March 17, 2022
California Federation of Republican Women
Janet Price, President
Submitted by the CFRW Legislative Analyst Committee
Karen Contreras, Gretchen Cox, Elaine Freeman,
Theresa Speake, and Cheryl Sullivan
Please share the following information with your club newsletters/websites! Comments/Questions?
E-mail: legislativeanalysts@cfrw.org
AB-1944 – Open and Public Meetings
The Ralph M. Brown Act requires that all meetings of a legislative body of a local agency, as defined, be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend and participate.
Existing law, until January 1, 2024, authorizes a local agency to use teleconferencing when a declared state of emergency is in effect, or in other situations related to public health subject to certain requirements, particularly that the legislative body notice each teleconference location of each member that will be participating in the public meeting and that at least a quorum of the legislative body participates from locations within the boundaries of the local agency’s jurisdiction.
The proposed bill would provide that if a member of a legislative body elects to teleconference from a location that is not public, the address does not need to be identified in the notice and agenda or be accessible to the public when the legislative body has elected to allow members to participate via teleconferencing. If the legislative body elects to use teleconferencing, they shall provide the following:
- A video stream accessible to members of the public.
- An option for members of the public to address the body remotely during the public comment period through an audio-visual or all-in option.
OF IMPORTANCE IS THIS LEGISLATION WOULD PERMANENTLY ALLOW REMOTE ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT MEETINGS
AB-1597 – Shoplifting: Increased Penalties for Prior Crimes
Current law, as amended by Proposition 47, provides that a registered sex offender or a person with a prior conviction for certain serious or violent felonies, such as a sexually violent offense, who commits petty theft, is subject to imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year or in the state prison for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years.
This bill would reinstate a provision of law that was repealed by Prop. 47 that provides that a person who has been convicted 3 or more times of petty theft, grand theft, or other specified crimes and who is subsequently convicted of petty theft is subject to imprisonment in a county jail for terms up to 3 years.
AB-1599 – Proposition 47 Repeal
The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by the electors at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, made various changes relating to theft and the possession of controlled substances, including by, among other things, generally reducing the penalty for those crimes, including reducing the penalty for possession of concentrated cannabis, establishing a procedure by which individuals convicted of those crimes prior to the passage of the act may petition for resentencing under the act and creating the crime of shoplifting.
THIS BILL WOULD REPEAL THE CHANGES AND ADDITIONS MADE BY PROPOSITION 47, EXCEPT THOSE RELATED TO REDUCING THE PENALTY FOR POSSESSION OF CONCENTRATED CANNABIS.
AB-1603 – Theft: Shoplifting Amount
Proposition 47 requires shoplifting, defined as entering a commercial establishment with the intent to commit larceny if the value of the property taken does not exceed $950, to be punished as a misdemeanor. Under current law entering a commercial establishment with the intent to take property exceeding $950 is burglary, punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony.
This bill would amend Proposition 47 by reducing the threshold amount for petty theft and shoplifting from $950 to $400. This bill would provide that it shall become effective only when submitted to, and approved by, the voters of California.
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For further information on any of the bills mentioned here, click the Bill # in the email. Or you can CLICK HERE and simply enter the bill # or keywords where designated.
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