Bill Text: CA AB334 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Peace officers: training: profiling of motorcycle riders.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 5-3)
Status: (Failed) 2016-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB334 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB334-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 334 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cooley
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Chávez, Gallagher, Gray,
Olsen, Perea, and Wagner)
FEBRUARY 13, 2015
An act to add Section 13519.17 to the Penal Code, relating to the
profiling of motorcycle riders.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 334, as amended, Cooley. Peace officers: training: profiling of
motorcycle riders.
Existing law establishes the Commission on Peace Officer Standards
and Training in the Department of Justice and requires the
commission to adopt rules establishing minimum standards regarding
the recruitment of peace officers. Existing law requires the
commission to develop guidelines and implement courses of instruction
regarding racial profiling, handling domestic violence, hate crimes,
and human trafficking, among others.
This bill would require the Commission on Peace Officer Standards
and Training to ensure that the profiling of motorcycle riders is
addressed in the course of basic law enforcement training and offered
to law enforcement officers in conjunction with existing training
regarding profiling. The bill would require all local law enforcement
agencies to adopt a written policy designed to condemn and prevent
the profiling of motorcycle riders and to review and audit any
existing policies to ensure that those policies do not enable or
foster the practice of profiling motorcycle riders. Because this bill
would impose additional duties on local law enforcement agencies,
this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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 these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Millions of Americans ride motorcycles. They may commute to
work on a motorcycle or ride for pleasure after work and on weekends.
(b) A prominent motorcycle organization, the American Motorcycle
Association, has over 215,000 members. Their members are on average
46 years of age.
(c) There are approximately 2,700 motorcycle schools across the
United States recognized by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Of
these, 130 are located in California, where the Motorcycle Safety
Foundation contracts with the California Highway Patrol to administer
the California Motorcyclist Safety Program. The curriculum of
motorcycle schools in California is typical, consisting of
approximately three hours of online instruction, five hours of
classroom instruction, and 10 hours of instruction on the motorcycle
range. Fees for these schools range from $250 to $350, inclusive, and
the failure rate is around 13 to 15 percent, inclusive.
(d) Since its inception in 1987, Motorcycle Safety
Foundation-authorized schools in California have educated 900,000
Californians in motorcycle safety, including 62,000 in 2013.
(e) A rising number of older Americans have begun riding
motorcycles. For instance, a 2011 Wall Street Journal article, "When
Heaven Is a Harley: The 50-plus crowd is having a belated romance
with motorcycles" focuses on the increased interest in motorcycling
among older Americans.
(f) According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, Californians
over 50 years of age constitute 47 percent of the nearly 1.4 million
Californians licensed to operate motorcycles. Nationally, the average
age of motorcycle owners rose from 33 to 40 over the past 10 years.
(g) One observer of the trend toward older beginner motorcyclists
has said, "A lot of them say they were just too busy with careers and
kids until now, and they've reached a point in life where they want
to try something different."
(h) An older proponent of motorcycling has described motorcycling'
s appeal as a "really good feeling similar to downhill skiing,
effortlessly moving through the fresh air."
(i) Additionally, motorcycles are more fuel-efficient than cars
and a shift to motorcycle commuting may potentially reduce traffic
congestion and emissions, thereby aligning with California's goals
under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) to
reduce the transportation sector's carbon footprint.
SEC. 2. Section 13519.17 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
13519.17. (a) The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and
Training shall ensure that the profiling of motorcycle riders is
addressed in the course of basic law enforcement training and offered
to law enforcement officers in conjunction with existing training
regarding profiling.
(b) Every local law enforcement agency shall adopt a written
policy designed to condemn and prevent the profiling of motorcycle
riders and shall review and audit existing procedures, practices, and
training materials, to ensure that they do not enable or foster the
practice of profiling motorcycle riders.
(c) For purposes of this section, "profiling of motorcycle riders"
means using the fact that a person rides a motorcycle or
wears motorcycle paraphernalia as a factor, without any
individualized suspicion of the particular person, in deciding to
stop and question, take enforcement action, arrest, or search a
person or vehicle, with or without legal basis under the California
Constitution or the United States Constitution. is the
practice of detaining a suspect based on the fact that a person
rides a motorcycle or wears motorcycle paraphernalia without any
individualized suspicion of the particular person being stopped.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.
