Senate Public Safety committee advances package of public-safety bills; swatting, looting and ignition-interlock measures move on

SACRAMENTO — The Senate Committee on Public Safety on July 15, 2025 advanced a set of bills on homicide cold-case reviews, swatting, public-safety responses during disasters, ignition-interlock requirements for DUI convictions and several other public-safety topics.

The committee voted to send most measures to the appropriations committee or to the Senate floor with “do pass” recommendations. Several bills drew sustained testimony from law-enforcement groups, victim advocates, community organizations, and industry representatives.

Why it matters: The measures would change how law enforcement responds to unsolved homicides, expand state and local authority to punish repeat swatting that sparks large emergency responses, require ignition-interlock devices for more DUI convictions, and create new criminal penalties aimed at looters and impersonators who exploit natural-disaster evacuations. Supporters said the bills fill gaps in current law that harm victims and public safety; opponents warned of overbroad criminalization, implementation costs or civil-liberty impacts.

Key outcomes (committee actions): - AB 15 (Gibson), the “Homicide Families Rights Act,” advanced as amended to appropriations. The bill would create a process for designated family members or survivors to request a review of an unsolved homicide file after a case has been cold; committee amendments broadened the bill to cover all homicides and clarified eligible applicants to include domestic partners and specified immediate-family definitions. Supporters included family advocates and Moms Demand Action; the California State Sheriffs Association registered opposition raising resource and process concerns.

- AB 327 (Ritoff) to increase penalties for repeat swatting incidents and provide compensation tools for victims was advanced as amended to appropriations. The committee accepted amendments to limit…