SB805 - Crimes.

Senate Bill No. 805 CHAPTER 126 An act to add Chapter 17.45 (commencing with Section 7288) to Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, and to amend Sections 538d, 538e, 538f, 538g, 538h, and 1299.07 of, and to add Sections 13653 and 13654 to, the Penal Code, relating to crimes, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. [ Approved by Governor September 20, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State September 20, 2025. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 805, Pérez. Crimes. Existing law prohibits credibly impersonating a peace officer, firefighter, or employee of a public utility, state or local government agency, or search and rescue team, as specified. Existing law also prohibits willfully and credibly impersonating a peace officer, firefighter, or employee of a public utility, state or local government agency, or search and rescue team through or on an internet website, or by other electronic means, for the purposes of defrauding another. A violation of these prohibitions is punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would revise and recast these provisions to prohibit impersonating a law enforcement officer, and would clarify that a law enforcement officer, for these purposes, includes a federal law enforcement officer. The bill would extend these offenses to include willfully and credibly impersonating any of those entities through any means for the purpose of defrauding another. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2026, require a law enforcement officer operating in California that is not uniformed to visibly display identification that includes their agency and either a name or badge number to the public when performing their enforcement duties, except as specified. The bill would make a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor. The bill would define personnel of a law enforcement agency as any peace officer under California law and any federal law enforcement officer. By creating a new crime and imposing duties on local law enforcement, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require any law enforcement agency operating in California to, by January 1, 2026, maintain and publicly post a written policy on the visible identification of sworn personnel, including a purpose statement affirming the agency’s commitment to specified principles including transparency, accountability, and public trust, and a requirement for sworn personnel to visibly display identification and for specified exceptions. The bill would exempt personnel of any agency from the crime for not displaying identification if an agency maintains a policy pursuant to these provisions. The bill would deem a policy consistent with that exception unless a member of the public, an oversight body, or a local governing authority challenges it. The bill would, if the agency does not address deficiencies within 90 days, authorize the complaining party to proceed to a court of competent jurisdiction for a judicial determination of the exemption, as specified. The bill would also authorize a peace officer, as defined, to request an alleged law enforcement officer to present identification when there is probable cause or reasonable suspicion to believe the alleged law enforcement officer has committed crime, including, but not limited to, impersonating a peace officer. Existing law, the Bail Fugitive Recovery Persons Act, regulates bail fugitive recovery agents, defined as a person given written authorization by the bail or depositor of bail and contracted to investigate, surveil, locate, and arrest a bail fugitive and any person employed to assist the bail or depositor of bail to investigate, surveil, locate, and arrest a bail fugitive. This bill would prohibit a person authorized to apprehend a bail fugitive from using that position for the purposes of immigration enforcement and would prohibit a person authorized to apprehend a bail fugitive from disclosing personally identifiable information of any bail fugitive that is requested for purposes of immigration enforcement, except as specified. This bill would declare these provisions are severable. 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Digest Key Vote: 2/3 Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The federal government has launched broad immigration enforcement efforts in California, deploying personnel from various federal agencies. (b) The increasing use of face coverings, the absence of visible names, officer identification number, or other individually identifying information, the failure to be clearly and conspicuously identifiable as federal law enforcement, or the use of unmarked vehicles during enforcement activities has raised concerns for public safety. (c) Both the individuals involved and onlookers have reported confusion and fear that they were experiencing or witnessing a crime. (d) In a widely reported incident, when two plain-clothed federal officers wearing masks tackled a woman on the sidewalk and forcibly placed her in an unmarked vehicle, the woman’s family called 911 to report a kidnapping. (e) Several news outlets have reported incidents of individuals impersonating federal law enforcement officers to harass or detain others, which undermines public trust in law enforcement, especially among vulnerable individuals. (f) Charges filed against individuals include kidnapping and impersonating a police officer after allegedly detaining a group of Latino men, impersonating an officer on a university campus, and impersonating an officer in connection with the sexual assault of a woman while threatening her with deportation. (g) While the federal government has publicly condemned impersonations, the use of face coverings and lack of consistent, visible personal and agency identification are making it difficult for individuals and state and local law enforcement to distinguish between authorized personnel and bad actors. (h) The state has both the authority and responsibility, under its police powers, to maintain order and protect the safety and well-being of all people within its jurisdiction. (i) In order to carry out this duty effectively, the state has the authority to establish identification requirements for law enforcement operating within the state so that the public and its agents can distinguish between individuals who are exercising law enforcement authority and those who are not, particularly in situations where a person is engaging in potentially unlawful behavior. (j) Therefore, the state has a compelling interest in identifying and verifying who is and who is not validly claiming or operating under law enforcement authority within the state. SEC. 2. Chapter 17.45 (commencing with Section 7288) is added to Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, to read: CHAPTER 17.45. Law Enforcement Policies 7288. (a) By January 1, 2026, a law enforcement agency operating in California shall maintain and publicly post a written policy on the visible identification of sworn personnel. The policy shall include, at minimum, the following: (1) A purpose statement affirming the agency’s commitment to both of the following: (A) Transparency, accountability, and public trust. (B) Restricting situations in which sworn personnel do not visibly display identification to specific, clearly defined, and limited circumstances. (2) A requirement that all sworn personnel visibly display identification that includes their agency and either a name or badge number, or both name and badge number, when performing enforcement duties. (3) A list of narrowly tailored exemptions for the following: (A) Officers engaged in active undercover operations or investigative activities. (B) An officer engaged in plainclothes operations who is employed within the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, California Health and Human Services Agency, California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, California Natural Resources Agency, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California Transportation Agency, California Environmental Protection Agency, California Government Operations Agency, or within any department, board, commission, or other entity in those agencies or the federal equivalents of these state agencies. (C) Officers wearing personal protective equipment that prevents display. (D) Exigent circumstances, involving an imminent danger to persons or property, or the escape of a perpetrator, or the destruction of evidence, including if the officer is responding to those circumstances while off-duty. (E) When there is a specific, articulable, and particularized reason to believe identification would pose a significant danger to the physical safety of the peace officer. (b) A policy adopted pursuant to this section shall be deemed consistent with Section 13654 of the Penal Code unless a verified written challenge to its legality is submitted to the head of the agency by a member of the public, an oversight body, or a local governing authority, at which time the agency shall be afforded 90 days to correct any deficiencies in the policy. If, after 90 days, the agency has failed to adequately address the complaint, the complaining party may proceed to a court of competent jurisdiction for a judicial determination of the agency’s exemption provided by subdivision (e) of Section 13654 of the Penal Code. The agency and its employees’ exemptions shall remain in effect unless a court rules the agency’s policy is not in compliance with subdivision (e) of Section 13564 of the Penal Code, and all potential appeals to higher courts have been exhausted by the agency. (c) For purpose of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Enforcement duties” means active and planned operations involving the arrest or detention of an individual, or deployment for crowd control purposes. (2) “Law enforcement agency” means all of the following: (A) Any law enforcement agency, department, or other entity of the state or any political subdivision thereof, that employs any peace officer described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code. (B) Any law enforcement agency of another state. (C) Any federal law enforcement agency. (3) “Visibly display identification” means to wear externally on the uniform in a size and location such as to be reasonably visible to member of the public with whom the officer interacts. SEC. 3. Section 538d of the Penal Code is amended to read: 538d. (a) Any person other than one who by law is given the authority of a law enforcement officer, who willfully wears, exhibits, or uses the authorized uniform, insignia, emblem, device, label, certificate, card, or writing, of a law enforcement officer, with the intent of fraudulently impersonating a law enforcement officer, or of fraudulently inducing the belief that they are a law enforcement officer, or who willfully and credibly impersonates a law enforcement officer through or on an internet website, by other electronic means, or by any other means, for purposes of defrauding another, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (b) (1) Any person, other than the one who by law is given the authority of a law enforcement officer, who willfully wears, exhibits, or uses the badge of a law enforcement officer with the intent of fraudulently impersonating a law enforcement officer, or of fraudulently inducing the belief that they are a law enforcement officer, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine. (2) Any person who willfully wears or uses any badge that falsely purports to be authorized for the use of one who by law is given the authority of a law enforcement officer, or which so resembles the authorized badge of a law enforcement officer as would deceive any ordinary reasonable person into believing that it is authorized for the use of one who by law is given the authority of a law enforcement officer, for the purpose of fraudulently impersonating a law enforcement officer, or of fraudulently inducing the belief that they are a law enforcement officer, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine. (c) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (d), any person who willfully wears, exhibits, or uses, or who willfully makes, sells, loans, gives, or transfers to another, any badge, insignia, emblem, device, or any label, certificate, card, or writing, which falsely purports to be authorized for the use of one who by law is given the authority of a law enforcement officer, or which so resembles the authorized badge, insignia, emblem, device, label, certificate, card, or writing of a law enforcement officer as would deceive an ordinary reasonable person into believing that it is authorized for the use of one who by law is given the authority of a law enforcement officer, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed six months, by a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine, except that any person who makes or sells any badge under the circumstances described in this subdivision is subject to a fine not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000). (2) A local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction that files charges against a person for a violation of paragraph (1) shall seize the badge, insignia, emblem, device, label, certificate, card, or writing described in paragraph (1). (d) (1) The head of an agency that employs peace officers, as defined in Sections 830.1 and 830.2, is authorized to issue identification in the form of a badge, insignia, emblem, device, label, certificate, card, or writing that clearly states that the person has honorably retired following service as a peace officer from that agency. The identification authorized pursuant to this subdivision is separate and distinct from [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]