KCET: Hit-and-Run Bill Sent to Governor Jerry Brown for Approval

This article on AB 184, my legislation to increase the statute of limitations for prosecuting hit-and-run drivers is particularly powerful because of the image of the "ghost bike" in Pasadena. 

September 10, 2013
by City News Service

Following a spate of fatal hit-and-run crashes in the Southland, state lawmakers approved a bill extending the statute of limitations for such crimes from three years to six years.

In the last month, more than a dozen people were killed in hit-and-run collisions in Los Angeles and Orange counties, including seven victims in the city of Los Angeles, according to Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, who sponsored the legislation. Many others, including a three-year-old boy, were seriously injured by motorists who drove off after crashing into victims.

A memorial "Ghost Bike"  in Pasadena left for hit-and-run victim Jocelyn Young, 
who was killed while riding her bike in 2011. 
Photo from  waltarrrrr/Flickr/Creative Commons License

"AB 184 will allow victims of hit-and-runs and law enforcement to obtain justice from cowards who do everything possible to avoid responsibility for their actions," Gatto said.

Under current law, motorists who flee the scene of an accident can simply "run out the clock," as it can take months to track them down.

The identity of the driver of a mini-van who hit bicyclist Damian Kevitt and dragged him more than quarter-mile down the Golden State (5) Freeway in Los Angeles in February remains unknown...

..."It's hard for us to encourage people to bike and walk, when our streets are treated like the Wild West," said Eric Bruins, planning and policy director for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.

The assembly vote was 68-0 in favor of the bill, which the Senate passed earlier on a 37-0 vote.

The bill goes to Gov. Jerry Brown for final approval.

You can read this article and more by visiting KCET's website HERE

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Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the California State Assembly.  He represents Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Atwater Village, East Hollywood, Franklin Hills, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, and Silver Lake.  www.asm.ca.gov/gatto

KCET Praises Assemblyman Mike Gatto's efforts to strengthen voting requirements for Constitutional Amendments

California Constitution, Altered Over 500 Times; U.S. Constitution, Only 27

by Jessica Levinson - September 3, 2012 10:00 AM

Last week our state's lower legislative house rejected a bill that would have made it harder to qualify and approve of initiatives that change California's constitution. Assemblyman Mike Gatto, a Democrat from Los Angeles, sponsored the bill that would have made an enormous amount of sense. Let's hope it comes back again, successfully passes both legislative houses, and is signed by the Governor. Here's why.

It is distressingly easy to amend our state constitution through a disturbingly broken process -- the ballot initiative process. A constitution should be a basic governing document. It should be difficult to alter it. It should be altered only after an open, deep, and thorough debate. Ours is not; it has been amended well over 500 times. It is one of the most bloated constitutions in modern history. Compare our state constitution, in existence for 133 years, to our federal constitution, in existence for 223 years: It has been amended only 27 times.

The ballot initiative process simply makes it far too easy to propose, qualify, and pass citizen-initiated laws. Gatto's bill would have required more voter signatures to qualify initiatives. Further, his proposal would have required that constitutional amendments pass by a vote of 55 percent of voters taking part in the election in which the measure appeared on the ballot.

Gatto's proposal was quite rationale. Constitutional amendments should not pass by a simple majority of those who show up to the polls in any given election.

We live in a representative democracy. The ballot initiative process was designed as a safety valve for citizens when the legislative process failed to function properly. Now, because the initiative process is largely dominated by the same special interests we created the process to guard against, both the legislative and initiative processes are in need of serious reform.

Gatto's proposal would have been a step in the right direction.

Jessica Levinson writes about the intersection of law and government. She is an Associate Clinical Professor at Loyola Law School. 

Read this article and more at KCET HERE

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Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Los Feliz and Silver Lake.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

Website of Assemblyman Mike Gatto: www.asm.ca.gov/gatto