Yesterday was the deadline for the California legislature to vote on many bills — some of which addressed police reform.
The State Senate’s session lasted until midnight on Monday, and several new police reform bills came out of it. But for other measures, the deadline to vote on them came and went.
Let’s start with the bills that passed. One bans the use of chokeholds by police officers to restrain people. Another bans police uniforms from resembling military uniforms. And another bill allows journalists to go behind police lines at protests without interference from police officers.
The Senate also passed a bill that allows California counties to establish sheriff oversight boards. And yet another bill increases the age for youth to consult with an attorney before waiving their Miranda rights, from ages 15 to 18.
The Senate failed to pass two bills relating to police misconduct. The first is SB-776, which would have made public the records of any police officer who’s been accused of discriminatory actions.
The second bill, SB-731, would have stripped the badges of any police officer found to be guilty of misconduct. But lawmakers ran out of time yesterday before they could vote on either of these bills.
Governor Newsom has until the end of September to sign off on the bills that did pass yesterday.