Nine key public safety bills for cities

Cities are encouraged to send in letters of support for all nine measures

By Jolena Voorhis, legislative advocate (public safety)

Lawmakers in both appropriations committees will take up several bills aimed at addressing critical public safety issues when they return from summer recess next week. Cal Cities supports all nine measures. Here’s what cities need to know about each bill.

Violent threats and signal jammers

Cal Cities is supporting two bills that would make it easier for district attorneys to prosecute threats of violence. Currently, a threat must be credible, specific, and targeted at an individual to be illegal. AB 237 (Patel) and SB 19 (Rubio) would clarify that it is a crime even if no person is specified and enhance penalties for those who direct such threats toward schools and churches.

Another bill, SB 701 (Wahab), would increase penalties for using signal jammers during criminal activities, specifically robberies. Signal jammers can emit frequencies that interfere with radios, drones, GPS, Wi-Fi, and other telecommunications tools.

Law enforcement and wildfire response

AB 468 (Gabriel) and SB 571 (Archuleta) would increase penalties for looting during an emergency, including greater penalties for those impersonating a peace officer. In January, law enforcement arrested several dozen people suspected of entering evacuated communities in Southern California to loot. There were also verified reports of people impersonating first responders to enter evacuated areas to loot.

Those wildfires also saw nine public drone incursions that resulted in the grounding of aerial firefighting efforts — including one high-profile collision. AB 426 (Dixon) would prohibit drone usage during an active emergency and provide civil penalties for these actions. 

Xylazine

Sen. Angelique Ashby has advanced SB 6, a measure that would add xylazine to the state’s list of controlled substances, to Assembly Appropriations. Xylazine is generally used in veterinary practices to treat large animals but can also be mixed with fentanyl and other drugs. Last year, the Assembly Public Safety Committee held a similar measure by Ashby.

Police education

Legislators are examining a law that requires police recruits to earn a bachelor’s degree before entering the force. AB 992 (Irwin) would delay the implementation until 2031 and provide more flexibility by allowing associate degrees from community colleges or a bachelor’s degree to satisfy the requirement. SB 385 (Seyarto) would repeal a mandate requiring the state law enforcement trainer to adopt standards based on a report to the Legislature.

What’s next?

Lawmakers return to the Capitol on Aug. 18. They then have until Aug. 29 to get these bills through their final committee hurdle and onto the floor for a final vote. Cities should submit letters of support for these bills.