Amended  IN  Assembly  March 09, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1691

Introduced by Assembly Member Ortega

February 17, 2023

An act to amend Section 828 of add Title 12.1 (commencing with Section 14220) to Part 4 of the Penal Code, relating to criminal procedure. victims.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1691, as amended, Ortega. Criminal procedure: warrants. victims.
Existing law defines a “hate crime” as a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of actual or perceived characteristics of the victim, including, among other things, race, religion, disability, and sexual orientation.
Existing law creates various preconviction diversion programs for persons charged with crimes. Existing law states that restorative justice is a principal policy goal of the state in sentencing for hate crimes.
This bill would, subject to an appropriation of funds by the Legislature, create a grant program within the Department of Justice to provide grants to community-based organizations, as defined, for the implementation and operation of restorative justice programs, as defined, that are focused on hate violence, as defined.

Existing law requires an officer who executes a warrant to take the defendant before the nearest or most accessible magistrate of the county in which the offense is triable, as specified.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

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

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


SECTION 1.

 Title 12.1 (commencing with Section 14220) is added to Part 4 of the Penal Code, to read:

TITLE 12.1. COMMUNITY-BASED RESTORATIVE JUSTICE GRANT PROGRAM

14220.
 A program to provide grant assistance to community-based organizations to create or maintain restorative justice programs is hereby created, to be administered by the Department of Justice.

14220.1.
 As used in this title, terms are defined as follows:
(a) “Community-based organization” means a nonprofit nongovernmental organization with a physical presence in the jurisdiction in which it is applying for a grant under this title.
(b) “Department” means the Department of Justice.
(c) “Hate violence” means violence, verbal harassment, threats, intimidation, vandalism, bullying, and civil rights violations committed against the person or property of another on account of any characteristic listed or defined in subdivision (b) or (e) of Section 51 of the Civil Code.
(d) “Restorative justice” means a facilitated mediation process between the parties that aims to repair the harm caused to the victim, rehabilitate the individual who caused the harm through understanding the impacts of their actions, break down barriers of fear and mistrust that exist between communities because of cultural differences and language barriers, and build bridges based on common interests and goals.

14220.2.
 Grants made pursuant to this title shall be made to community-based organizations and used to fund the implementation and operation of restorative justice programs that focus on individuals who have committed hate violence and the victims.

14220.3.
 An applicant for a grant shall submit a proposal, in a form prescribed by the department.

14220.4.
 Grants shall be made on a competitive basis to those applicants who, as determined by the department, based upon application materials, have demonstrated a need for restorative justice programs in the communities they serve, have the knowledge and ability to effectively implement and operate a restorative justice program as described in Section 14220.2.

14220.5.
 Each grantee shall report to the department, in a form and at intervals prescribed by the department, a summary of activities supported by the grant and related data.

14220.6.
 The implementation of this title is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for purposes of this title.

SECTION 1.Section 828 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
828.

The officer who executes the warrant shall take the defendant before the nearest or most accessible magistrate of the county in which the offense is triable, and shall deliver to them the complaint and the warrant, with their return endorsed thereon, and the magistrate shall then proceed in the same manner as upon a warrant issued by the magistrate.