STREETSBLOG LA: Brown Vetoes Road User Safety Laws Including Hit-and-Run, Vulnerable User

Jose Vasquez leaves a candle at the ghost bike memorial for
Andy Garcia, killed in a vicious hit-and-run last year.
Sahra Sulaiman/LA Streetsblog

In the last hours before the deadline for signing legislation from this year’s legislative session,
California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a batch of bills that could have improved safety for bicyclists, pedestrians, and other road users.

Included in the list of vetoes are three bills addressing the problem of hit-and-run crimes. Two of them would have increased penalties for convictions, and one would have made it easier to catch hit-and-run perpetrators. This brings to a total of four bills on the issue that passed both houses of the legislature with very few no votes—some unanimously—only to end up on the governor’s chopping block.

The governor’s general objection to creating new crime categories and increasing penalties was his excuse for declining these bills.

For similar reasons, Brown also vetoed Assemblymember Mark Levine’s “vulnerable user” bill that would have defined bicyclists and pedestrians, and a few other groups, as a special category of road users, and raised fines for conviction of violations that result in injury to them.

Another bill vetoed today was one that would have assessed a violation point against a driver’s record if convicted of using a cell phone or texting while driving. A second provision of the bill, requiring the Department of Motor Vehicles to include at least one question on the driver’s license exam addressing the dangers of distracted driving, may happen anyway. Brown, in his veto message [PDF], writes that he has directed the DMV to add such a question.

Here’s a list of bills [originated by Assemblymember Mike Gatto] that would have made the roads safer but were axed by the Governor:

• A.B. 1532, from Assemblymember Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), which would have required an automatic six-month license suspension for anyone convicted of a hit-and-run collision in which a person was hit, whether that person was injured or not. Assemblymember Gatto’s intent was to enforce the notion that people must stop when they are involved in a crash, no matter what. The governor disagreed, citing his usual reluctance to create new categories of crime and stiffen penalties. “I don’t find sufficient justification for creating a new crime when no injury to person or property occurred. I think the current law is adequate,” says his veto message [PDF]. 

• A.B. 47, also from Gatto, which would have created a new “Yellow Alert” system, similar to the existing Amber Alert that broadcasts information about child abductions quickly throughout the state. The Yellow Alert would have broadcast descriptions of vehicles suspected of being involved in hit-and-run crimes using freeway changeable message signs and other outlets to help law enforcement apprehend criminals who leave the scene of a collision. Governor Brown refused to sign this bill because of another bill, which he did sign, that adds developmentally disabled people to the groups for which the Amber Alert system can be used. “This expansion should be tested before adding more categories of individuals that could overload the system,” he wrote [PDF]. It’s doubtful that the families and friends of hit-and-run victims would agree that this wait-and-see approach is sensible. 

You can read this complete article and more at Streetsblog LA by clicking HERE

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

KTLA-5 Reports on my "Yellow Alert" system

Here's a report by KTLA's Kacey Montoya on AB 47, my bill to use extant infrastructure to catch hit & run perpetrators.

Los Angeles Times: Assembly approves bill to increase reporting of on-campus incidents

UPDATE: This bill, AB 1433, passed the Senate Education committee yesterday. 

 

May 28, 2014 | Melanie Mason
Los Angeles Times


The Assembly unanimously approved a measure Wednesday that would require college officials to relay reports of certain on-campus incidents to local law enforcement.

The bill, by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), comes at a time when universities across the country are under scrutiny for allegedly underreporting or not fully investigating sexual assaults and other such incidents occurring on campus.

"Campuses are not bubbles. They should not be treated that way," Gatto said on the Assembly floor. "We should make sure every crime that occurs on-campus is investigated with the same dignity and the same vigor as a crime that happens in our streets and in our homes."



Under the bill, when a victim reports a certain violent crime, such as a sexual assault or a hate crime, to campus officials, the college or university would have to immediately disclose that report to local law enforcement...



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You can read this entire article and more by visiting LOS ANGELES TIMES here.

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

NBC4 LA: Lawmakers Consider Hit-and-Run Alerts

My AB 47 proposes an Amber Alert-style system to catch drivers who flee the scene of accidents. See more here from NBC News Los Angeles

PRESS RELEASE: Assemblyman Gatto Takes Action to Protect Victims of On-Campus Rapes and Similar Crimes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     Contact:  Justin Hager (818) 558-3043

January 6, 2014                                                               Mobile (415) 889-9762

Assemblyman Mike Gatto Takes Action to Protect

Victims of On-Campus Rapes and Similar Crimes

SACRAMENTO, CA – Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) introduced legislation today to ensure that crimes committed on college campuses are properly reported and investigated.  The legislation, AB 1433, would require colleges to report certain crimes occurring on or near campus to local law enforcement to investigate, if the victim does not request anonymity. 

The legislation comes after several California colleges have been accused of covering-up on-campus sexual assaults because of concerns that higher crime statistics would lead prospective students to choose elsewhere.  The unwillingness of campus officials to involve proper non-campus law-enforcement professionals greatly diminishes the chance that a perpetrator is arrested and convicted.  This, of course, can allow a perpetrator to strike again.

“Victims of crime should not see their chances of justice hurt, nor should perpetrators be allowed to victimize others, because a school values its public image more than victims' rights,” said Gatto.  “Colleges should focus on teaching, and leave the investigation of crimes to the professionals -- local police and sheriffs.”

Two southern California colleges are currently the subject of a federal investigation for their handling of on-campus sexual assaults and other violent crimes.  In addition to the federal investigation, five U.S. campuses, including three in California, are the subject of a federal lawsuit alleging violations of Title IX and the Clery Act.  The Clery Act is the federal law that requires colleges and universities to disclose (once a year, in an annual report) information about crimes that happen on or near campuses.

In addition to failing to report crimes, several California colleges have also been criticized for failing to notice signs of dangerous or abusive criminal activity.  At one state university, the administration admittedly failed to recognize the brutal, racially based abuse of a seventeen-year-old African-American student by his roommates.  The abuse was discovered only after the young man was allegedly held captive in his room with a bicycle lock chained around his neck. 

“Crimes that occur on campus should not be treated any differently than those that occur elsewhere in our community,” said Assemblyman Gatto.  "California law needs to make sure that college administrators involve law enforcement when appropriate.”

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 

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PRESS RELEASE: Assemblyman Gatto Introduces Bill to Improve Child Abuse Reporting in Schools

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           Contact:  Justin Hager (818) 558-3043

January 6, 2014                                                                      Mobile (415) 889-9762

ASSEMBLYMAN MIKE GATTO INTRODUCES BILL TO IMPROVE CHILD-ABUSE REPORTING IN SCHOOLS

SACRAMENTO, CA – Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) introduced legislation today to prevent child abuse in schools by ensuring that school employees identify the abuse and stop it in its tracks.  Recent reports showed that certain abuse was prolonged because large numbers of school personnel were unaware of the processes and their responsibilities for reporting abuse.  Gatto's legislation, AB 1432, would require teachers and other school officials to pass an online course on how to identify and properly report abuse, as a prerequisite before the start of each school year.

Enacted in 1963, the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) requires certain professionals, known as mandated reporters, to report to law enforcement or protective services known or suspected instances of neglect, or physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.  Mandated reporters include educational professionals like teachers, instructional aides, teachers’ aides, school administrators, and counselors.  Despite CANRA’s requirements, current law does not require school districts to train personnel on detecting and reporting child abuse.

“We can't allow unfamiliarity with the signs of abuse and the proper way to report it to serve as excuse for permitting child abusers to continue working in our schools,” said Gatto.  “AB 1432 is a common-sense approach to the problem, since every year, education professionals will be reminded of their duties.”

There have been several incidents recently of unreported child abuse, where one or more school employees were aware of the incident but failed to report it to law enforcement.  In the Redwood City School District, five staff members knew, but failed to tell authorities, about a teacher’s abuse of two five-year-old special-needs students. The abusing teacher was ultimately arrested, and the five staff members were fired.  In the Brentwood Union School District, eleven employees did not alert authorities of a case in which a special-education teacher, who had already been convicted of child abuse, pulled an autistic student from his chair and kicked him.  The incident resulted in a $950,000 settlement paid by the district, and eight additional students’ families have come forward with similar claims against the same teacher.

“The system has failed, when unreported instances of child abuse prolong kids' misery,” said Gatto. “AB 1432 is a simple, cost-effective means of making sure school personnel know the techniques and their responsibilities for protecting our children from predators.”

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 

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LISTEN IN: Governor Doubles Statute of Limitations for Hit-Runs

Governor Brown has signed a bill doubling the statute of limitations for prosecuting hit and run drivers. The bill's author, assemblyman Mike Gatto, praises the governor, but says more legislation is needed. KABC's Michael Linder reports.

The audio for this program can be found HERE

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