SB 719: Law enforcement agencies: radio communications.

Existing law establishes the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) to make specified criminal justice databases, including individual criminal histories, wanted and missing persons, and stolen firearms, vehicles, and property, available to participating law enforcement agencies. Existing law prohibits unauthorized access to CLETS and the unlawful use of CLETS information by authorized users.

Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to adopt policies, procedures, and practices related to the use of CLETS. These rules require a participating agency to restrict access to CLETS and define access as the ability to see or hear any information obtained from CLETS.

This bill would require a law enforcement agency, including the Department of the California Highway Patrol, municipal police departments, county sheriffs departments, and specified local law enforcement agencies, and specified university and college police departments, to, by no later than January 1, 2024, 2025, ensure public access, in real time, to the radio communications of that agency, as specified. The bill would exempt university and college police departments from the public access requirement. By imposing new duties on local law enforcement, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

This bill would also require those law enforcement agencies to ensure that any criminal justice information or personally identifiable information obtained through CLETS is not broadcast in a manner that is accessible to the public, as specified.

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.