This measure would designate that January 30, 2017, be observed as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution.
This measure would proclaim January 26, 2017, as India Republic Day, and would urge all Californians to join in celebrating India Republic Day.
This measure would recognize the month of February 2017 as Black History Month, urge all citizens to join in celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans during Black History Month, and encourage the people of California to recognize the many talents, achievements, and contributions that African Americans make to their communities.
This measure would recognize the Lunar New Year Celebration.
This resolution would recognize the month of January 2017 as Human Trafficking Prevention Month in California.
This measure would designate that January 16, 2017, be observed as the official memorial of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the work of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in California and in the United States of America.
Existing law, the Sexual Assault Victims' DNA Bill of Rights, expresses findings and declarations of the Legislature stating, among other things, that timely deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis of rape kit evidence is a core public safety issue affecting men, women, and children in this state. Existing law authorizes a law enforcement agency, upon the request of a sexual assault victim, to inform the victim of the status of the testing of the DNA rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence from the victim's case, as specified. If the agency does not analyze that evidence within 6 months of the statute of limitations for filing a criminal complaint in a sexual assault case, as specified, or if the agency intends to destroy or dispose of rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence from an unsolved sexual assault case prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations, existing law requires that a victim of a sexual assault be informed of that fact or that intention. This bill would require the Department of Justice, on or before July 1, 2018, and in consultation with law enforcement agencies and crime victims groups, to establish a process by which victims of sexual assault may inquire regarding the location and information regarding their sexual assault evidence kits.
(1) The Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act requires a mandated reporter, as defined and including an administrator or employee of a public or private organization whose duties require direct contact and supervision of children, to make a report to a specified agency whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. Under existing law, the failure to make this report is a crime. Existing law also prohibits a supervisor or administrator from impeding or inhibiting the reporting duties, provides that a person making the report shall not be subject to any sanctions for making the report, and prohibits internal procedures to facilitate reporting from requiring any employee required to make reports to disclose his or her identity to the employer. Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act (the act) , governs the licensing and regulation of community care facilities, as defined, including foster family agencies for children. Existing law vests responsibility for administering and enforcing laws and regulations governing those facilities in the State Department of Social Services. Existing law authorizes the department to prohibit a person from being a member of the board of directors, an executive director, or an officer of a licensee, or a licensee from employing, or continuing the employment of, or allowing in a licensed facility or certified family home, or allowing contact with clients of a licensed facility or certified family home by, any employee, prospective employee, or person who is not a client who has committed various acts or has been denied an exemption to work or to be present in a facility or certified family home, as specified. This bill would expand the definition of mandated reporter to include a board member of a public or private organization whose duties require direct contact and supervision of children, including a foster family agency. By imposing the reporting requirements on a new class of persons, for whom failure to report specified conduct is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require the department to develop a notice regarding the reporting of complaints and would require the posting of that notice in all foster family agencies, as specified. The bill would require that if the department, as a condition of licensure, requires the chief executive officer or other authorized member of the board of directors and the administrator of a foster family agency to attend an orientation given by the licensing agency that outlines the applicable rules and regulations for operation of a foster family agency, that orientation shall include a description of policies, procedures, or practices that violate the provisions described above governing mandated reporters. The bill would require the department to take reasonable action, including, among other things, prohibiting a person from being a member of the board of directors, upon a finding of a violation of the provisions described above governing mandated reporters. (2) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 11165.7 of the Penal Code proposed by AB 1997 that would become operative if this bill and AB 1997 are chaptered and this bill is chaptered last. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to establish a protocol for the examination and treatment of victims of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault, including child molestation, and the collection and preservation of related evidence. Existing law provides failure to comply with this protocol does not constitute grounds to exclude evidence and prohibits a judge from instructing the trier of fact in a case that less weight be given to the evidence based on failure to comply. Existing law also establishes one hospital-based training center to train medical personnel on how to perform medical evidentiary examinations for victims of child abuse or neglect, sexual assault, and other similar crimes. This bill would require the Department of Justice's Bureau of Forensic Services, the California Association of Crime Laboratory Directors, and the California Association of Criminalists to work collaboratively with public crime laboratories, in conjunction with the California Clinical Forensic Medical Training Center, to develop a standardized sexual assault forensic medical evidence kit, as specified, to be used by all California jurisdictions. The bill would encourage those entities to collaborate and establish the basic components for a kit by January 30, 2018, and would require guidelines pertaining to the use of the kit's components to be distributed throughout the state by May 30, 2019. The bill would require every local and state agency to be responsible for its own costs in purchasing a kit. The bill would also provide that failure to use a kit does not constitute grounds to exclude evidence and prohibits a judge from instructing the trier of fact in a case that less weight be given to the evidence based on failure to comply.
