Open unsolved homicide: review and reinvestigation.

A new Chapter 4 (Sections 11483-11490) is added to the Penal Code creating the California Homicide Victims' Families' Rights Act. This expands the bill's scope from solely immigration enforcement to also cover homicide case review and reinvestigation rights for victims' families.

Defines who may request a case file review: immediate family members (parent, parent-in-law, legal guardian, grandparent, grandparent-in-law, sibling, spouse, child, stepchild, or person who exercised in loco parentis control over a victim under 18) or similarly situated persons, or their designated legal representatives who are members in good standing with the State Bar of California.

Defines 'open unsolved murder' as a murder committed after January 1, 1990, more than one year before the application date, previously investigated by an agency, with all probative investigative leads exhausted and no suspect identified.

Requires law enforcement agencies to review case files within 90 days of receiving a written application (extendable by 45 days for resource reasons). The review must include analysis of missed investigative steps, assessment of whether witnesses should be reinterviewed, examination of physical evidence for additional forensic testing, and updating the case file to current investigative standards.

Requires a reinvestigation if the case file review determines it would result in probative investigative leads. The reinvestigation must be conducted by someone who did not previously investigate the murder (except for the case file review itself).

Sets a 5-year cooling-off period: if a review concludes without recommending reinvestigation, no additional review may be undertaken for 5 years unless newly discovered materially significant evidence emerges. Similarly, if a reinvestigation concludes without identifying a suspect, no further review or reinvestigation is required for 5 years absent new materially significant evidence.

Requires agencies to develop written application forms, assign a responsible individual or department to process applications and ensure deadline compliance, provide written confirmation of receipt, give periodic updates to the applicant during review and reinvestigation, and meet with the applicant to explain the agency's decision at the conclusion of the case file review.

A new Section 2 provides that if the Commission on State Mandates determines the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement shall be made to local agencies and school districts pursuant to Part 7 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The state-mandated local program designation changes from 'no' to 'yes.'

The original immigration enforcement provisions (HOME Act, Section 7284.11 of the Government Code, and repeal of Penal Code Sections 5025 and 5026) are renumbered but substantively unchanged. Page numbers shift from 99 to 98 due to formatting adjustments.

The bill now covers all homicides (murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and vehicular manslaughter under Penal Code Sections 187, 189, 191.5, 192, and 192.5) instead of only murder. This substantially widens the types of cases families can request reviews for.

The waiting period before a family member can apply for a case file review was increased from one year to three years after the homicide occurred.

'Domestic partner' was added to the definition of 'immediate family member,' expanding who qualifies as a designated person eligible to file an application.

The requirement that the person or persons conducting the case file review and reinvestigation must not have previously investigated the case was removed. The same investigators who handled the original case can now conduct the review and reinvestigation.

Several mandatory duties were changed to permissive ones: the case file review and reinvestigation now 'may include' rather than 'shall include' the listed activities, and the agency 'may meet with' rather than 'shall meet with' the designated person to explain its decision.

The deadline for agencies to complete a case file review was extended from 90 days to 120 days, and the maximum extension period was increased from 45 days to 60 days.

The exception allowing agencies to withhold information was broadened: an agency can now refuse to provide information that would 'impede an ongoing investigation' rather than only 'unreasonably impede' one, giving agencies more discretion to limit disclosure.

All immigration enforcement provisions were removed: the legislative findings section (Section 1), Government Code Section 7284.11 (prohibiting CDCR from detaining or transferring individuals eligible for release to immigration authorities), and Penal Code Sections 5025 and 5026 (requiring CDCR cooperation with DHS on deportation). The bill no longer carries the HOME Act title.

The definition of 'open unsolved murder' now requires the murder to have been committed at least three years prior to the application date, up from one year. This narrows which cases qualify for review and reinvestigation.

The deadline for agencies to conclude a case file review was extended from 90 days to 120 days after receipt of the written application.

The maximum extension period for the case file review deadline was increased from 45 days to 60 days.

Multiple mandatory duties on law enforcement agencies were changed to permissive: case file review components changed from 'shall include' to 'may include,' reinvestigation evidence analysis changed from 'shall include' to 'may include,' the requirement to consult with designated persons was softened, and the requirement to meet with applicants to explain decisions changed from mandatory to optional.

The fiscal note now identifies the bill as imposing a state-mandated local program (changed from 'no' to 'yes'), meaning the state must reimburse local agencies for costs mandated by the new case review and reinvestigation duties.

The term 'open unsolved murder' was replaced with 'open unsolved homicide' throughout the bill, broadening coverage to include manslaughter cases (Sections 192 and 192.5) in addition to murder cases (Sections 187 and 189).

The definition of 'designated person' was narrowed by removing the phrase 'or a similarly situated person, member.' Only immediate family members or their designated legal representatives who are members in good standing with the State Bar of California may now file an application for case review.

References to 'this act' were changed to 'this chapter' throughout, and a drafting error showing both old and new subdivision letters (e.g., 'subdivision (f) (e)') was corrected to the proper single letter in Section 11485.