Senate Public Safety Committee advances package of bills on treatment courts, trespass removals, consent searches and parole rules

The Senate Public Safety Committee on April 8 moved a package of public-safety bills, taking testimony from law enforcement, advocates, survivors and providers before advancing measures to the next stage of review.

The committee’s work ranged from funding eligibility for drug treatment courts created by Proposition 36 to a measure that would require judges or duty officers to review warrantless arrests for adults and youth within 48 hours. Members also amended bills to preserve community-based organization funding, narrow removal procedures for unlawful occupants of homes, and limit how law enforcement documents consent searches.

SB 38 (Umberg): Prop 36 drug-treatment courts, second chance grants SB 38 (Sen. Tom Umberg), which would clarify that collaborative drug court programs and Prop 36 treatment-mandated felony programs are eligible for grants under the existing “second chance” (Prop 47 savings) grant program, was advanced as amended. The author accepted a committee amendment restoring a 50% pass-through to community-based organizations; committee members noted the amendment was meant to preserve funding for local behavioral-health providers while allowing drug courts to apply for the grant funds. Daniel Sanchez of the Chief Probation Officers of California testified in support, arguing drug courts paired with supervision “deliver effective results.” Opponents including Californians for Safety and Justice and Drug Policy Alliance urged caution, saying the Second Chance Fund is already financed primarily by Prop 47 savings and may shrink with Prop 36 implementation; they worried about competing claims on a finite fund.

Vote/outcome (committee): motion passed as amended and advanced to appropriations. (Recorded in committee roll calls as passed; committee recommended “aye.”)

SB 448 (Umberg): expedited process for unlawful occupants/squatters SB 448, also authored by Sen. Umberg, was advanced with amendments that the committee said were intended to narrow the bill to apply to unlawful trespassers (commonly called squatters) and to protect bona fide tenants. The committee’s amendments require a notarized request from the property owner and additional documentation to show vacancy before local law enforcement would act under the new expedited process; the amendments also removed provisions that would have extended police immunity and made certain conduct felonies, changing one provision to a wobbler. Sponsors including the California Rental Housing Association and California Association of Realtors said the bill helps property owners reclaim vacant units while protecting tenants; the ACLU and homeless-advocacy groups opposed or expressed concern that trespass laws often target people experiencing homelessness.

Vote/outcome (committee): motion passed as amended and advanced to the judiciary committee. (Recorded as advanced in committee roll call.)

SB 277 (Weber Pearson): documenting and limiting consent-only searches SB 277, by Sen. Dr. Weber Pearson, would set a statewide baseline restricting when officers may ask for consent to search and require documentation of consent searches. Supporters — including the author and members of the judicial and civil-rights communities — framed the bill as a…