot Program is hereby established to operate from January 1, 2025, until January 1, 2028, under the direction of the Department of Justice.

(b) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, any qualified entity may notify the department that they wish to enroll in the pilot program and, upon verification by the department that the entity has complied with the requirements prescribed in subdivision (e), any qualifying member of that entity shall be deemed a peace officer as provided in this section.

(c) (1) The authority of a peace officer designated pursuant to this section extends to any place within the territorial boundaries of the Indian country of the employing tribe.

(2) The authority of a peace officer designated pursuant to this section may extend to any place in the state, under any of the following circumstances:

(A) At the request of a state or local law enforcement agency.

(B) Under exigent circumstances involving an immediate danger to persons or property, or of the escape of a perpetrator.

(C) For the purpose of making an arrest, when a public offense has occurred, or there is probable cause to believe a public offense has occurred, within the Indian country of the tribe that employs the peace officer, and with the prior consent of the chief of police or chief, director, or chief executive officer of a consolidated municipal public safety agency, or person authorized by that chief, director, or officer to give consent, if the place is within a city, or of the sheriff, or person authorized by the sheriff to give consent, if the place is within an unincorporated area of a county.

(D) Notwithstanding subparagraph (C), when the peace officer is in hot pursuit or close pursuit of an individual that the officer has reasonable suspicion has violated or attempted to violate state law and the violation occurred within the Indian country of the tribe that employs the peace officer.

(E) When delivering an apprehended person to the custody of a law enforcement authority or magistrate in the city or county in which the offense occurred.

(d) (1) A person shall not be designated as a peace officer pursuant to this section unless the person completes and maintains all requirements for the appointment, training, education, hiring, eligibility, and certification required for peace officers under state law, including, without limitation, those described in Sections 832 and 834, and any regulations adopted thereto.

(2) A person designated as a peace officer pursuant to this section is subject to the requirements of Sections 1029, 1031, and 1031.4 of the Government Code, and any regulations adopted thereto.

(3) A tribe designating a person as a peace officer pursuant to this section shall document that person’s compliance with this subdivision and submit that documentation to the Department of Justice.

(e) A qualified entity enrolled in this pilot program shall do all of the following:

(1) Enact and maintain in continuous force a law or resolution expressing their intent that tribal officers be California peace officers and adopting any requirements prescribed by this section.

(2) Adopt and maintain in continuous force for a period of no less than two years after the conclusion of the pilot program, an ordinance or other enforceable policy that provides procedures comparable to the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).

(3) Maintain and make available for public inspection pursuant to the ordinance or policy described in paragraph (2) any record related to conduct specified in Section 832.7 by a person designated as a peace officer pursuant to this section, including any administrative record of the tribe specifically related to such conduct, for a period of no less than two years after the conclusion of the pilot program.

(4) (A) Adopt and maintain in continuous force an ordinance or other enforceable policy that provides procedures comparable to the Government Claims Act (Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) of Title 1 of the Government Code) for any claim arising from any actions or omissions of a tribal police officer acting as a California peace officer pursuant to this section.

(B) The ordinance or policy described in this paragraph shall include all of the following:

(i) A limited waiver of tribal sovereign immunity against suit, liability, and judgment, including the full enforcement of judgments and collections for a peace officer designated pursuant to this section, while exercising the authority granted by the section, and while acting within the scope of their employment or duties, for negligent or wrongful acts or omissions that cause undue harm to a person within the personal and subject matter jurisdictions of the tribe.

(ii) An express agreement that the substantive and procedural laws of the State of California may govern any claim, suit, or regulatory or administration action, that the obligations, rights, and remedies shall be determined in accordance with those laws, and that the courts of the State of California or of the federal government, as applicable. This clause does not limit the jurisdiction of the court of a tribe.

(iii) A requirement that the tribe shall cooperate with any inspections, audits, and investigations by the Department of Justice for improper acts or omissions by tribal officers, including any sanction or discipline imposed by the department, up to and including removal of the tribe from the pilot program described in this section.

(iv) (I) A requirement for the tribe to carry sufficient insurance coverage for the liability of the tribe arising from acts or omissions of tribal officers.

(II) The department shall determine, in consultation with the tribe, the amount of coverage that is sufficient for the requirement in subclause (I).

(5) Comply with all applicable provisions of Sections 13510, 13510.1, 13510.8, and 13510.9.

(6) Submit all required documentation of compliance with this subdivision to the department, in a manner and form prescribed by the department.

(7) Submit any data, statistics, reports, or other information requested by the department for the monitoring and evaluation of the pilot program to the department in a manner and form prescribed by the department.

(f) When a peace officer authorized under this section issues a citation for a violation of state law, the citation shall require the person cited to appear in the superior court of the county in which the offense was committed, and shall be submitted to the district attorney of that county.

(g) Any criminal charge resulting from a custodial arrest made by, or citation issued by, a peace officer designated pursuant to this section, while exercising the authority granted by this section, shall be within the jurisdiction of the courts of the State of California.

(h) Any official action taken by a peace officer designated pursuant to this section, while exercising the authority granted by this section, including, without limitation, any detention, arrest, use of force, citation, release, search, or application for, or service of, any warrant, shall be taken in accordance with all applicable state laws.

(i) The peace officer authority granted to any person pursuant to this section shall be automatically revoked on January 1, ~~2028,~~ 2029, unless extended by a later enacted statute.

(j) (1) The department shall provide ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and support for the pilot program.

(2) A qualified entity may terminate their participation in the pilot program at will, however the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of subdivision (e) shall remain in effect.

(3) The department may suspend or terminate a qualified entity’s participation in the program for gross misconduct or for willful or persistent failure to comply with requirements.

(4) (A) (i) By no later than January 1, 2027, the department shall prepare and submit an interim report to the Legislature, the Assembly Select Committee on Native American Affairs, and the Assembly and Senate Public Safety Committees.

(ii) By no later than June 1, 2028, the department shall prepare and submit a final report to the Legislature, the Assembly Select Committee on Native American Affairs, and the Assembly and Senate Public Safety Committees.

(B) The reports required by this section shall include, without limitation, the impacts of the pilot program on case clearance rates, including, without limitation, homicide and missing persons cases, the impact of the pilot program on crime rates on Indian lands and surrounding communities, the impact of the pilot program on recruitment and retention of tribal police, a discussion of feasibility and implementation difficulties, and recommendations to the Legislature.

(k) This section shall not be construed to infringe upon the sovereignty of any Indian tribe nor their inherent authority to self-govern, including the authority to enact laws that govern their lands.

(l) As used in this section, the following terms are defined as follows:

(1) “Department” means the Department of Justice or any subdivision thereof to whom the Attorney General has delegated responsibility for the provisions of this section.

(2) “Indian country” has the same meaning as provided in Section 1151 of Title 18 of the United States Code.

(3) “Qualified entity” means the Blue Lake Rancheria, the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, and the Yurok Tribe of the Yurok Reservation.

(4) “Qualified member” means a person who is regularly employed by a qualified entity as a law enforcement, police, or public safety officer or investigator, who meets all of the requirements and qualifications in subdivision (d), and who has been designated by the qualified entity to be a peace officer pursuant to this section.