California lawmakers gathered in Sacramento yesterday to voice their support for several public safety bills that were scrapped ahead of the legislative deadline.
SB 1157 would have required courts to consider basic safety information before placing young people into less restrictive programs. That includes criminal background checks on staff programs where youth could be placed.
"When the state changes how serious juvenile offenders are housed," said Republican Assemblymember Juan Alanis, Vice Chair of the Public Safety Committee, "they're supervised and rehabilitated. It takes on a responsibility to make sure real safeguards are in place, not just on paper. "
The bill failed to advance to a floor vote.
CapRadio reached out to Democratic State Senator Bob Archuleta, who authored the bill. His office says he intends to continue work on this legislation in future sessions.