AB284 - Law enforcement: Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board (RIPA).

Amended IN Assembly May 01, 2025 Amended IN Assembly March 24, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 284 Introduced by Assembly Member Alanis January 22, 2025 An act to amend Section 12525.5 of the Government Code, and to amend Section 13519.4 of the Penal Code, relating to law enforcement. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 284, as amended, Alanis. Law enforcement: stop data and reporting. Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board (RIPA). Existing law requires each state and local agency that employs peace officers to annually report to the Attorney General specified data on all stops conducted by that agency’s peace officers for the preceding calendar year. Existing law defines “stop” for purposes of these provisions to mean any detention by a peace officer of a person or any peace officer interaction with a person in which the peace officer conducts a search of the person’s body or property in the person’s possession or control. This bill would exclude various situations from that definition, including, among other things, a peace officer interaction with a person that results from a call for service or when a detention is necessary to prevent serious bodily injury or death. To the extent this change would increase the overall reporting duties of local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the Attorney General to establish the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board (RIPA) for the purpose of eliminating racial and identity profiling and improving diversity and racial and identity sensitivity in law enforcement. Existing law requires RIPA to include various members, including 2 representatives of human or civil rights tax-exempt organizations, 2 representatives of community organizations, and 2 religious clergy members, as specified. Existing law authorizes the Governor, President pro Tempore of the Senate, and Speaker of the Assembly to each prescribe up to 2 other members to membership of RIPA. This bill would require RIPA to include in its membership the president of the California District Attorneys Association, or their designee, and a member of the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training who is an active peace officer but is not otherwise already a member of RIPA. The bill would decrease the membership of the above-described representatives and religious clergy members to one member each and delete the provisions authorizing the Governor, President pro Tempore of the Senate, and Speaker of the Assembly to each prescribe members to RIPA. designee. Existing law requires RIPA to issue a report annually that provides RIPA’s analysis of, among other things, the reported stop data described above. Existing law also requires the report to provide detailed findings on the past and current status of racial identity profiling and to make policy recommendations for eliminating racial and identity profiling, as specified. This bill would require the report to include an analysis of stops that involve persons stopped in geographic locations that are different from where the person lives, works, or attends an educational institution. The bill would require the report to be subject to peer review, as specified, by 2 separate entities before publication and would prescribe the method by which at least one of the 2 entities is required to be selected. The bill would authorize any member of RIPA to cause a dissenting opinion to be included in the report, as specified. The bill would additionally authorize RIPA to include a response to a dissenting opinion in its report. 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 12525.5 of the Government Code is amended to read: 12525.5. (a) (1) Each state and local agency that employs peace officers shall annually report to the Attorney General data on all stops conducted by that agency’s peace officers for the preceding calendar year. (2) Each agency that employs 1,000 or more peace officers shall begin collecting data on or before July 1, 2018, and shall issue its first round of reports on or before April 1, 2019. Each agency that employs 667 or more but less than 1,000 peace officers shall begin collecting data on or before January 1, 2019, and shall issue its first round of reports on or before April 1, 2020. Each agency that employs 334 or more but less than 667 peace officers shall begin collecting data on or before January 1, 2021, and shall issue its first round of reports on or before April 1, 2022. Each agency that employs 1 or more but less than 334 peace officers shall begin collecting data on or before January 1, 2022, and shall issue its first round of reports on or before April 1, 2023. (b) The reporting shall include, at a minimum, the following information for each pedestrian, traffic, or any other type of stop: (1) The time, date, and location of the stop. (2) The reason for the stop. (3) The reason given to the person stopped at the time of the stop. (4) The result of the stop, such as, no action, warning, citation, property seizure, or arrest. (5) If a warning or citation was issued, the warning provided or violation cited. (6) If an arrest was made, the offense charged. (7) The perceived race or ethnicity, gender, and approximate age of the person stopped, provided that the identification of these characteristics shall be based on the observation and perception of the peace officer making the stop, and the information shall not be requested from the person stopped. For motor vehicle stops, this paragraph only applies to the driver, unless any actions specified under paragraph (8) apply in relation to a passenger, in which case the characteristics specified in this paragraph shall also be reported for that passenger. (8) Actions taken by the peace officer during the stop, including, but not limited to, the following: (A) Whether the peace officer asked for consent to search the person, and, if so, whether consent was provided. (B) Whether the peace officer searched the person or any property, and, if so, the basis for the search and the type of contraband or evidence discovered, if any. (C) Whether the peace officer seized any property and, if so, the type of property that was seized and the basis for seizing the property. (c) If more than one peace officer performs a stop, only one officer is required to collect and report to the officer’s agency the information specified under subdivision (b). (d) State and local law enforcement agencies shall not report the name, address, social security number, or other unique personal identifying information of persons stopped, searched, or subjected to a property seizure, for purposes of this section. Notwithstanding any other law, the data reported shall be available to the public, except for the badge number or other unique identifying information of the peace officer involved. Law enforcement agencies are solely responsible for ensuring that personally identifiable information of the individual stopped or any other information that is exempt from disclosure pursuant to this section is not transmitted to the Attorney General in an open text field. (e) Not later than January 1, 2018, the Attorney General, in consultation with stakeholders, including the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board (RIPA) established pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (j) of Section 13519.4 of the Penal Code, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and community, professional, academic, research, and civil and human rights organizations, shall issue regulations for the collection and reporting of data required under subdivision (b). The regulations shall specify all data to be reported, and provide standards, definitions, and technical specifications to ensure uniform reporting practices across all reporting agencies. To the best extent possible, the regulations should be compatible with any similar federal data collection or reporting program. (f) All data and reports made pursuant to this section are public records within the meaning of Section 7920.530 and are open to public inspection pursuant to Sections 7922.500 to 7922.545, inclusive, 7923.000, and 7923.005. (g) (1) For purposes of this section, “peace officer,” as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, is limited to members of the California Highway Patrol, a city or county law enforcement agency, and California state or university educational institutions. “Peace officer,” as used in this section, does not include probation officers and officers in a custodial setting. (2) (A) For purposes of this section, “stop” means any detention by a peace officer of a person, or any peace officer interaction with a person in which the peace officer conducts a search, including a consensual search, of the person’s body or property in the person’s possession or control. (B) A “stop” does not include any of the following: (i) A peace officer interaction with a person that results from a call for service. (ii) A situation in which a peace officer is required by state or local law to respond. (iii) A situation where a particular person is being sought by law enforcement. (iv) A detention is necessary to prevent serious bodily injury or death. (v) A detention in response to a suspected serious or violent felony. (vi) A situation in which a peace officer is directed by their employing agency to respond to a particular situation. (h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2024. SEC. 2. SECTION 1. Section 13519.4 of the Penal Code is amended to read: 13519.4. (a) The commission shall develop and disseminate guidelines and training for all peace officers in California as described in subdivision (a) of Section 13510 and who adhere to the standards approved by the commission, on the racial and cultural differences among the residents of this state. The course or courses of instruction and the guidelines shall stress understanding and respect for racial, identity, and cultural differences, and development of effective, noncombative methods of carrying out law enforcement duties in a diverse racial, identity, and cultural environment. (b) The course of basic training for peace officers shall include adequate instruction on racial, identity, and cultural diversity in order to foster mutual respect and cooperation between law enforcement and members of all racial, identity, and cultural groups. In developing the training, the commission shall consult with appropriate groups and individuals having an interest and expertise in the field of racial, identity, and cultural awareness and diversity. (c) For the purposes of this section the following shall apply: (1) “Disability,” “gender,” “nationality,” “religion,” and “sexual orientation” have the same meaning meanings as in Section 422.55. (2) “Culturally diverse” and “cultural diversity” include, but are not limited to, disability, gender, nationality, religion, and sexual orientation issues. (3) “Racial” has the same meaning as “race or ethnicity” in Section 422.55. (4) “Stop” has the same meaning as in paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 12525.5 of the Government Code. (d) The Legislature finds and declares as follows: (1) The working men and women in California law enforcement risk their lives every day. The people of California greatly appreciate the hard work and dedication of peace officers in protecting public safety. The good name of these officers should not be tarnished by the actions of those few who commit discriminatory practices. (2) Racial or identity profiling is a practice that presents a great danger to the fundamental principles of our Constitution and a democratic society. It is abhorrent and cannot be tolerated. (3) Racial or identity profiling alienates people from law enforcement, hinders community policing efforts, and causes law enforcement to lose credibility and trust among the people whom law enforcement is sworn to protect and serve. (4) Pedestrians, users of public transportation, and vehicular occupants who have been stopped, searched, interrogated, and subjected to a property seizure by a peace officer for no reason other than the color of their skin, national origin, religion, gender identity or expression, housing status, sexual orientation, or mental or physical disability are the victims of discriminatory practices. (5) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting the changes to this section made by the act that added this paragraph that additional training is required to address the pernicious practice of racial or identity profiling and that enactment of this section is in no way dispositive of the issue of how the state should deal with racial or identity profiling. (e) “Racial or identity profiling,” for purposes of this section, is the consideration of, or reliance on, to any degree, actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or mental or physical disability in deciding which persons to subject to a stop or in deciding upon the scope or substance of law enforcement activities following a stop, except that an officer may consider or rely on characteristics listed in a specific suspect description. The activities include, but are not limited to, traffic or pedestrian stops, or actions during a stop, such as asking questions, frisks, consensual and nonconsensual searches of a person or any property, seizing any property, removing vehicle occupants during a traffic stop, issuing a citation, and making an arrest. (f) A peace officer shall not engage in racial or identity profiling. (g) Every peace officer in this state shall participate in expanded training as prescribed and certified by the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training. (h) The curriculum shall be evidence-based and shall include and examine evidence-based patterns, practices, and protocols that make up racial or identity profiling, including implicit bias. This training shall prescribe evidence-based patterns, practices, and protocols that prevent racial or identity profiling. In developing the training, the commission shall consult with the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board established pursuant to subdivision (j). The course of instruction shall include, but not be limited to, significant consideration of each of the [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]