SB 1219: Law enforcement: sharing data.

Existing law, the California Values Act (act), prohibits, subject to exceptions, state and local law enforcement agencies, including school police and security departments, from using money or personnel to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or arrest persons for immigration enforcement purposes, as specified, and, subject to exceptions, proscribes other activities or conduct in connection with immigration enforcement by law enforcement agencies. The act requires, by October 1, 2018, the Attorney General, in consultation with the appropriate stakeholders, to publish model policies limiting assistance with immigration enforcement to the fullest extent possible for use by public schools, public libraries, health facilities operated by the state or a political subdivision of the state, and courthouses, among others. The act requires, among others, all public schools, health facilities operated by the state or a political subdivision of the state, and courthouses to implement the model policy, or an equivalent policy, and encourages other organizations and entities that provide services related to physical or mental health and wellness, education, or access to justice, including the University of California, to adopt the model policy. The act requires a law enforcement agency that chooses to participate in a joint law enforcement task force, as defined, to submit a report annually pertaining to task force operations to the Department of Justice, as specified. The act requires the Attorney General, by March 1, 2019, and annually thereafter, to report on the types and frequency of joint law enforcement task forces, and other information, as specified, and to post those reports on the Attorney Generals Internet Web site. The act requires law enforcement agencies to report to the department annually regarding transfers of persons to immigration authorities, and requires the Attorney General to publish guidance, audit criteria, and training recommendations regarding state and local law enforcement databases, for purposes of limiting the availability of information for immigration enforcement, as specified. The act requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide a specified written consent form in advance of any interview between a person in department custody and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding civil immigration violations.

This bill would repeal those provisions.

Existing law authorizes local law enforcement to voluntarily cooperate with immigration officials if that cooperation is permitted by the act, and only for specific circumstances, including, among others, that the subject has been convicted within the last 15 years of specified offenses.

This bill would revise those provisions to allow local law enforcement to voluntarily cooperate with immigration officials by detaining an individual on the basis of an immigration hold, as defined, after that individual becomes eligible for release if that detention would not violate federal, state, or local law or local policy, and only for specific circumstances, including, among others, that the subject has been convicted at any time of specified offenses.

This bill would require, that when there is reason to believe a person may not be a citizen of the United States, and that person is arrested for specified drug offenses, including, among others, unauthorized possession or sale of cannabis, and possession of narcotics, the arresting agency to notify the appropriate agency of the United States having charge of deportation matters. By imposing additional duties on local law enforcement, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.