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AP15:025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2015

Contact: Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575

 

Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Law Enforcement. Use of Reasonable Force. Initiative Statute.

SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla today announced the proponent of a new initiative may begin collecting petition signatures for his measure. 

 The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

 LAW ENFORCEMENT. USE OF REASONABLE FORCE. INITIATIVE STATUTE. States reasonable force and associated penal codes are out of date. States that unspecified laws pertaining to use of force by law enforcement are suspended for 180 days. Requires Governor to appoint 11-person panel to review suspended laws and recommend changes to prevent violence committed by law enforcement officers against people of color. Bars members of existing police organizations in California from appointment to panel. Requires law enforcement officers to undergo training on the amended laws prior to continued service. Requires amended laws be posted in every public office in California. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Fiscal impact would depend on how the measure is implemented. Increased state and local costs for officer training that could be significant particularly in the short-term. (15-0010.)

 The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1673 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0010. 

 The proponent for the measure, James T. Lawrence, must collect signatures of 365,880 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2014 gubernatorial election) in order to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials by November 23, 2015.  The proponent can be reached at (818) 593-2949.

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