Crime prevention: enforcement and training programs.

(1) Existing law subjects certain property used or acquired in violation of the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act to forfeiture, such as controlled substances, equipment used to process controlled substances, and real property of any property owner who is convicted of violating specified controlled substances crimes with respect to that property. Existing law specifies how the money forfeited or the proceeds of sale are required to be distributed by the state or local governmental entities, including 1% of those funds for the purpose of educating and training for prosecutors and law enforcement officers regarding the seizure and forfeiture of assets. This bill would make an appropriation by instead requiring 1% of the funds to be provided to the Environmental Enforcement and Training Account to support the development of courses and training materials and the enforcement of state and local environmental laws, as specified. (2) Existing law establishes the High Technology Theft Apprehension and Prosecution Program to ensure that law enforcement is equipped with the necessary personnel and equipment to successfully combat high technology crime. Existing law allocates funds for this program to the Department of Justice and the California District Attorneys Association, as specified. This bill would eliminate the allocation of funding to the California District Attorneys Association and would allocate all funds to the Department of Justice, as specified. The bill would prohibit the creation of new contracts with the California District Attorneys Association under these provisions. (3) Existing law, known as the Environmental Enforcement and Training Act of 2002, authorizes funding programs for statewide education and training in the enforcement of environmental laws and enhanced local environmental enforcement efforts. Existing law authorizes the allocation of funds to the California District Attorneys Association for the purpose of creating courses of instruction for the training of public prosecutors in the enforcement of state and local environmental laws, and for the training of investigators from the offices of public prosecutors, fire departments, and state and local environmental regulators. Existing law requires the secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency to allocate and award funds to public agencies or private nonprofit organizations for the purpose supporting environmental enforcement education and training programs. Existing law also establishes the Environmental Circuit Prosecutor Project, a cooperative project of the agency and the California District Attorneys Association, for the purpose of, among other things, establishing model environmental crime prevention and increased awareness of efforts to enforce environmental laws. This bill would instead allocate funding to qualified grantees to develop and implement the specified education and training programs. The bill would eliminate the Environmental Circuit Prosecutor Project and instead establish the Environmental Circuit Prosecutor Grant Program within the California Environmental Protection Agency, which would provide grant funding for the costs of prosecutors, investigators, and research attorneys for specified purposes relating to prosecuting environmental crimes. The bill would require the secretary, when specified and subject to a sufficient balance in the Environmental Enforcement and Training Account, to issue requests for proposals for the allocation and award of funds to public agencies or private nonprofit organizations for the purpose of environmental enforcement education and training programs, as specified. The bill would prohibit an award of a grant to, or the creation of new contracts with, the California District Attorneys Association under these programs. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.