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AP18:153

For Immediate Release
October 10, 2018
Contact:
SOS Press Office
(916) 653-6575

Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Repeals Law Requiring Certain Law Enforcement To Collect And Report Specified Data On Stops And Searches. Initiative Statute.

SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures today.

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:

REPEALS LAW REQUIRING CERTAIN LAW ENFORCEMENT TO COLLECT AND REPORT SPECIFIED DATA ON STOPS AND SEARCHES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Repeals provision in the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015 that requires state and local agencies that employ peace officers to collect specified data on all stops and searches, including the reason for the stop or search, and perceived race, ethnicity, gender, and age of person stopped, and to report such data to the Attorney General annually. Reduces transparency by eliminating mandated data collection about stops and searches used by Attorney General, other law enforcement officials, the public, and researchers to identify and prevent racial and identity profiling. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Reduction in and avoidance of ongoing state and local law enforcement costs—potentially in the high tens of millions of dollars annually—related to eliminating various stop-related data collection, reporting, and analysis requirements. Potential avoidance of one-time state and local law enforcement costs—ranging from relatively minor to the tens of millions of dollars—related to technology and equipment improvements. (18-0007)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1858 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 18-0007.

The proponent of the measure, Mark Averbeck, must collect the signatures of 365,880 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the November 2014 general

election) in order to qualify it for the ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than February 13, 2019. The proponent can be reached at markaverbeck@gmail.com or 909-478-4001.

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