Bill Text: CA AB2546 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 2546

Introduced

Bill Title: Law enforcement and state agencies: military equipment: funding, acquisition, and use.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-29 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading. [AB2546 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB2546-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2546

Introduced by Assembly Member Rendon

February 13, 2024

An act to amend Section 7070 of the Government Code, relating to law enforcement agencies.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2546, as introduced, Rendon. Law enforcement and state agencies: military equipment: funding, acquisition, and use.

Existing federal law authorizes the United States Department of Defense to transfer surplus personal property, including arms and ammunition, to federal or state agencies for use in law enforcement activities, subject to specified conditions, at no cost to the acquiring agency.

Existing law requires a law enforcement agency to adopt a military equipment use policy, as specified, before obtaining military equipment. Existing law also requires a law enforcement agency to obtain approval from their governing body before obtaining military equipment, as specified.

Existing law defines military equipment for purposes of these provisions.

This bill would replace certain devices referred to in this definition by a specific trade name with a general description of those devices.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 7070 of the Government Code is amended to read:

7070.

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) “Governing body” means the elected body that oversees a law enforcement agency or, if there is no elected body that directly oversees the law enforcement agency, the appointed body that oversees a law enforcement agency. In the case of a law enforcement agency of a county, including a sheriff’s department or a district attorney’s office, “governing body” means the board of supervisors of the county.

(b) “Law enforcement agency” means any of the following:

(1) A police department, including the police department of a transit agency, school district, or any campus of the University of California, the California State University, or California Community Colleges.

(2) A sheriff’s department.

(3) A district attorney’s office.

(4) A county probation department.

(1) Unmanned, remotely piloted, powered aerial or ground vehicles.

(2) Mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles or armored personnel carriers. However, police versions of standard consumer vehicles are specifically excluded from this subdivision.

(3) High mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWV), commonly referred to as Humvees, two and one-half-ton trucks, five-ton trucks, or wheeled vehicles that have a breaching or entry apparatus attached. However, unarmored all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and motorized dirt bikes are specifically excluded from this subdivision.

(4) Tracked armored vehicles that provide ballistic protection to their occupants and utilize a tracked system instead of wheels for forward motion.

(5) Command and control vehicles that are either built or modified to facilitate the operational control and direction of public safety units.

(6) Weaponized aircraft, vessels, or vehicles of any kind.

(7) Battering rams, slugs, and breaching apparatuses that are explosive in nature. However, items designed to remove a lock, such as bolt cutters, or a handheld ram designed to be operated by one person, are specifically excluded from this subdivision.

(8) Firearms of .50 caliber or greater. However, standard issue shotguns are specifically excluded from this subdivision.

(9) Ammunition of .50 caliber or greater. However, standard issue shotgun ammunition is specifically excluded from this subdivision.

(10) Specialized firearms and ammunition of less than .50 caliber, including assault weapons as defined in Sections 30510 and 30515 of the Penal Code, with the exception of standard issue service weapons and ammunition of less than .50 caliber that are issued to officers, agents, or employees of a law enforcement agency or a state agency.

(11) Any firearm or firearm accessory that is designed to launch explosive projectiles.

(12) “Flashbang” grenades and explosive breaching tools, “tear gas,” and “pepper balls,” excluding standard, service-issued handheld pepper spray.

~~(13)Taser Shockwave, microwave weapons, water cannons, and the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD).~~
(13) Area denial electroshock devices, microwave weapons, water cannons, long-range acoustic devices, acoustic hailing devices, and sound cannons.

(14) The following projectile launch platforms and their associated munitions: 40mm projectile launchers, “bean bag,” rubber bullet, and specialty impact munition (SIM) weapons.

(15) Any other equipment as determined by a governing body or a state agency to require additional oversight.

(16) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) through (15), “military equipment” does not include general equipment not designated as prohibited or controlled by the federal Defense Logistics Agency.

(d) “Military equipment use policy” means a publicly released, written document governing the use of military equipment by a law enforcement agency or a state agency that addresses, at a minimum, all of the following:

(1) A description of each type of military equipment, the quantity sought, its capabilities, expected lifespan, and product descriptions from the manufacturer of the military equipment.

(2) The purposes and authorized uses for which the law enforcement agency or the state agency proposes to use each type of military equipment.

(3) The fiscal impact of each type of military equipment, including the initial costs of obtaining the equipment and estimated annual costs of maintaining the equipment.

(4) The legal and procedural rules that govern each authorized use.

(5) The training, including any course required by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, that must be completed before any officer, agent, or employee of the law enforcement agency or the state agency is allowed to use each specific type of military equipment to ensure the full protection of the public’s welfare, safety, civil rights, and civil liberties and full adherence to the military equipment use policy.

(6) The mechanisms to ensure compliance with the military equipment use policy, including which independent persons or entities have oversight authority, and, if applicable, what legally enforceable sanctions are put in place for violations of the policy.

(7) For a law enforcement agency, the procedures by which members of the public may register complaints or concerns or submit questions about the use of each specific type of military equipment, and how the law enforcement agency will ensure that each complaint, concern, or question receives a response in a timely manner.

(e) “State agency” means the law enforcement division of every state office, officer, department, division, bureau, board, and commission or other state body or agency, except those agencies provided for in Article IV (except Section 20 thereof) or Article VI of the California Constitution.

(f) “Type” means each item that shares the same manufacturer model number.